Successional dynamics of soil fungal diversity along a restoration chronosequence post‐coal mining

Soil disruption from open‐cut mining practices can adversely impact microbial communities and the ecosystem services that they mediate. Despite this, assessment of impacts of soil disruption, and the subsequent recovery of microbial communities is rarely studied. Monitoring of ecological restoration success on mine sites has traditionally focused on vegetation; however, most plants rely, at least in part, on associations with soil fungi for enhanced nutrient and water acquisition. Here, we used high‐throughput phylogenetic marker gene sequencing to characterize the diversity of soil fungal communities along a restoration chronosequence ranging from 3 to 23 years at a rehabilitated mine site. We used nonmined analogue sites as a baseline for comparative purposes and examined the associations of soil fungal communities with soil physicochemical and aboveground vegetation variables. Fungal richness on rehabilitated sites was significantly larger than on nonmined sites, suggesting that mixing of topsoil during stockpiling resulted in a composite microbial community. Fungal community composition was significantly influenced by edaphic variables and the length of rehabilitation, with mined sites becoming more similar to nonmined sites over time. Fungal populations associated with ectomycorrhizae were relatively more abundant than those associated with arbuscular mycorrhizae and declined in response to disturbance, but recovered over time on the woody dominated sites indicating a strong coupling of these fungi with aboveground vegetation. Our data indicate that soil fungal diversity is a useful bioindicator of soil restoration in mined sites and may complement more traditional vegetation‐based surveys.     

Open‐cut mining impacts on soil abiotic and bacterial community properties as shown by restoration chronosequence

Open‐cut mining severely disrupts landforms and soils, preventing or impeding the restoration of preexisting or functional ecosystems because essential properties of the original soils cannot immediately or easily be reinstated. We examined the soil physicochemical and bacterial characteristics of 21 coal‐mined sites in subtropical Queensland, Australia, 3–23 years after establishment of native plant species relative to nonmined analogue sites. Soil disturbance significantly decreased total nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, and especially total carbon (TC). The TC is projected to take 36 years to recover. Bacterial communities assessed by 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing showed greater species richness and evenness in rehabilitated as compared with nonmined soils, regardless of rehabilitation age. However, bacterial species composition was associated significantly with soil electrical conductivity, the plant density, and total stem cross‐sectional area of woody vegetation. The bacterial communities on rehabilitated sites became progressively more similar to those of nonmined analogue sites over time. This work demonstrates that if topsoils are conserved carefully during mining and supplemented by inorganic fertilizer addition, vigorous plant growth and changes in bacterial community composition can occur soon after plant establishment. This will mitigate the effects of soil disturbance and accelerate the return to the chemical and biological attributes of nonmined analogue soils.     

Contrasting patterns and drivers of soil bacterial and fungal diversity across a mountain gradient

Microbial elevational diversity patterns have been extensively studied, but their shaping mechanisms remain to be explored. Here, we examined soil bacterial and fungal diversity and community compositions across a 3.4 km elevational gradient (consists of five elevations) on Mt. Kilimanjaro located in East Africa. Bacteria and fungi had different diversity patterns across this extensive mountain gradient—bacterial diversity had a U shaped pattern while fungal diversity monotonically decreased. Random forest analysis revealed that pH (12.61% importance) was the most important factor affecting bacterial diversity, whereas mean annual temperature (9.84% importance) had the largest impact on fungal diversity, which was consistent with results obtained from mixed-effects model. Meanwhile, the diversity patterns and drivers of those diversity patterns differ among taxonomic groups (phyla/classes) within bacterial or fungal communities. Taken together, our study demonstrated that bacterial and fungal diversity and community composition responded differently to climate and edaphic properties along an extensive mountain gradient, and suggests that the elevational diversity patterns across microbial groups are determined by distinct environmental variables. These findings enhanced our understanding of the formation and maintenance of microbial diversity along elevation, as well as microbial responses to climate change in montane ecosystems.     

