Microbial communities and activities in alpine and subalpine soils

Soil samples were collected along two slopes (south and north) at subalpine (1500–1900 m, under closed vegetation, up to the forest line) and alpine altitudes (2300–2530, under scattered vegetation, above the forest line) in the Grossglockner mountain area (Austrian central Alps). Soils were analyzed for a number of properties, including physical and chemical soil properties, microbial activity and microbial communities that were investigated using culture-dependent (viable heterotrophic bacteria) and culture-independent methods (phospholipid fatty acid analysis, FISH). Alpine soils were characterized by significantly ( P <0.01) colder climate conditions, i.e. lower mean annual air and soil temperatures, more frost and ice days and higher precipitation, compared with subalpine soils. Microbial activity (soil dehydrogenase activity) decreased with altitude; however, dehydrogenase activity was better adapted to cold in alpine soils compared with subalpine soils, as shown by the lower apparent optimum temperature for activity (30 vs. 37 °C) and the significantly ( P <0.01–0.001) higher relative activity in the low-temperature range. With increasing altitude, i.e. in alpine soils, a significant ( P <0.05–0.01) increase in the relative amount of culturable psychrophilic heterotrophic bacteria, in the relative amount of the fungal population and in the relative amount of Gram-negative bacteria was found, which indicates shifts in microbial community composition with altitude.     

Adaptation of microbial activities to the environmental conditions in alpine soils

Summary The adaptation of soil microorganisms to different environmental conditions was investigated in the Austrian Central Alps (Hohe. Tauern). The floristic composition of the soil fungi at different sites was determined and the CO₂-release from soils taken from different altitudes was measured at different temperatures. The results showed a decreasing diversity of soil fungi with increasing altitude and a change in the dominating species at different altitudes and/or with vegetation patterns. The relative rates of CO₂-release from soils from different altitudes did not differ at different incubation temperatures. It was concluded that, among soil fungi the selection of species is a more effective mechanism for the adaption to changed environmental conditions than metabolic adaptations.This study was supported in part by the Österreichische MaB-Hochgebirgsprogramm Hohe TauernDedicated to Dr. K.F. Springer     

Soil warming alters microbial substrate use in alpine soils

Will warming lead to an increased use of older soil organic carbon (SOC) by microbial communities, thereby inducing C losses from C‐rich alpine soils? We studied soil microbial community composition, activity, and substrate use after 3 and 4 years of soil warming (+4 °C, 2007–2010) at the alpine treeline in Switzerland. The warming experiment was nested in a free air CO₂ enrichment experiment using depleted ¹³CO₂ (δ¹³C = ?30‰, 2001–2009). We traced this depleted ¹³C label in phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) of the organic layer (0–5 cm soil depth) and in C mineralized from root‐free soils to distinguish substrate ages used by soil microorganisms: fixed before 2001 (‘old’), from 2001 to 2009 (‘new’) or in 2010 (‘recent’). Warming induced a sustained stimulation of soil respiration (+38%) without decline in mineralizable SOC. PLFA concentrations did not reveal changes in microbial community composition due to soil warming, but soil microbial metabolic activity was stimulated (+66%). Warming decreased the amount of new and recent C in the fungal biomarker 18:2ω6,9 and the amount of new C mineralized from root‐free soils, implying a shift in microbial substrate use toward a greater use of old SOC. This shift in substrate use could indicate an imbalance between C inputs and outputs, which could eventually decrease SOC storage in this alpine ecosystem.     

