Forest gene diversity is correlated with the composition and function of soil microbial communities

The growing field of community and ecosystem genetics indicates that plant genotype and genotypic variation are important for structuring communities and ecosystem processes. Little is known, however, regarding the effects of stand gene diversity on soil communities and processes under field conditions. Utilizing natural genetic variation occurring in Populus spp. hybrid zones, we tested the hypothesis that stand gene diversity structures soil microbial communities and influences soil nutrient pools. We found significant unimodal patterns relating gene diversity to soil microbial community composition, microbial exoenzyme activity of a carbon-acquiring enzyme, and availability of soil nitrogen. Multivariate analyses indicate that this pattern is due to the correlation between gene diversity, plant secondary chemistry, and the composition of the microbial community that impacts the availability of soil nitrogen. Together, these data from a natural system indicate that stand gene diversity may affect soil microbial communities and soil processes in ways similar to species diversity (i.e., unimodal patterns). Our results further demonstrate that the effects of plant genetic diversity on other organisms may be mediated by plant functional trait variation.     

外来植物入侵对陆地生态系统地下碳循环及碳库的影响

生物入侵是当今全球性重大环境问题之一, 是全球变化的主要研究内容.评价外来植物入侵对于生态系统影响的研究多集中在地上部分,对于生态系统地下部分影响的研究相对较少.陆地生态系统地下部分对于生态系统过程的重要性之一体现在它处于生态系统碳分配过程的核心环节.入侵种通过影响群落凋落物的输入数量、质量以及输入时间,影响到对于土壤的碳输入,而入侵种与土著种根系的差异以及入侵种对微生物群落的影响是造成土壤呼吸强度发生变化的主要因素,前者土壤呼吸强度一般比后者高.多数研究表明外来植物入侵对生态系统地下碳循环和碳库产生影响,但由于入侵植物种类较多以及研究地点环境条件的不同,关于外来植物入侵对于土壤碳库和土壤有机碳矿化影响的研究结论并不统一.最后,提出了今后该研究领域应加强的一些建议和方向.     

Punching above their weight: low-biomass non-native plant species alter soil properties during primary succession

Non‐native invasive plants can greatly alter community and ecosystem properties, but efforts to predict which invasive species have the greatest impacts on these properties have been generally unsuccessful. An hypothesis that has considerable promise for predicting the effects of invasive non‐native plant species is the mass ratio hypothesis (i.e. that dominant species exert the strongest effects). We tested this hypothesis using data from a four year removal experiment in which the presence of two dominant shrub species (one native and the other not), and subordinate plant species, were manipulated in factorial combinations over four years in a primary successional floodplain system. We measured the effects of these manipulations on the plant community, soil nutrient status and soil biota in different trophic levels of the soil food web. Our experiment showed that after four years, low‐biomass non‐native plant species exerted disproportionate belowground effects relative to their contribution to total biomass in the plant community, most notably by increasing soil C, soil microbial biomass, altering soil microbial community structure and increasing the abundance of microbial‐feeding and predatory nematodes. Low‐biomass, non‐native plant species had distinct life history strategies and foliar traits (higher foliar N concentrations and higher leaf area per unit mass) compared with the two dominant shrub species (97% of total plant mass). Our results have several implications for understanding species’ effects in communities and on soil properties. First, high‐biomass species do not necessarily exert the largest impacts on community or soil properties. Second, low‐biomass, inconspicuous non‐native species can influence community composition and have important trophic consequences belowground through effects on soil nutrient status or resource availability to soil biota. Our finding that low‐biomass non‐native species influence belowground community structure and soil properties more profoundly than dominant species demonstrates that the mass ratio hypothesis does not accurately predict the relative effects of different coexisting species on community‐ and ecosystem‐level properties.     