Significant and persistent impact of timber harvesting on soil microbial communities in Northern coniferous forests

Forest ecosystems have integral roles in climate stability, biodiversity and economic development. Soil stewardship is essential for sustainable forest management. Organic matter (OM) removal and soil compaction are key disturbances associated with forest harvesting, but their impacts on forest ecosystems are not well understood. Because microbiological processes regulate soil ecology and biogeochemistry, microbial community structure might serve as indicator of forest ecosystem status, revealing changes in nutrient and energy flow patterns before they have irreversible effects on long-term soil productivity. We applied massively parallel pyrosequencing of over 4.6 million ribosomal marker sequences to assess the impact of OM removal and soil compaction on bacterial and fungal communities in a field experiment replicated at six forest sites in British Columbia, Canada. More than a decade after harvesting, diversity and structure of soil bacterial and fungal communities remained significantly altered by harvesting disturbances, with individual taxonomic groups responding differentially to varied levels of the disturbances. Plant symbionts, like ectomycorrhizal fungi, and saprobic taxa, such as ascomycetes and actinomycetes, were among the most sensitive to harvesting disturbances. Given their significant ecological roles in forest development, the fate of these taxa might be critical for sustainability of forest ecosystems. Although abundant bacterial populations were ubiquitous, abundant fungal populations often revealed a patchy distribution, consistent with their higher sensitivity to the examined soil disturbances. These results establish a comprehensive inventory of bacterial and fungal community composition in northern coniferous forests and demonstrate the long-term response of their structure to key disturbances associated with forest harvesting.     

Responses of soil bacterial and fungal communities to reciprocal transfers of soil between adjacent coniferous forest and meadow vegetation in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon

Little information exists on the responses of soil fungal and bacterial communities in high elevation coniferous forest/open meadow ecosystems of the northwest United States of America to treatments that impact vegetation and soil conditions. An experiment was conducted in which soil cores were reciprocally transplanted between immediately adjacent forests and meadows at two high elevation (∼1,600 m) sites (Carpenter and Lookout) in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest located in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Half of the cores were placed in PVC pipe (closed) to prevent new root colonization, whereas the other cores were placed in mesh bags (open) to allow recolonization by fine roots. A duplicate set of open and closed soil cores was not transferred between sites and was incubated in place. After 2 year, soil cores were removed and changes in fungal and bacterial biomasses determined using light microscopy, and changes in microbial community composition determined by PLFA analysis, and by length heterogeneity PCR of the internal transcribed spacer region of fungal ribosomal DNA. At both sites soil microbial community structures had responded to treatments after 2 year of incubation. At Carpenter, both fungal and bacterial community structures of forest soil changed significantly in response to transfer from forest to meadow, with the shift in fungal community structure being accompanied by a significant decrease in the PLFA biomarker of fungal biomass,18:2ω6,9. At Lookout, both fungal and bacterial community structures of forest soil changed significantly in response to open versus closed core treatments, with the shift in the fungal community being accompanied by a significant decrease in the 18:2ω6,9 content of closed cores, and the shift in the bacterial community structure being accompanied by a significant increase in bacterial biomass of closed cores. At both sites, fungal community structures of meadow soils changed differently between open and closed cores in response to transfer to forest, and were accompanied by increases in the18:2ω6,9 content of open cores. Although there were no significant treatment effects on the bacterial community structure of meadow soil at either site, bacterial biomass was significantly higher in closed versus open cores regardless of transfer.     

