# Effects of Wildlife Feces on Soil Properties and Microbiota in the Recovery Processes of Damaged Natural Ecosystem

## TL;DR

This study shows how sambar deer feces affect soil properties and microbes, aiding in the recovery of ecosystems damaged by disasters.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into the role of wildlife feces in soil restoration and ecosystem recovery.

## Key findings

- Adding sambar feces reduced soil pH and altered microbial diversity and composition.
- High concentrations of feces increased certain microbial functions like chemoheterotrophy.
- Key soil factors like pH and nitrogen levels significantly influence microbial changes.

## Abstract

Natural ecosystems are constantly damaged by natural or man‐made disasters. The restoration of damaged natural ecosystems is a systematic and intricate process. Wildlife feces can facilitate seed dispersal for plants and also influence soil properties and health. Soil restoration is the basis and prerequisite for the restoration of damaged ecosystems, and wildlife defecation is a key link for plant–animal–soil material turnover and nutrient cycling. Therefore, investigation of the effects of wildlife feces on soil properties and microbiota holds great significance for ecosystem restoration. To better understand the role of wildlife feces in the recovery of damaged natural ecosystems, we continuously monitored the areas destroyed by the 2008 earthquake for 15 years with a special focus on the feces of sambar (
Rusa unicolor
). Sambar shows the highest frequency of occurrence in the monitoring areas. We evaluated the effects of sambar feces on soil properties and microbial composition and function based on the feces‐to‐soil ratio obtained from field surveys (i.e., 0.14%). We found that the sambar feces changed multiple physical and chemical properties of soil; for example adding the 0.14% and 1.4% sambar feces to soil reduced the soil pH by 5.48% and 6.85%. PCoA results showed that adding sambar feces to soil significantly changed the composition of soil microbiota and reduced the diversity and abundance of soil bacteria in the short term. RDA exhibited that the pH, NO3−‐N, C/N, and TN concentrations were the key physicochemical factors that significantly affect microbial diversity and composition. FAPROTAX predictions revealed that a high concentration of sambar feces (1.4%) would significantly increase the relative abundance of aerobic chemoheterotrophy and chemoheterotrophy (p < 0.05). Our study reveals the mechanisms by which wildlife feces affect soil restoration in damaged natural ecosystems. Because unpredictable disasters are ubiquitous worldwide, providing guidance for ecosystem restoration is of particular importance.

Our findings provide a robust basis for future studies focused on revealing the mechanisms of animal–plant–soil interactions during the restoration of damaged ecosystems. Moreover, this study provides an example reference for guiding ecosystem restoration practices and makes up for the shortcomings of current research to promote the improvement of ecological restoration theory.