Investigating the Diversity and Influencing Factors of the Rhizosphere Bacterial Community Associated with Salicornia europaea L. Populations in Semi-arid Grassland

Salicornia europaea L. is a well-known model plant for studying the mechanism of salt tolerance. A substantial decline in the S. europaea population has been observed in the semi-arid steppe of the Mongolian Plateau. The relationship between environmental factors and its population dynamics in the grassland ecosystem remains inadequately investigated. Rhizosphere microbial communities, representing the most direct and influential biological factors affecting plant populations, have received limited research attention in the context of halophytes. Four density treatments of S. europaea (bare land—SEB, low density—SEL, medium density—SEM, and high density—SEH) in a single-factor randomized-block design with five replications were established to evaluate the relationship between rhizosphere soil bacterial communities and environmental factors. The results showed that as the density of S. europaea increased, the soil pH decreased, while available phosphorus increased. Rhizosphere soil bacterial communities associated with S. europaea populations in the saline-alkali wetland were dominated by Proteobacteria , Bacteroidota , Actinobacteria , Gemmatimonadota, and Halobacterota . Notably, the genera Antarcticibacterium , Wenzhouxiangella , BD2-11_terrestrial_groupBD2-11 , Halomonas, and Natronorubrum were found to be particularly abundant. The Simpson index of the rhizosphere soil bacterial community in the S. europaea treatments was significantly higher than that in bare land. Soil pH and nitrate nitrogen were the primary environmental drivers of the rhizosphere bacterial community. Overall, the rhizosphere soil’s bacterial diversity in saline wetlands under a high-salt environment was not affected by the decrease in the S. europaea population. S. europaea plays an important role in shaping soil bacterial community structure through its influence on the surrounding soil environment. The cultivation of S. europaea is a phytoremediation strategy to improve soil salinization.