外来树种日本落叶松对森林土壤质量及细菌多样性的影响

以甘肃小陇山林区8～30年林龄日本落叶松林（外来树种）、油松林（乡土树种）及次生林为研究对象,研究了不同树种森林的土壤质量和细菌多样性变化.结果表明: 不同树种森林土壤pH无明显变化;林龄越长,土壤含水量越高.土壤总氮与有机质含量以次生林最高,其次为日本落叶松,油松最低.不同林龄森林土壤总氮与有机质含量无明显变化,表明树种是影响土壤质量的主要因素.与乡土树种油松相比,外来树种日本落叶松显著提高了土壤全氮及土壤有机质含量.变性梯度凝胶电泳(DGGE)图谱显示,次生林土壤细菌多样性最高,而外来树种日本落叶松土壤细菌多样性最低.对DGGE图谱的聚类分析发现,小陇山不同森林土壤细菌类群分属变形杆菌、噬纤维黄杆菌和高G+C含量革兰氏阳性细菌类,其中分属变形杆菌为主要类群.进一步分析发现,日本落叶松的细菌群落组成具有更高的相似度,说明日本落叶松正在使该地区土壤细菌多样性发生变化.     

外来树种日本落叶松对森林土壤质量及细菌多样性的影响

以甘肃小陇山林区8～30年林龄日本落叶松林(外来树种)、油松林(乡土树种)及次生林为研究对象,研究了不同树种森林的土壤质量和细菌多样性变化.结果表明: 不同树种森林土壤pH无明显变化;林龄越长,土壤含水量越高.土壤总氮与有机质含量以次生林最高,其次为日本落叶松,油松最低.不同林龄森林土壤总氮与有机质含量无明显变化,表明树种是影响土壤质量的主要因素.与 乡土树种油松相比,外来树种日本落叶松显著提高了土壤全氮及土壤有机质含量.变性梯度凝胶电泳(DGGE)图谱显示,次生林土壤细菌多样性最高,而外来树种日本落叶松土壤细菌多样性最低.对DGGE图谱的聚类分析发现,小陇山不同森林土壤细菌类群分属变形杆菌、噬纤维黄杆菌和高G C含量革兰氏阳性细菌类,其中分属变形杆菌为主要类群.进一步分析发现,日本落叶松的细菌群落组成具有更高的相似度,说明日本落叶松正在使该地区土壤细菌多样性发生变化.     

不同主伐方式对兴安落叶松(Larix gmelinii)根际土壤理化性质及微生物群落的影响

对内蒙古根河大兴安岭林区1987年（恢复后期）、2013年（恢复前期）的皆伐与渐伐样地以及未采伐对照样地兴安落叶松的根际土壤理化性质、微生物群落结构和多样性进行了分析,旨在揭示不同主伐方式对兴安落叶松根际土壤理化性质以及微生物群落的影响。结果表明,主伐后兴安落叶松根际土壤的理化性质以及微生物群落的变化特征与非根际土壤存在区别,且不同主伐方式在不同恢复时期会对兴安落叶松根际土壤理化性质以及微生物群落产生不同的影响：（1）根际与非根际土壤微生物群落中真菌均比细菌更容易受到土壤理化性质的影响,但是单一种理化性质的改变对根际与非根际土壤微生物群落均不能造成显著影响。（2）相较于未采伐对照样地,皆伐样地恢复前期兴安落叶松根际土壤理化性质、微生物群落结构和多样性没有显著变化。皆伐样地恢复后期,兴安落叶松根际土壤理化性质（总碳、总氮、速效氮、pH）发生了显著变化,导致了微生物量碳氮、真菌磷脂脂肪酸（PLFA）含量显著降低、细菌/真菌显著升高,辛普森多样性指数显著降低。（3）渐伐样地恢复前期兴安落叶松根际土壤总碳、总氮、速效氮含量以及含水量均显著降低,总钾、速效磷含量显著上升,根际土壤微生物量碳含量显著降低。恢复后期,兴安落叶松根际土壤总磷含量显著升高,根际土壤微生物量碳的含量已恢复到渐伐前水平。渐伐干扰对根际土壤各微生物类群PLFA含量、微生物群落结构以及多样性没有显著影响。     