Mineralization responses at near-zero temperatures in three alpine soils

Cold-season processes are known to contribute substantially to annual carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) budgets in continental high elevation and high-latitude soils, but their role in more temperate alpine ecosystems has seldom been characterized. We used a 4-month lab incubation to describe temperature (−2, 0, 5°C) and moisture [50, 90% water-holding capacity (WHC)] effects on soil C and N dynamics in two wet and one dry meadow soil from the Sierra Nevada, California. The soils varied in their capacity to process N at and below 0°C. Only the dry meadow soil mineralized N at −2°C, but the wet meadow soils switched from net N consumption at −2°C to net N mineralization at temperatures ≥0°C. When the latter soils were incubated at −2°C at either moisture level (50 or 90% WHC), net NO₃ ⁻ production decreased even as NH₄ ⁺ continued to accumulate. The same pattern occurred in saturated (90% WHC) soils at warmer temperatures (≥0°C), suggesting that dissimilatory processes could control N cycling in these soils when they are frozen.     

Bioremediation of diesel-oil-contaminated alpine soils at low temperatures

Bioremediation of two diesel-oil-contaminated alpine subsoils, differing in soil type and bedrock, was investigated in laboratory experiments at 10 °C after supplementation with an inorganic fertilizer. Initial diesel oil contamination of 4000 mg kg⁻¹ soil dry matter (dm) was reduced to 380–400 mg kg⁻¹ dm after 155 days of incubation. In both soils, about 30 % of the diesel oil contamination (1200 mg kg⁻¹ dm) was eliminated by abiotic processes. The residual decontamination (60 %–65 %) could be attributed to microbial degradation activities. In both soils, the addition of a cold-adapted diesel-oil-degrading inoculum enhanced biodegradation rates only slightly and temporarily. From C/N and N/P ratios (determined by measuring the contents of total hydrocarbons, NH₄ ⁺ N, NO₃ ⁻ N and PO₄ ³⁻ P) of soils␣it could be deduced that there was no nutrient deficiency during the whole incubation period. Soil biological activities (basal respiration and dehydrogenase activity) corresponded to the course of biodegradation activities in the soils. Received: 9 September 1996 / Accepted: 7 December 1996     

Methanogenic archaea are globally ubiquitous in aerated soils and become active under wet anoxic conditions

The prototypical representatives of the Euryarchaeota—the methanogens—are oxygen sensitive and are thought to occur only in highly reduced, anoxic environments. However, we found methanogens of the genera Methanosarcina and Methanocella to be present in many types of upland soils (including dryland soils) sampled globally. These methanogens could be readily activated by incubating the soils as slurry under anoxic conditions, as seen by rapid methane production within a few weeks, without any additional carbon source. Analysis of the archaeal 16S ribosomal RNA gene community profile in the incubated samples through terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and quantification through quantitative PCR indicated dominance of Methanosarcina, whose gene copy numbers also correlated with methane production rates. Analysis of the δ¹³C of the methane further supported this, as the dominant methanogenic pathway was in most cases aceticlastic, which Methanocella cannot perform. Sequences of the key methanogenic enzyme methyl coenzyme M reductase retrieved from the soil samples before incubation confirmed that Methanosarcina and Methanocella are the dominant methanogens, though some sequences of Methanobrevibacter and Methanobacterium were also detected. The global occurrence of only two active methanogenic archaea supports the hypothesis that these are autochthonous members of the upland soil biome and are well adapted to their environment.     

高寒灌丛生长季根际和非根际土壤多酚氧化酶和过氧化氢酶活性对增温的响应

研究青藏高原东部窄叶鲜卑花高寒灌丛生长季根际和非根际土壤多酚氧化酶和过氧化氢酶活性对增温(1.3 ℃)的响应,分析全球气候变暖对高寒灌丛根际土壤生态过程的影响.结果表明:生长季中期根际和非根际土壤多酚氧化酶活性显著高于生长季初期和末期;而土壤过氧化氢酶活性在非根际土壤中随生长季节逐步提高,在根际土壤中没有表现出明显的季节变化.在非根际土壤中,增温使生长季末期土壤多酚氧化酶活性和生长季中期土壤过氧化氢酶活性显著提高17.5%和2.2%,而在其他时期对2种土壤酶活性没有显著影响.而在根际土壤中,增温仅在生长季初期使土壤多酚氧化酶和过氧化氢酶活性显著提高6.5%和1.3%.在整个生长季,土壤多酚氧化酶活性均表现为正根际效应,土壤过氧化氢酶活性的根际效应不明显,而增温仅在生长季末期使土壤多酚氧化酶活性的根际效应显著降低15.2%.这表明,未来气候变暖背景下青藏高原东部高寒灌丛生态系统根际与非根际土壤多酚氧化酶和过氧化氢酶活性将发生不同的变化,进而影响高寒灌丛根际土壤生态过程.     