Linking Microbial Community Structure and Function to Seasonal Differences in Soil Moisture and Temperature in a Chihuahuan Desert Grassland

Global and regional climate models predict higher air temperature and less frequent, but larger precipitation events in arid regions within the next century. While many studies have addressed the impact of variable climate in arid ecosystems on plant growth and physiological responses, fewer studies have addressed soil microbial community responses to seasonal shifts in precipitation and temperature in arid ecosystems. This study examined the impact of a wet (2004), average (2005), and dry (2006) year on subsequent responses of soil microbial community structure, function, and linkages, as well as soil edaphic and nutrient characteristics in a mid-elevation desert grassland in the Chihuahuan Desert. Microbial community structure was classified as bacterial (Gram-negative, Gram-positive, and actinomycetes) and fungal (saprophytic fungi and arbuscular mycorrhiza) categories using (fatty acid methyl ester) techniques. Carbon substrate use and enzymic activity was used to characterize microbial community function annually and seasonally (summer and winter). The relationship between saprophytic fungal community structure and function remained consistent across season independent of the magnitude or frequency of precipitation within any given year. Carbon utilization by fungi in the cooler winter exceeded use in the warmer summer each year suggesting that soil temperature, rather than soil moisture, strongly influenced fungal carbon use and structure and function dynamics. The structure/function relationship for AM fungi and soil bacteria notably changed across season. Moreover, the abundance of Gram-positive bacteria was lower in the winter compared to Gram-negative bacteria. Bacterial carbon use, however, was highest in the summer and lower during the winter. Enzyme activities did not respond to either annual or seasonal differences in the magnitude or timing of precipitation. Specific structural components of the soil microbiota community became uncoupled from total microbial function during different seasons. This change in the microbial structure/function relationship suggests that different components of the soil microbial community may provide similar ecosystem function, but differ in response to seasonal temperature and precipitation. As soil microbes encounter increased soil temperatures and altered precipitation amounts and timing that are predicted for this region, the ability of the soil microbial community to maintain functional resilience across the year may be reduced in this Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem.     

土壤微生物群落对麻栎-刺槐混交林凋落物分解的影响

以麻栎-刺槐混交林和麻栎纯林为研究对象,采用野外定点采样、室内分析与高通量测序的方法,对凋落物分解过程中土壤微生物菌群多样性特征及其对凋落物分解速率的影响进行了研究。结果表明:(1)麻栎-刺槐混交林凋落物的分解速率高于麻栎纯林。两种林分凋落物有机碳(TOC)、全氮(TN)发生释放,全磷(TP)发生积累-释放的过程。(2)两种林分土壤细菌优势类群为放线菌门(Acidobacteria)、变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、酸杆菌门(Actinobacteria)和疣微菌门(Verrucomicrobia),土壤真菌优势类群为担子菌门(Basidiomycota)、子囊菌门(Ascomycota)和被孢霉门(Moritierellomycota)。(3)凋落物分解过程中,麻栎-刺槐混交林土壤微生物菌群丰富度指数和菌群多样性指数变化范围小于麻栎纯林。(4)凋落物分解速率与土壤细菌菌群丰富度指数和菌群多样性指数呈显著正相关,与土壤真菌菌群丰富度指数呈显著正相关。土壤微生物群落对麻栎-刺槐混交林和麻栎纯林凋落物分解速率具有重要影响,研究结果为深入开展混交林土壤微生物多样性对凋落物分解的影响研究提供理论依据。     

Comparison of soil microbial communities inhabiting vineyards and native sclerophyllous forests in central Chile

Natural ecosystems provide services to agriculture such as pest control, soil nutrients, and key microbial components. These services and others in turn provide essential elements that fuel biomass productivity. Responsible agricultural management and conservation of natural habitats can enhance these ecosystem services. Vineyards are currently driving land‐use changes in many Mediterranean ecosystems. These land‐use changes could have important effects on the supporting ecosystems services related to the soil properties and the microbial communities associated with forests and vineyard soils. Here, we explore soil bacterial and fungal communities present in sclerophyllous forests and organic vineyards from three different wine growing areas in central Chile. We employed terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms (T‐RFLP) to describe the soil microbial communities inhabiting native forests and vineyards in central Chile. We found that the bacterial community changed between the sampled growing areas; however, the fungal community did not differ. At the local scale, our findings show that fungal communities differed between habitats because fungi species might be more sensitive to land‐use change compared to bacterial species, as bacterial communities did not change between forests and vineyards. We discuss these findings based on the sensitivity of microbial communities to soil properties and land‐use change. Finally, we focus our conclusions on the importance of naturally derived ecosystem services to vineyards.     

