The microbially mediated soil organic carbon loss under degenerative succession in an alpine meadow |
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| Authors: | Yuguang Zhang Xiao Liu Jing Cong Hui Lu Yuyu Sheng Xiulei Wang Diqiang Li Xueduan Liu Huaqun Yin Jizhong Zhou Ye Deng |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, and the Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of State Forestry Administration, Beijing, China;2. School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha, China;3. College of Life and Environment Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China;4. Department of Botany and Microbiology, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA;5. CAS Key Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco‐Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China;6. College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China |
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| Abstract: | Land‐cover change has long been recognized as having marked effect on the amount of soil organic carbon (SOC). However, the microbially mediated processes and mechanisms on SOC are still unclear. In this study, the soil samples in a degenerative succession from alpine meadow to alpine steppe meadow in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau were analysed using high‐throughput technologies, including Illumina sequencing and geochip functional gene arrays. The soil microbial community structure and diversity were significantly (p < .05) different between alpine meadow and alpine steppe meadow; the microbial ɑ‐diversity in alpine steppe meadow was significantly (p < .01) higher than in alpine meadow. Molecular ecological network analysis indicated that the microbial community structure in alpine steppe meadow was more complex and tighter than in the alpine meadow. The relative abundance of soil microbial labile carbon degradation genes (e.g., pectin and hemicellulose) was significantly higher in alpine steppe meadow than in alpine meadow, but the relative abundance of soil recalcitrant carbon degradation genes (e.g., chitin and lignin) showed the opposite tendency. The Biolog Ecoplate experiment showed that microbially mediated soil carbon utilization was more active in alpine steppe meadow than in alpine meadow. Consequently, more soil labile carbon might be decomposed in alpine steppe meadow than in alpine meadow. Therefore, the degenerative succession of alpine meadow because of climate change or anthropogenic activities would most likely decrease SOC and nutrients medicated by changing soil microbial community structure and their functional potentials for carbon decomposition. |
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| Keywords: | 16S rDNA sequencing climate change ecological function
geochip
land‐cover change microbial community soil organic carbon |
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