川西高山林线交错带凋落物纤维素分解酶活性研究

以川西高山林线交错带3种典型植被类型(针叶林、高山灌丛、高山草甸)下两个层次(LF层: 新鲜凋落物层和发酵层; H层: 腐殖质层)的凋落物为研究对象, 分别模拟凋落物分解的前期和后期阶段, 对凋落物分解过程中的纤维素酶活性及凋落物质量进行了研究。结果表明, 凋落物分解前期的纤维素酶活性和纤维素含量均显著高于分解后期, 但植被类型对LF和H层的纤维素含量的影响都不显著。双因素方差分析结果表明, 凋落物分解阶段对纤维素酶活性和纤维素含量的影响比植被类型对纤维素酶活性和纤维素含量的影响更大。不同种类的纤维素酶活性在分解前期和分解后期受到不同因子的限制。凋落物分解前期, 微晶纤维素酶和β-葡萄糖苷酶活性可能受N、P含量的限制, 而羧甲基纤维素酶主要受底物纤维素含量控制; 凋落物分解后期, 羧甲基纤维素酶和β-葡萄糖苷酶可能受C、N含量的限制。生态化学计量学的理论预测, 底物质量比C:N > 27或C:P > 186时会限制微生物生长, 因此判断高山林线交错带凋落物微生物生物量和纤维素酶活性同时受到底物N、P的限制, 尤其是高山草甸上微生物生物量在凋落物分解前期受到底物N、P的限制比分解后期更显著, 这充分说明了底物质量调控着凋落物分解过程中的纤维素酶活性和微生物生物量。     

Field studies of nitrogen fixation of Australian alpine plants and soils

Alpine grassland areas in Victoria and New South Wales have been subjected to summer grazing by cattle and sheep for well over a hundred years. Legumes other than a few species of shrubs, which provide a very small percentage of the vegetation cover in the grasslands, are absent. Other alpine communities include Sphagnum ‘mossbeds’ in the valleys and areas of snowgum woodland and shrubland. Virtually nothing is known of the mineral status of these communities and nothing of their nitrogen economy. On the Bogong High Plains, enclosure of grassland and of Sphagnum mossbeds from grazing and trampling has resulted, in the last few decades, in considerable changes in both cover and composition of the vegetation. A portable gas chromatogram was used to carry out determinations of the capacity of samples of the grassland and Sphagnum to support acetylene reduction to ethylene, by convention equated to a capacity to fix nitrogen. There appears to be a substantial capacity for acetylene reduction associated with the rhizosphere of the grasses (Poa australis agg.). The capacity of the Sphagnum for acetylene reduction is even greater and appears to be due to facultative anaerobes, abundant only in the upper, living part of the Sphagnum. These organisms may depend in part on leakage of photosynthate from the living Sphagnum. Associations of Sphagnum with blue-green algae appear to be unusual in contrast with work on Swedish subarctic mosses, which is discussed. The only non-leguminous Australian alpine plant so far examined for nitrogen fixation is Podocarpus lawrencei. A capacity for acetylene reduction was found for neither the nodules of the roots of this plant nor the associated soils.     