大兴安岭棕色针叶林土壤的真菌多样性

为探究大兴安岭棕色针叶林土壤的真菌群落分布特征及其与土壤环境因子间的关系,采用高通量测序技术对大兴安岭呼中自然保护区兴安落叶松林的表浅棕色针叶林土、生草棕色针叶林土和典型棕色针叶林土的土壤真菌群落结构和多样性进行分析,运用R语言、SPSS 17.0等软件对土壤真菌群落与土壤环境因子间进行冗余分析和相关性分析.结果表明: 3个亚类的棕色针叶林土壤的理化性质间存在显著性差异.测序共获得6门23纲46目74科88属111种的土壤真菌,其中,子囊菌门、担子菌门为优势菌门;门分类水平上各样地菌群的相对丰度存在显著性差异.土壤真菌Ace和Chao1多样性指数在各亚类土壤间无显著性差异, 浅棕色针叶林土壤样地的Shannon和Simpson指数与其他样地存在显著差异.典型关联分析和相关性分析发现,土壤真菌的α和β多样性与土壤含水率、pH值、有机质、全氮、全钾等显著相关.说明土壤环境因子是影响大兴安岭兴安落叶松棕色针叶林土壤真菌多样性的重要因素.     

城市森林土壤微生物群落结构的季节变化

土壤微生物在森林生态系统中扮演重要的角色,是森林生态系统中物质循环的驱动因素,但目前对于城市森林土壤微生物群落的季节变化及其影响因素研究较少。因此,本研究以东莞城市森林为对象,采用高通量测序方法研究城市森林土壤微生物的季节变化规律及其影响因素。结果表明:土壤微生物群落结构和多样性有显著的季节变化,湿季土壤微生物总数量显著低于干季,但湿季土壤微生物Chao1指数和Shannon指数显著高于干季,湿季细菌和真菌的多样性和菌群结构更为丰富,其中细菌主要通过数量改变适应季节的变化,真菌主要通过数量以及物种组成的改变适应季节变化。土壤有效硼是细菌群落结构的主要影响因子,pH是真菌群落结构的主要影响因子,土壤中交换性钙和交换性镁亦是影响细菌和真菌群落的重要因子。     

环境因子对山西太岳山典型森林类型物种多样性及其功能多样性的影响

该研究采用典型样地法,调查群落内物种分布并测量植物功能性状(叶面积和植株高度),对山西太岳山不同坡位华北落叶松-白桦混交林以及辽东栎次生林物种多样性及其功能多样性进行比较分析,探究环境因子对不同群落层次(乔木、灌木、草本)物种多样性及其功能多样性的影响机制,以及环境因子与群落构建之间的联系,为森林生态系统多样性研究以及经营管理提供理论依据。结果显示:(1)华北落叶松-白桦混交林的物种分布更加均匀,物种多样性和功能多样性(乔木层)均显著高于辽东栎次生林。(2)华北落叶松-白桦混交林乔木层功能均匀度与功能分散指数显著高于辽东栎次生林,但灌木草本层低于辽东栎次生林。(3)不同群落层次的物种多样性与功能多样性均呈正相关关系,影响物种分布和性状分布的环境因子存在差异,物种多样性受多种环境因子的综合影响,而单个环境因子对功能多样性影响较大,环境解释力与林分类型和群落层次相关。(4)乔木层物种多样性主要受土壤pH、冠层结构(MLA、林分开度)以及光照影响,灌木层物种多样性与土壤pH和MLA密切相关,林下总辐射、土壤养分(SOC、STN)、土壤相对含水率是影响草本层物种分布的主要环境因子;冠层结构(MLA、林分开度)是影响乔木层功能多样性最主要的环境因子,土壤pH和坡位分别是华北落叶松-白桦混交林和辽东栎次生林灌木层功能多样性的主要影响因子,影响草本层功能多样性的主要环境因子是土壤相对含水率与LAI。研究表明,在垂直分层的森林生态系统中,不同群落层次竞争的主要环境资源存在差异,乔木层通过改变冠层结构和林内环境限制林下物种分布和性状分布。     