Differential sensitivity of total and active soil microbial communities to drought and forest management

Climate change will affect semiarid ecosystems through severe droughts that increase the competition for resources in plant and microbial communities. In these habitats, adaptations to climate change may consist of thinning—that reduces competition for resources through a decrease in tree density and the promotion of plant survival. We deciphered the functional and phylogenetic responses of the microbial community to 60 years of drought induced by rainfall exclusion and how forest management affects its resistance to drought, in a semiarid forest ecosystem dominated by Pinus halepensis Mill. A multiOMIC approach was applied to reveal novel, community‐based strategies in the face of climate change. The diversity and the composition of the total and active soil microbiome were evaluated by 16S rRNA gene (bacteria) and ITS (fungal) sequencing, and by metaproteomics. The microbial biomass was analyzed by phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs), and the microbially mediated ecosystem multifunctionality was studied by the integration of soil enzyme activities related to the cycles of C, N, and P. The microbial biomass and ecosystem multifunctionality decreased in drought‐plots, as a consequence of the lower soil moisture and poorer plant development, but this decrease was more notable in unthinned plots. The structure and diversity of the total bacterial community was unaffected by drought at phylum and order level, but did so at genus level, and was influenced by seasonality. However, the total fungal community and the active microbial community were more sensitive to drought and were related to ecosystem multifunctionality. Thinning in plots without drought increased the active diversity while the total diversity was not affected. Thinning promoted the resistance of ecosystem multifunctionality to drought through changes in the active microbial community. The integration of total and active microbiome analyses avoids misinterpretations of the links between the soil microbial community and climate change.     

藏东南典型暗针叶林不同土壤剖面微生物群落特征

深层土壤中的微生物群落对陆地生态系统养分和能量循环转化过程不可或缺,研究青藏高原典型暗针叶林带土壤微生物群落在土壤垂直剖面的变化特征,对深入认识高寒区域森林生态系统土壤微生物群落构建特征及全球变化影响预测具有重要意义。运用Illumina Miseq高通量测序技术和分子生态网络分析,研究藏东南色季拉山暗针叶林带表层（0-20 cm）和底层土壤（40-60 cm）微生物群落组成及分子生态网络结构。研究结果表明随着土壤深度增加,真菌和细菌的丰富度和Shannon多样性指数显著降低。主坐标分析（PCoA）显示土壤深度显著影响真菌和细菌的群落结构（P < 0.01）。不同微生物种群对土壤深度的响应有显著差异,座囊菌纲（Dothideomycetes）、银耳纲（Tremellomycetes）和拟杆菌门（Bacteroidetes）、变形菌门（Proteobacteria）的相对丰度随剖面加深而显著降低,而古菌根菌纲（Archaeorhizomycetes）和绿弯菌门（Chloroflexi）则显著增加。分子生态网络分析发现,真菌网络以负相关连接为主（占总连接数65%-98%）,而细菌网络以正相关连接为主（69%-75%）,真菌和细菌网络中正相关连接的比例均随剖面加深而增加。底层土壤真菌和细菌网络的平均连接度和平均聚类系数均高于表层土壤,说明微生物网络随土壤深度的增加而变得更复杂。真菌网络的平均路径距离和模块性在底层土壤均大于表层土壤,意味着真菌网络应对环境变化的稳定性随剖面加深而增加,而细菌网络则正相反,在表层土壤的稳定性更强。真菌网络中连接节点的个数随剖面加深而增加,锤舌菌纲（Leotiomycetes）是连接网络模块的关键菌种;在细菌网络中模块枢纽和连接节点则随剖面加深而降低,并且放线菌门、变形菌门等关键种群在分子生态网络中的功能在表层和底层土壤有明显差异。综上所述,藏东南色季拉山暗针叶林带深层土壤中微生物群落特征与表层土壤有显著差别,揭示影响深层土壤微生物网络构建和稳定的关键种群,对深入理解和预测青藏高原森林生态系统对全球变化的响应与反馈有重要意义。     