Enzymology under global change: organic nitrogen turnover in alpine and sub-Arctic soils

Understanding global change impacts on the globally important carbon storage in alpine, Arctic and sub-Arctic soils requires knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the balance between plant primary productivity and decomposition. Given that nitrogen availability limits both processes, understanding the response of the soil nitrogen cycle to shifts in temperature and other global change factors is crucial for predicting the fate of cold biome carbon stores. Measurements of soil enzyme activities at different positions of the nitrogen cycling network are an important tool for this purpose. We review a selection of studies that provide data on potential enzyme activities across natural, seasonal and experimental gradients in cold biomes. Responses of enzyme activities to increased nitrogen availability and temperature are diverse and seasonal dynamics are often larger than differences due to experimental treatments, suggesting that enzyme expression is regulated by a combination of interacting factors reflecting both nutrient supply and demand. The extrapolation from potential enzyme activities to prediction of elemental nitrogen fluxes under field conditions remains challenging. Progress in molecular '-omics' approaches may eventually facilitate deeper understanding of the links between soil microbial community structure and biogeochemical fluxes. In the meantime, accounting for effects of the soil spatial structure and in situ variations in pH and temperature, better mapping of the network of enzymatic processes and the identification of rate-limiting steps under different conditions should advance our ability to predict nitrogen fluxes.     

Pools and composition of soils in the alpine zone of the Tatra Mountains

The basic physical, chemical, and biochemical properties of mountain soils were determined in alpine-zone meadow and moraine areas of the Tatra Mountains (Slovakia, Poland) in 2000–2001. The amount of soil (dry weight soil < 2 mm) varied from 38 to 255 kg m^?2 (average of 121 kg m^?2) in alpine meadows and averaged 13 kg m^?2 in moraine areas. Concentration of organic C was the parameter that most strongly and positively correlated with N, P, S, effective cation exchange capacity (CEC), exchangeable base cations, exchangeable acidity, and all biochemical parameters (C, N, and P in microbial biomass and C mineralisation rates). The relationship between C and P was less straightforward due to inorganic P forms associated with Fe and Al oxides. The average pools of C, N, P, and S, were respectively 696, 41, 2.9, and 1.9 mol m^?2 (i.e., 84, 5.7, 0.91 and 0.61 t ha^?1) in meadow soils, and 38, 2.1, 0.45 and 0.12 mol m^?2 (i.e., 4.5, 0.30, 0.14 and 0.04 t ha^?1) in moraine areas. Soil pH was generally low, with the lowest pH_{H 2 O} values (3.8–4.9) in the A-horizons. Average pools of CEC were 12 and 0.7 eq m^?2 in meadows and moraine areas, respectively. The base saturation (BS) was 4–45% (12% on average) of CEC, and was primarily based on Ca²⁺ and K⁺ (～40% and ～22% of BS, respectively). C:N molar ratios (14–20) were only slightly lower than those observed in the alpine Tatra Mountain zone ～40 years ago. Concentrations of C, N, and P in soil microbial biomass were high (on average 1.6, 3.4, and 25% of total C, N, and P concentrations), suggesting high microbial activity in alpine soils.     

植被退化对滇西北高寒草地土壤微生物群落的影响

【目的】在同尺度下比较我国滇西北高寒草地土壤(GS)及其退化土壤(DGS)中细菌和真菌群落,研究植被退化对高寒草地土壤微生物群落的影响,并探索其环境驱动因子。【方法】分别以16SrRNA基因和ITS基因作为细菌和真菌分子生态学分析的靶标基因,采用定量PCR法测定基因数量来表征微生物群落丰度,采用Illumina Hiseq测序及生物信息学分析研究土壤微生物群落组成和群落结构。【结果】草地退化后,土壤pH值显著上升0.65个单位,土壤水分、总有机碳、可溶性氮含量和C/N比分别显著下降了18.4%、67.5%、47.2%和71.2%;草地退化显著降低了土壤细菌和真菌群落丰度,降低幅度分别为92.4%和94.9%;草地退化没有影响土壤细菌和真菌群落α-多样性,但显著改变了细菌和真菌群落β-多样性(群落结构);草地退化改变了土壤细菌和真菌在OTU水平上的物种组成,土壤真菌OTU种类变化更为显著;草地退化没有影响土壤细菌在门水平上的群落组成,但改变了细菌在纲水平上的群落组成(如Acidimicrobiia、Betaproteobacteria、Chloroplast等);草地退化没有影响土壤真菌在门水平和纲水平上的群落组成。【结论】本研究发现植被退化后滇西北高寒草地土壤质量显著降低,寄居在土壤中的微生物群落丰度也显著降低、微生物群落结构明显改变。     

