Low-Concentration Oxidants for Mitigating Continuous Cropping Obstacles: Improving Soil Properties and Microbial Functionality.

Continuous cropping obstacles (CCO) are common and severe in ginger cultivation. The use of oxidants to improve CCO-affected soils remains insufficiently explored. This study evaluated the effects of urea hydrogen peroxide (UHP), sodium persulfate (PS), and peracetic acid (PAA) on soil microbial communities and physicochemical properties. In the short term, oxidant treatments, especially PAA, significantly enriched beneficial taxa (e.g., Firmicutes, Actinobacteriota, Bacillales, Ascomycota) while suppressing the pathogenic Cercozoa (- 38.1%), except under UHP. All oxidants significantly increased dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content and enhanced the availability of essential macro- and micronutrients. PAA exhibited the most pronounced effects across multiple soil parameters, with significant increases in available phosphorus (AP, 144.7%), available potassium (AK, 7.9%), dissolved organic carbon (DOC, 6255.5%), and micronutrients, including iron (Fe, 110.5%), manganese (Mn, 13,991.7%), and zinc (Zn, 55.7%). These results indicate that low concentrations of PAA can effectively modify soil physicochemical properties, enhance soil fertility, and regulate microbial community structure, suggesting its potential as a novel approach for improving CCO-affected agricultural soils.