土壤微生物群落对枯落物输入的响应

枯落物分解在陆地生态系统物质循环能量流动中起着关键性作用,明确枯落物输入对土壤微生物群落的影响有助于理解土壤微生物生物多样性和陆地生态系统功能的相互关系。本文采用整合分析方法,以中国为研究区域,以不添加枯落物为对照组,探究土壤微生物(真菌、细菌、放线菌)及微生物生物量碳、生物量氮对枯落物输入的响应。结果表明:与不添加枯落物相比,添加枯落物后土壤微生物生物量碳、生物量氮分别显著增加3.9%和4.4%;土壤真菌PLFA、细菌PLFA及总微生物PLFA分别增加4.0%、3.1%和2.4%。枯落物输入对土壤微生物的影响受到气候条件、年降水量、植被类型及土壤酸碱度等因素的显著影响;不同气候类型下,土壤微生物对枯落物输入的响应呈现出亚热带季风气候区>温带季风气候区>温带大陆气候区的趋势,以及随着年降水量的增加呈现出先升高后降低的趋势;不同植被类型下,土壤微生物对枯落物输入的响应呈现出阔叶林>草地≈混交林>针叶林的趋势。     

Distinct patterns of soil bacterial and fungal community assemblages in subtropical forest ecosystems under warming

Climate change globally affects soil microbial community assembly across ecosystems. However, little is known about the impact of warming on the structure of soil microbial communities or underlying mechanisms that shape microbial community composition in subtropical forest ecosystems. To address this gap, we utilized natural variation in temperature via an altitudinal gradient to simulate ecosystem warming. After 6 years, microbial co-occurrence network complexity increased with warming, and changes in their taxonomic composition were asynchronous, likely due to contrasting community assembly processes. We found that while stochastic processes were drivers of bacterial community composition, warming led to a shift from stochastic to deterministic drivers in dry season. Structural equation modelling highlighted that soil temperature and water content positively influenced soil microbial communities during dry season and negatively during wet season. These results facilitate our understanding of the response of soil microbial communities to climate warming and may improve predictions of ecosystem function of soil microbes in subtropical forests.     

毛竹种植对土壤细菌和真菌群落结构及多样性的影响

为揭示天然林改为毛竹林过程中土壤微生物变化规律,在浙江省湖州市安吉县和长兴县两地选择不同种植历史的粗放经营毛竹林,分层采集0～20和20～40 cm的混合土壤样品,应用PCR-DGGE技术分析土壤细菌和真菌群落结构及多样性变化.结果表明: 在马尾松林改种毛竹林或毛竹林入侵杂灌阔叶林形成毛竹纯林过程中,土壤细菌和真菌的群落结构均发生明显变化,且细菌结构对毛竹种植的响应更敏感;随着毛竹生长时间的延长,表层土壤细菌群落表现出抵抗干扰、最后向改种毛竹之前状态恢复的趋势.毛竹种植时间、样地和土层均对土壤细菌和真菌多样性产生显著影响,其中样地和土层的影响明显大于种植时间.土壤性质和细菌、真菌结构的冗余分析结果表明,不同地点、不同土层驱动土壤微生物结构随时间变化的主要因子没有一致规律,且第1、2轴对样地变化的解释率大多低于65.0%,说明除本研究分析的5个土壤化学指标外,可能还有其他土壤理化性质共同驱动微生物结构的变化.     

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.     