Methanogenic bacteria in mangrove sediments

The occurrence of methanogenic bacteria in the Kodiakkarai (10° 18 N; 79° 52 E) mangrove sediments, whereAvicennia spp are predominant, was studied. Trimethylamine under N₂:CO₂ (80:20% v/v) was used as the substrate. Most Probable Number (MPN) of methanogenic bacteria was determined for a period of one year from July 1987 to June 1988 with monthly sampling. The methanogenic bacterial populations were found to be at the maximum of 1.1 × 10⁵ MPN gm^–1 of wet sediment during August 1987 and from February to June 1988. The bacterial numbers were found to decrease during October to December 1987 with a minimal value of 3.6 × 10² MPN gm^–1 during December 1987. Environmental factors were correlated with the methanogenic bacterial population.     

退化高寒草甸土壤微生物及酶活性特征

采用Biolog等方法,分析不同退化程度(未退化ND、轻度退化LD、中度退化MD、重度退化SD和黑土滩ED)高寒草甸0～10和10～20 cm土层土壤微生物量碳氮、碳代谢指纹和酶活性.结果表明: 所有草甸土壤微生物量、多样性指数和蔗糖酶活性在0～10 cm土层均显著高于10～20 cm土层,0～10 cm土层脲酶活性则显著低于10～20 cm土层.土壤微生物量C/N随草地退化程度加重显著降低.0～10 cm土层,ND和LD微生物量碳、氮均显著高于其他草地,MD、SD和ED微生物量碳无显著差异,MD微生物量氮显著低于其他草地;平均颜色变化率(AWCD)和McIntosh指数(U)随草地退化程度加重曲线下降,ND与MD间差异显著,其他草地间无显著差异;Shannon指数(H)和Simpson指数(D)在不同草地间均无显著差异;MD和SD脲酶活性最高,ED磷酸酶和蔗糖酶活性最低,与其他草地相比均差异显著.10～20 cm土层,ND和LD微生物量碳显著高于其他草地,MD、SD和ED间无显著差异,LD和ED微生物量氮显著高于其他草地,ND和SD间差异不显著;MD碳代谢指数最低,与LD和SD相比差异显著,ND和LD的AWCD和U指数均显著高于ED,H指数和D指数在ND、LD、SD和ED间差异不显著;ND和MD脲酶活性显著高于其他草地,LD、SD和ED间无显著差异;MD磷酸酶活性最高,与LD、SD和ED相比差异显著;MD蔗糖酶活性显著低于其他草地,ND、LD、SD和ED间差异不显著.不同退化程度高寒草地的地下生物量均与微生物量、碳代谢指数和磷酸酶呈显著正相关;脲酶与微生物量氮、H指数和D指数呈显著负相关.     

铜尾矿污染区土壤酶活性研究

对浙江省哩浦铜尾矿污染区土壤酶活性进行了研究,结果表明,尾矿区及其周边土壤环境受到不同程度的Cu、Zn、Pb、Cd污染,从尾矿库中心到外围重金属污染程度逐渐减轻,而土壤酶活性则不断提高,其中以脱氢酶和脲酶活性增加最明显,回归分析表明,单一脱氢酶、脲酶、酸性磷酸酶以及蛋白酶活性与重金属复合元素含量之间存在显著线性关系,主成分分析结果显示,尾矿区土壤酶信息系统的第一、二主成分方差贡献率之和达98．24％,以第一、二主成分建立了两个土壤总体酶活性指标,并用此指标对各供试样本进行空间分类,其结果与以重金属含量为依据的划分结果基本吻合,可见,采用酶活性构筑的土壤信息系统的总体酶活性来表征矿区土壤的重金属污染状况是可行的。     