大兴安岭落叶松林不同演替阶段土壤细菌群落结构与功能潜势

采用土壤细菌16S rDNA高通量测序方法研究了大兴安岭汗马自然保护区落叶松林不同演替阶段的土壤细菌群落结构和功能.结果表明: 不同演替阶段落叶松林土壤细菌优势门为变形菌门、酸杆菌门、疣微菌门、拟杆菌门、放线菌门、浮霉菌门和绿弯菌门,随着演替的进行,酸杆菌门相对丰度逐渐增加,绿弯菌门相对丰度逐渐减少,优势门相对丰度在不同演替阶段不同.细菌群落α多样性在不同演替阶段间无显著差异,但其群落结构分别在落叶松幼龄林与中龄林、幼龄林与过熟林、近熟林与成熟林之间存在显著差异.土壤氧化还原电位、土壤pH和有效磷是影响细菌群落结构的主要环境因素,其中土壤氧化还原电位对微生物群落结构影响最大.随着演替的进行,细菌参与的固氮作用、反硝化作用、氨氧化作用、木质素降解作用呈逐渐减弱的趋势,硫酸盐异化还原作用呈先降后升的趋势,碳固定作用呈先升后降的趋势,碱性磷酸酶没有明显的变化规律,影响土壤功能的主要因素有土壤有效磷和氧化还原电位等.     

岩溶区植被和季节对土壤微生物遗传多样性的影响

基于土壤微生物遗传多样性随植被和季节的变化而变化的假设,运用变性梯度凝胶电泳技术(DGGE)检测岩溶区草丛(T)、灌丛(S)、次生林(SF)和原生林(PF)群落演替过程中土壤细菌和真菌群落的遗传多样性及其季节变化.随着地上植被的演替土壤细菌群落具有连续性但优势种群不明显,真菌群落没有连续性但优势种群明显.植被和季节对于细菌和真菌群落的Shannon多样性具有不同程度的显著影响,同时存在显著的植被和季节交互作用.草丛土壤中细菌和真菌群落的Shannon多样性有显著的季节变化(p<0.01);灌丛土壤中仅细菌群落多样性有显著季节变化(p<0.05);而森林土壤中细菌和真菌群落多样性没有显著的季节变化.土壤真菌和细菌多样性具有显著正相关关系.随着地上植被的正向演替,土壤微生物遗传结构逐渐稳定;植被恢复早期阶段,土壤中存在着丰富的微生物遗传多样性,但并不稳定.     

辽东山区典型人工针叶林土壤细菌群落多样性特征

为揭示不同人工林树种对土壤养分和土壤微生物群落的影响,采用Illumina MiSeq高通量测序和OTU分析法比较辽东山区白石砬子自然保护区落叶松人工林(LGe)和红松人工林(PKe),以及辽宁省森林经营研究所实验林场落叶松人工林(LGd)和红松人工林(PKd)土壤细菌群落结构的差异,同时测定土壤理化性质,探讨土壤细菌群落结构、树种和土壤环境因子的相关性。研究结果表明:(1) LGe和PKe土壤全碳、全氮和碱解氮的含量无显著差异,LGd显著高于PKd。(2)从群落组成来看,该地区落叶松和红松人工林中土壤主要由34个门类群的菌群组成,优势菌群包括变形菌门、放线菌门、酸杆菌门、绿弯菌门、疣微菌门和芽单胞菌门。(3)从群落结构来看,LGe和PKe土壤细菌的多样性和丰富度指数无显著差异,PKd的多样性指数显著极高于LGd,丰富度指数无显著差异,且Metastats分析结果表明,较LGd和PKd相比,LGe和PKe在门水平和属水平上显著差异的个数较少,表现为趋同性。(4)优势细菌类群相对丰度和土壤理化性质的RDA和相关性分析表明,土壤p H、全氮、碱解氮的含量以及C/N是本区针叶林细菌群落结构的主要影响因子。综合分析表明,在保护区选择单一树种落叶松或红松造林对改善土壤养分及优化微土壤细菌群落结构无显著差异,而在实验林场选择落叶松更有利于提高土壤肥力。     

