# Fungal Diversity Drives Non-Linear Trajectories of Soil Multifunctionality During Alpine Grassland Restoration

## TL;DR

Fungal diversity strongly influences soil health during alpine grassland restoration, with soil function peaking at seven years before declining.

## Contribution

This study reveals fungal diversity as a key driver of non-linear soil multifunctionality during alpine grassland restoration.

## Key findings

- Soil multifunctionality increased by 39.13% from year 1 to year 7, then declined significantly at years 13 and 20.
- Fungal richness peaked at year 5 and was positively linked to soil multifunctionality, unlike bacterial richness.
- Fungal diversity and soil moisture were confirmed as significant predictors of soil multifunctionality.

## Abstract

Despite the widely recognized importance of grassland restoration for soil multifunctionality (SMF), its temporal dynamics along the restoration chronosequence and the relative contributions of bacterial and fungal diversity to SMF remain poorly understood, particularly in alpine grasslands. Here, we examined SMF along an alpine grassland restoration chronosequence (1, 5, 7, 13, and 20 years) on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. We found that SMF exhibited a pronounced non-linear trajectory, increasing by 39.13% from year 1 to year 7, subsequently declining by 50% and 46.88% at years 13 and 20, respectively, relative to the peak at year 7. Fungal richness varied markedly across the restoration chronosequence, peaking in year 5 with a 16.03% increase relative to year 1, and was positively associated with SMF, whereas bacterial richness showed no significant relationship. Structural equation modeling further confirmed that, along with soil moisture, fungal richness was significantly associated with SMF. Together, our findings highlight fungal diversity as a key driver of SMF during alpine grassland restoration and improve process-based predictions of alpine grassland functioning under ongoing climate change.