Effect of plant waste on the biomass and abundance of micromycetes in alpine soils

Examination of the total biomass of soil micromycetes and their abundance in four soil types in the Furkota Valley (High Tatra Mountains) modified by adding plant waste at 1 and 5% revealed the following. The effect of the addition of organic matter was manifested by increased values of both the total biomass of soil micromycetes and their abundance. The highest values were always detected in soils to which the waste was added at 5%. The effect of organic matter was most pronounced during the first phase of the experiment (from the beginning of the experiment up to 2–3 months). A gradual exhaustion of nutrients and energy resulted in decreased values.     

Fluxes of nitrous oxide and methane from nitrogen-amended soils in a Colorado alpine ecosystem

In order to determine the effect of increased nitrogen inputs on fluxed of N₂O and CH₄ from alpine soils, we measured fluxes of these gases from fertilized and unfertilized soils in wet and dry alpine meadows. In the dry meadow, the addition of nitrogen resulted in a 22-fold increase in N₂O emissions, while in the wet meadow, we observed a 45-fold increase in N₂O emission rates. CH₄ uptake in the dry meadow was reduced 52% by fertilization; however, net CH₄ production occurred in all the wet meadow plots and emission rates were not significantly affected by fertilization. Net nitrification rates in the dry meadow were higher in fertilized plots than in non-fertilized plots throughout the growing season; net mineralization rates in fertilized dry meadow pots were higher than those in non-fertilized plots during the latter half of the growing season.     

Methanogenic pathways in Methanosphaera stadtmanae

Methanosphaera stadtmanae reduces methanol to CH4 in a similar way as Methanosarcina barkeri. Low activities of 5,10-methylenetetrahydromethanopterin dehydrogenase (MTDH) and reductase (MTR) were found. From studies on formaldehyde oxidation and reduction it was concluded that most likely the inability to reduce CO2 to CH4 was due to the lack of an active or the presence of an inactive CO2 reductase system and methyltetrahydromethanopterin (methyl-H4MPT): coenzyme M methyltransferase. Methanofuran was not detected, while the presence of a pterin, analogous to H4MPT, could be substantiated from its degradation products in boiled extracts.     

青藏高原高寒草地土壤酶活性海拔地带性特征

土壤酶是土壤生态系统中具有催化功能的一类蛋白质,由植物根系分泌物、微生物和动植物残体释放到土壤中,参与了土壤中所有的生物化学过程,其活性的大小可以灵敏地反应土壤中生化反应的方向和强度。青藏高原因海拔高和气候寒冷,被认为是气候变化的敏感区和脆弱区。全球气候变化使土壤酶活性受到强烈的影响,这些影响可能使土壤的质量发生改变,进而对青藏高原高寒草地植被生产力产生一定影响。土壤酶在生态系统物质循环和能量流动中起着关键作用,其格局、功能和转换过程已被广泛的研究,但高寒草地生态系统土壤酶活性的海拔地带性特征还需深入探讨。因此,以青藏高原高寒草地为研究对象,将土壤酶活性海拔梯度研究从站点尺度拓展到样带尺度,分析了与土壤碳循环密切相关的土壤β-1,4-葡萄糖苷酶(βG)、与土壤氮循环密切相关的土壤N-乙酰-β氨基葡萄糖苷酶(NAG)、土壤亮氨酸肌肽酶(LAP)以及与土壤磷循环密切相关的土壤碱性磷酸酶(ALP)的海拔地带性,进一步明晰其主要驱动因子。结果表明：(1)ALP和βG活性在海拔梯度上,展现出显著分异,在约为3546 m和3364 m出现拐点,且低海拔显著高于高海拔(P<0.01)。而NAG...