季节性冻结初期川西亚高山/高山森林土壤细菌多样性

高山/亚高山显著的季节性冻结过程可能对土壤细菌多样性产生重要影响。为了解季节性冻结初期土壤完全冻结前后川西亚高山/高山森林群落土壤细菌多样性变化特征,于2008年11月5日(土壤冻结前期)—11月25日(土壤完全冻结期)期间,采用PCR-DGGE技术同步研究了原始冷杉(Abies faxoniana)林(PF)、针阔混交林(MF)和次生冷杉林(SF)的土壤细菌群落多样性变化特征。土壤完全冻结后,3个森林群落仍然具有较高的土壤细菌多样性。3个森林的土壤细菌类群总数在土壤冻结前表现为MFSFPF,但在土壤完全冻结后表现为PFMFSF。土壤冻结明显降低了土壤细菌多样性,但提高了土壤细菌群落的优势度。冻结作用对土壤细菌群落的影响随着土壤深度增加而降低,随着海拔升高而降低。这些结果表明季节性冻结过程对亚高山/高山森林土壤细菌多样性有着显著的影响,这对深入认识冬季土壤生态过程具有重要意义。     

Soil acidification mediates changes in soil bacterial community assembly processes in response to agricultural intensification

Agricultural intensification is known to alter the assembly of soil microbial communities, which regulate several critical ecosystem processes. However, the underlying ecological processes driving changes in microbial community assembly, particularly at the regional scale, remain poorly understood. Using 16S rDNA sequencing, we characterized soil bacterial community assembly in three land-use types with increasing land-use intensity: open fields cultivated with main crops (CF) or vegetables (VF), and greenhouses cultivated with vegetables (VG). Compared with CF, VF and VG altered bacterial community composition and decreased spatial turnover rates of edaphic variables and bacterial communities. Bacterial community assembly was primarily governed by deterministic processes; however, bacterial communities in VF and VG were phylogenetically less clustered and more influenced by variable selection and less by dispersal limitation. Soil pH was the most important edaphic variable mediating the changes in bacterial community assembly processes induced by agricultural intensification. Specifically, decreasing soil pH led to stochastic assembly of bacterial community. Soil pH was lower in more intensively managed lands, especially in case of VG (pH range: 5.86–7.42). Overall, agricultural intensification altered soil bacterial community assembly processes, which was associated with soil acidification. These findings may have implications for improving soil quality and agroecosystem sustainability.     

Biogeographic responses and niche occupancy of microbial communities following long-term land-use change

Understanding the effects of forest-to-agriculture conversion on microbial diversity has been a major goal in soil ecological studies. However, linking community assembly to the ruling ecological processes at local and regional scales remains challenging. Here, we evaluated bacterial community assembly patterns and the ecological processes governing niche specialization in a gradient of geography, seasonality, and land-use change, totaling 324 soil samples, 43 habitat characteristics (abiotic factors), and 16 metabolic and co-occurrence patterns (biotic factors), in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, a subtropical biome recognized as one the world’s largest and most threatened hotspots of biodiversity. Pairwise beta diversities were lower in pastures than in forest and no-till soils. Pasture communities showed a predominantly neutral model, regarding stochastic processes, with moderate dispersion, leading to biotic homogenization. Most no-till and forest microbial communities followed a niche-based model, with low rates of dispersal and weak homogenizing selection, indicating niche specialization or variable selection. Historical and evolutionary contingencies, as represented by soil type, season, and dispersal limitation were the main drivers of microbial assembly and processes at the local scale, markedly correlated with the occurrence of endemic microbes. Our results indicate that the patterns of assembly and their governing processes are dependent on the niche occupancy of the taxa evaluated (generalists or specialists). They are also more correlated with historical and evolutionary contingencies and the interactions among taxa (i.e., co-occurrence patterns) than the land-use change itself.

     

Mechanisms of soil bacterial and fungal community assembly differ among and within islands

The study of islands has made substantial contributions to the development of evolutionary and ecological theory. However, we know little about microbial community assembly on islands. Using soil microbial data collected from 29 lake islands and nearby mainland, we examined the assembly mechanisms of soil bacterial and fungal communities among and within islands. We found that deterministic processes, especially homogeneous selection, tended to be more important in shaping the assembly of soil bacterial communities among islands, while stochastic processes tended to be more important within islands. Moreover, increasing island area increased the importance of homogeneous selection, but reduced the importance of variable selection, for soil bacterial community assembly within islands. By contrast, stochastic processes tended to dominate soil fungal community assembly both among and within islands, with dispersal limitation playing a more important role within than among islands. Our results highlight the scale- and taxon-dependence of insular soil microbial community assembly, suggesting that spatial scale should be explicitly considered when evaluating the influences of habitat fragmentation on soil microbial communities.     

