水分条件变化对土壤微生物的影响及其响应机制研究进展

土壤微生物在维持陆地生态系统服务中扮演着重要的角色.土壤水分条件是影响微生物活性与生态系统功能的重要因素之一,全球气候变化所引起的极端干旱与降雨必将加速土壤水分的剧烈变化.由于不同土壤微生物对干旱胁迫的耐受性不同及其对水分变化的响应差异,使得土壤水分条件变化直接改变了土壤微生物活性与群落结构,进而对微生物介导的关键过程与土壤生态系统功能造成深刻的影响.因此,全面深入地理解水分条件变化下土壤微生物群落的结构变化特征与响应机制具有重要意义.本文在总结土壤水分条件变化对土壤微生物活性(土壤呼吸与酶活性)和微生物群落结构的影响的基础上,进一步阐述了土壤微生物对干旱胁迫与水分条件变化的响应机制和生态学策略,包括: 1)积累胞内溶质、产生胞外聚合物、进入休眠状态等应对干旱胁迫的细胞生理策略;2)微生物之间、微生物与植物之间相关抗逆性基因的转移及土壤微生物群落的功能冗余等应对水分变化的微生物机制.研究水分条件变化下土壤微生物群落结构及生态系统功能之间的内在联系,不仅有助于进一步剖析微生物介导的土壤生态过程,而且能够为今后陆地生态系统对气候变化的响应研究和模型预测提供理论依据.

Effects of changes in water status on soil microbes and their response mechanism: A review

Soil microbes play essential roles in maintaining terrestrial ecosystem services. Soil moisture is a primary determinant of soil microbial activities and ecosystem functions, which may fluctuate dramatically with the altered precipitation patterns and extreme drought caused by the ongoing global climate change. Due to the distinct soil microbial tolerance and life-strategy approaches to drought stress and different water status, fluctuation of soil moisture has a direct impact on microbial activities and community structure, thereby profoundly affecting microbial-mediated processes and ecosystem functions. Thus, it is of great significance to understand the dynamics and mechanisms that underlie the microbial responses to soil water status. In this review, we summarized recent progress in the study of responses of soil microbial activities (e.g. soil respiration and enzyme activities) and community structure to soil water status. We summarized underlying microbial physiological and ecological mechanisms, particularly 1) the cellular physiological accommodation such as osmolyte accumulation, exopolysaccharide production and transition into dormant states, and 2) the ecological strategies such as stress-resistant gene transfer and functional redundancy. Therefore, this investigation on the underlying relationship between soil microbial assembly and ecosystem functions under different water status could further demonstrate the microbially-mediated soil biogeochemical processes and provide a theoretical basis for future research and modelling of terrestrial ecosystem responses to climate change.