环境选择和扩散限制驱动温带森林土壤细菌群落的构建

环境选择和扩散限制是生态系统中生物群落构建的两个基本过程,而两者相对作用的大小因研究尺度、群落属性和类型等有所不同.目前对温带亚高山森林土壤微生物群落构建的驱动因子和机制尚缺乏了解.本文利用PCR-DGGE技术研究庞泉沟自然保护区内5种典型森林包括华北落叶松林、青杄林、白杄林、油松林以及桦树林的6个森林土壤细菌群落(Lp MC1、Lp MC2、Pw MC、Pm MC、Pt MC、BMC)的结构特征及其影响因素,分析细菌群落结构与环境因子的相关性,以及土壤因子、植被和空间因素对细菌群落结构的影响.结果表明:研究区各样地土壤细菌群落的结构和生物多样性具有显著差异,低海拔落叶松和油松土壤细菌群落多样性较高(20条带),白杄林土壤细菌群落(13条带)多样性最低,高海拔落叶松土壤细菌群落多样性最高;土壤环境因子,如pH、土壤含水量、总碳、总氮、土壤有机质、速效磷以及土壤酶活性与土壤细菌群落多样性和结构显著相关;样地土壤细菌群落的beta多样性与群落的空间距离呈显著相关,表明扩散限制对群落结构具有一定的影响;方差分解分析结果显示,6个样地细菌群落结构的驱动因素大小依次为土壤因子(0.27)、空间因素(0.19)和植被(0.15);将区域土壤微生物作为"源群落",微宇宙试验结果显示,土壤因子是细菌群落结构形成的主要驱动力(0.35),同时源群落丰富的物种多样性对微宇宙土壤细菌群落结构具有显著影响.总之,在局域尺度下,环境选择对温带森林土壤细菌群落结构动态和多样性发挥主导作用,地理距离对群落结构具有显著影响,即确定性过程和随机过程共同决定局域森林土壤细菌群落结构,前者占主导地位.对于土壤细菌群落而言,扩散群落的组成和结构受到源群落的多样性特征和环境因子的双重影响.     

Predicting the responsiveness of soil biodiversity to deforestation: a cross‐biome study

The consequences of deforestation for aboveground biodiversity have been a scientific and political concern for decades. In contrast, despite being a dominant component of biodiversity that is essential to the functioning of ecosystems, the responses of belowground biodiversity to forest removal have received less attention. Single‐site studies suggest that soil microbes can be highly responsive to forest removal, but responses are highly variable, with negligible effects in some regions. Using high throughput sequencing, we characterize the effects of deforestation on microbial communities across multiple biomes and explore what determines the vulnerability of microbial communities to this vegetative change. We reveal consistent directional trends in the microbial community response, yet the magnitude of this vegetation effect varied between sites, and was explained strongly by soil texture. In sandy sites, the difference in vegetation type caused shifts in a suite of edaphic characteristics, driving substantial differences in microbial community composition. In contrast, fine‐textured soil buffered microbes against these effects and there were minimal differences between communities in forest and grassland soil. These microbial community changes were associated with distinct changes in the microbial catabolic profile, placing community changes in an ecosystem functioning context. The universal nature of these patterns allows us to predict where deforestation will have the strongest effects on soil biodiversity, and how these effects could be mitigated.     

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。     

Shifts in soil bacterial community after eight years of land-use change

The interaction between plants, soil and microorganisms is considered to be the major driver of ecosystem functions and any modification of plant cover and/or soil properties might affect the microbial structure, which, in turn, will influence ecological processes. Assuming that soil properties are the major drivers of soil bacterial diversity and structure within the same soil type, it can be postulated whether plant cover causes significant shifts in soil bacterial community composition. To address this question, this study used 16S rRNA pyrosequencing to detect differences in diversity, composition and/or relative abundance of bacterial taxa from an area covered by pristine forest, as well as eight-year-old grassland surrounded by the same forest. It was shown that a total of 69% of the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were shared between environments. Overall, forest and grassland samples presented the same diversity and the clustering analysis did not show the occurrence of very distinctive bacterial communities between environments. However, 11 OTUs were detected in statistically significant higher abundance in the forest samples but in lower abundance in the grassland samples, whereas 12 OTUs occurred in statistically significant higher abundance in the grassland samples but in lower abundance in the forest samples. The results suggested the prevalence of a resilient core microbial community that did not suffer any change related to land use, soil type or edaphic conditions. The results illustrated that the history of land use might influence present-day community structure.