贺兰山不同海拔典型植被带土壤微生物多样性

土壤微生物多样性在海拔梯度的分布格局研究近年来受到和植物动物一样的重视程度,但是干旱风沙区微生物多样性在海拔梯度上的多样性分布规律尚未揭示。本研究以处于干旱风沙区的贺兰山不同海拔的六个典型植被带（荒漠草原带、山地旱生灌丛带、温性针叶林带、针阔混交林带、寒温性针叶林带和亚高山草甸带）土壤为研究对象,利用Biolog微平板法和磷脂脂肪酸甲酯法(FAMEs)系统研究微生物多样性群落特征以及在不同植被带分布规律。结果表明：土壤微生物功能多样性随海拔增加发生变化,且微生物群落结构存在显著差异。Biolog分析显示土壤微生物群落代谢活性依次是：亚高山草甸>寒温性针叶林>针阔混交林>温性针叶林>山地旱生灌丛>荒漠草原,随海拔的升高土壤微生物群落物种丰富度指数（H）和均匀度指数（E）总体上均表现出增大的趋势,差异显著（P＜0.05）;FAMEs分析表明不同海拔的微生物区系发生了一定程度的变化,寒温性针叶林土壤微生物磷酸脂肪酸生物标记的数量和种类均最高,且细菌、真菌特征脂肪酸相对含量也最高;土壤微生物群落结构多样性次序是：寒温性针叶林带>针阔混交林带>温性针叶林带>亚高山草甸>山地旱生灌丛>荒漠草原。本研究结果表明贺兰山海拔梯度的微生物多样性分布规律不同于已有的植物多样性“中部膨胀”研究结果,这说明在高海拔地区有更多的适合该生境的微生物存在,这对维持干旱风沙区的生态系统功能稳定性具有重要意义。     

亚高山森林生态系统过程研究进展

亚高山森林是以冷、云杉属为建群种或优势种的暗针叶林为主体的森林植被。亚高山森林在庇护邻近脆弱生态系统、保育生物多样性、涵养水源、碳吸存和指示全球气候变化等方面具有十分重要且不可替代的作用和地位,其多样化的植被和土壤组合为研究生态系统过程提供了天然的实验室。亚高山森林的群落演替与更新、生物多样性保育、水文生态过程、生物元素的生物地球化学循环以及亚高山森林生态过程对气候变化的响应等研究已取得了明显的进展。但有关全球变化条件下的亚高山森林土壤生物多样性和冬季生态学过程等研究明显不足。全球气候变化背景下的冬季生态学过程、极端灾害事件对亚高山森林生态系统过程的影响、亚高山森林生物多样性的保育机制、亚高山森林土壤生物多样性与生态系统过程的耦合机制等可能是未来研究的前沿科学问题。     

Dispersal limitation and the assembly of soil Actinobacteria communities in a long-term chronosequence

It is uncertain whether the same ecological forces that structure plant and animal communities also shape microbial communities, especially those residing in soil. We sought to uncover the relative importance of present-day environmental characteristics, climatic variation, and historical contingencies in shaping soil actinobacterial communities in a long-term chronosequence. Actinobacteria communities were characterized in surface soil samples from four replicate forest stands with nearly identical edaphic and ecological properties, which range from 9500 to 14,000 years following glacial retreat in Michigan. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) profiles and clone libraries of the actinobacterial 16S rRNA gene were constructed in each site for phenetic and phylogenetic analysis to determine whether dispersal limitation occurred following glacial retreat, or if community composition was determined by environmental heterogeneity. At every level of examination, actinobacterial community composition most closely correlated with distance, a surrogate for time, than with biogeochemical, plant community, or climatic characteristics. Despite correlation with leaf litter C:N and annual temperature, the significant and consistent relationship of biological communities with time since glacial retreat provides evidence that dispersal limitation is an ecological force structuring actinobacterial communities in soil over long periods of time.     

