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The forest–medicinal plant management system has benefited the commercial production of Amomum villosum. However, little is known about the influence of different forestlands on the cultivation of A. villosum. The present study investigated the potential differences in the A. villosum yield and quality parameters, rhizosphere soil properties, and rhizosphere soil microbiota between a rubber plantation (RP) and a natural secondary forest (NSF). No significant differences in yield or rhizosphere soil properties of A. villosum were observed between RP and NSF, although most of the A. villosum yield parameters, the rhizosphere soil physicochemical properties, and soil enzyme activities were higher in NSF than in RP. Furthermore, the 38 volatile components had significantly higher relative abundances in NSF than in RP. Furthermore, the alpha diversity indices for the microbiota communities in the A. villosum rhizosphere soil indicated that the richness of the bacterial and fungal communities was significantly higher in NSF than in RP. These findings suggest that NSF conditions may be more appropriate than RP conditions for growing A. villosum. The data generated in this study may be useful for increasing the production of high-quality A. villosum via the exploitation of natural environments.

Coffee is one of the most valuable agricultural commodities worldwide, second only to oil in terms of international trade. Coffea arabica L. is a widely cultivated and economically important crop that is responsible for about 90% of the global production of coffee. In this study, we selected five C. arabica cultivation sites at different altitudes to clarify the effects of altitude on rhizospheric soil physical–chemical characteristics and microbial communities. The samples collected at low altitudes were more nutrient-deficient and acidic than the soil samples collected at medium–high altitudes. The Proteobacteria-to-Acidobacteria ratio increased from lower altitudes to medium–high altitudes. Additionally, although Ascomycota was the dominant fungal phylum, it was unaffected by the altitude. Furthermore, the alpha richness and diversity of the bacterial and fungal communities were higher at medium–high altitudes than at low altitudes. Moreover, the redundancy analysis indicated that microbial phyla were closely associated with pH. These findings suggest that C. arabica should be cultivated at medium–high altitudes, which is conducive to sustainable management and the production of high-quality C. arabica beans.

Amomum villosum, which is an important perennial medicinal plant, easily suffers from continuous cropping obstacles in the plantation. The aim of this study is to find an effective method to solve the problem of A. villosum continuous cropping. In this study, we analyzed four fields in which A. villosum was continuously cropped and a fallow field to reveal the effects of continuous cropping on the rhizosphere soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activities, and bacterial and fungal communities. Most of the soil nutrient contents gradually increased as the number of years of continuous cropping increased, whereas the soil pH decreased slightly. The soil urease and acid phosphatase activities tended to increase as the length of the continuous cropping period increased, which may have accelerated the conversion of soil substances. Furthermore, the alpha diversity of the bacterial and fungal communities decreased as the duration of the continuous cropping period increased. Additionally, the redundancy analysis revealed that bacterial and fungal community structures at the phylum level were the most correlated with pH value and catalase activity, respectively. This study may be useful for promoting the continuous cropping and sustainable development of A. villosum.