Life history determines biogeographical patterns of soil bacterial communities over multiple spatial scales

The extent to which the distribution of soil bacteria is controlled by local environment vs. spatial factors (e.g. dispersal, colonization limitation, evolutionary events) is poorly understood and widely debated. Our understanding of biogeographic controls in microbial communities is likely hampered by the enormous environmental variability encountered across spatial scales and the broad diversity of microbial life histories. Here, we constrained environmental factors (soil chemistry, climate, above‐ground plant community) to investigate the specific influence of space, by fitting all other variables first, on bacterial communities in soils over distances from m to 10² km. We found strong evidence for a spatial component to bacterial community structure that varies with scale and organism life history (dispersal and survival ability). Geographic distance had no influence over community structure for organisms known to have survival stages, but the converse was true for organisms thought to be less hardy. Community function (substrate utilization) was also shown to be highly correlated with community structure, but not to abiotic factors, suggesting nonstochastic determinants of community structure are important Our results support the view that bacterial soil communities are constrained by both edaphic factors and geographic distance and further show that the relative importance of such constraints depends critically on the taxonomic resolution used to evaluate spatio‐temporal patterns of microbial diversity, as well as life history of the groups being investigated, much as is the case for macro‐organisms.     

Relationships between temperature responses and bacterial community structure along seasonal and altitudinal gradients

In this study, soil bacterial communities and the temperature responses (Q10) of substrate-induced respiration were compared between an alpine dry meadow and a subalpine forest in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Bacterial communities in three seasons from each environment were described with 16S rRNA gene clone libraries. The main goal of this comparison was to relate phylogenetic differences among bacterial communities with variation in soil respiratory temperature sensitivities along seasonal and altitudinal gradients. The warmer, lower elevation, subalpine forest soil exhibited large seasonal variations in Q10. Subalpine Q10 values were highest in summer, and were higher than alpine values in all seasons except winter. Q10 in alpine soils were consistently low throughout the year. Alpine and subalpine bacterial communities both varied seasonally, and were markedly distinct from each other. Based on Fst analysis, subalpine communities from colder times of year were more similar to the alpine communities than were subalpine summer communities. Principle component analysis of the pairwise genetic distances (Fst) between communities produced two factors that accounted for 69% and 22% of the total variance in the data set. These factors demonstrated a significant relationship between bacterial community structure and temperature response when regressed on log-transformed Q10 data.     

Soil Properties and Spatial Processes Influence Bacterial Metacommunities within a Grassland Restoration Experiment

Metacommunity theory proposes that a collection of local communities are linked by dispersal and the resulting compositions are a product of both niche‐based (species sorting) and spatial processes. Determining which of these factors is most important in different habitats can provide insight into the regulation of community assembly. To date, the metacommunity organization of heterotrophic soil bacteria is largely unknown. Spatial variation of soil bacterial communities could arise from (1) the resource heterogeneity produced by plant communities through root exudation and/or litter inputs; (2) the heterogeneity of soil environmental properties; and (3) pure spatial processes, including dispersal limitation and stochastic assembly. Understanding the relative importance of these factors for soil bacterial community structure and function could increase our ability to restore soil communities. We utilized an ongoing tallgrass prairie restoration experiment in northeastern Kansas to assess if restoring native plant communities produced changes in bacterial communities 6 years after restoration. We further examined the relative importance of the spatial heterogeneity of plant communities, soil properties, and pure spatial effects for bacterial community structure in the old‐field restoration site. We found that soil bacterial communities were not influenced by plant restoration, but rather, by the local heterogeneity of soil environmental properties (16.9% of bacterial community variation) and pure spatial effects (11.1%). This work also stresses the idea that restoring bacterial communities can take many years to accomplish due to the inherent changes that occur to the soil after cultivation and the time it takes for the re‐establishment of soil quality.     

The scale dependence of fungal community distribution in paddy soil driven by stochastic and deterministic processes

Fungal communities play important roles in terrestrial ecosystem functioning. Unraveling the relative importance of stochastic versus deterministic processes in shaping biogeographic patterns of fungal communities has long been a challenge in microbial ecology, owing to high biodiversity and difficulties in identifying fungal taxa. Using a unique anthropogenic system of geographically isolated paddy ‘islands’, we collected 198 soil samples with a spatially explicit design to examine how ecological processes shaped fungal biogeographic patterns. Fungal community structure showed scale-dependent distance-decay relationships. Stochastic processes (dispersal and drift) contributed more to community assembly than deterministic processes (selection) at the local scale, which was largely attributed to drift. In contrast, deterministic processes contributed more to community assembly than stochastic processes at the regional scale, with soil dissolved organic carbon being the most important measured factor. Collectively, scale dependence of fungal biogeographical patterns in paddy soils is influenced by differential contribution of deterministic and stochastic processes.