Effects of Exotic Plant Invasions on Soil Nutrient Cycling Processes

Although it is generally acknowledged that invasions by exotic plant species represent a major threat to biodiversity and ecosystem stability, little attention has been paid to the potential impacts of these invasions on nutrient cycling processes in the soil. The literature on plant–soil interactions strongly suggests that the introduction of a new plant species, such as an invasive exotic, has the potential to change many components of the carbon (C), nitrogen (N), water, and other cycles of an ecosystem. I have reviewed studies that compare pool sizes and flux rates of the major nutrient cycles in invaded and noninvaded systems for invasions of 56 species. The available data suggest that invasive plant species frequently increase biomass and net primary production, increase N availability, alter N fixation rates, and produce litter with higher decomposition rates than co-occurring natives. However, the opposite patterns also occur, and patterns of difference between exotics and native species show no trends in some other components of nutrient cycles (for example, the size of soil pools of C and N). In some cases, a given species has different effects at different sites, suggesting that the composition of the invaded community and/or environmental factors such as soil type may determine the direction and magnitude of ecosystem-level impacts. Exotic plants alter soil nutrient dynamics by differing from native species in biomass and productivity, tissue chemistry, plant morphology, and phenology. Future research is needed to (a) experimentally test the patterns suggested by this data set; (b) examine fluxes and pools for which few data are available, including whole-site budgets; and (c) determine the magnitude of the difference in plant characteristics and in plant dominance within a community that is needed to alter ecosystem processes. Such research should be an integral component of the evaluation of the impacts of invasive species.     

The effects of insects,nutrients, and plant invasion on community structure and function above‐ and belowground

Soil nutrient availability, invasive plants, and insect presence can directly alter ecosystem structure and function, but less is known about how these factors may interact. In this 6‐year study in an old‐field ecosystem, we manipulated insect abundance (reduced and control), the propagule pressure of an invasive nitrogen‐fixing plant (propagules added and control), and soil nutrient availability (nitrogen added, nitrogen reduced and control) in a fully crossed, completely randomized plot design. We found that nutrient amendment and, occasionally, insect abundance interacted with the propagule pressure of an invasive plant to alter above‐ and belowground structure and function at our site. Not surprisingly, nutrient amendment had a direct effect on aboveground biomass and soil nutrient mineralization. The introduction of invasive nitrogen‐fixing plant propagules interacted with nutrient amendment and insect presence to alter soil bacterial abundance and the activity of the microbial community. While the larger‐scale, longer‐term bulk measurements such as biomass production and nutrient mineralization responded to the direct effects of our treatments, the shorter‐term and dynamic microbial communities tended to respond to interactions among our treatments. Our results indicate that soil nutrients, invasive plants, and insect herbivores determine both above‐ and belowground responses, but whether such effects are independent versus interdependent varies with scale.     

Links between soil microbial communities and plant traits in a species‐rich grassland under long‐term climate change

Climate change can influence soil microorganisms directly by altering their growth and activity but also indirectly via effects on the vegetation, which modifies the availability of resources. Direct impacts of climate change on soil microorganisms can occur rapidly, whereas indirect effects mediated by shifts in plant community composition are not immediately apparent and likely to increase over time. We used molecular fingerprinting of bacterial and fungal communities in the soil to investigate the effects of 17 years of temperature and rainfall manipulations in a species‐rich grassland near Buxton, UK. We compared shifts in microbial community structure to changes in plant species composition and key plant traits across 78 microsites within plots subjected to winter heating, rainfall supplementation, or summer drought. We observed marked shifts in soil fungal and bacterial community structure in response to chronic summer drought. Importantly, although dominant microbial taxa were largely unaffected by drought, there were substantial changes in the abundances of subordinate fungal and bacterial taxa. In contrast to short‐term studies that report high resistance of soil fungi to drought, we observed substantial losses of fungal taxa in the summer drought treatments. There was moderate concordance between soil microbial communities and plant species composition within microsites. Vector fitting of community‐weighted mean plant traits to ordinations of soil bacterial and fungal communities showed that shifts in soil microbial community structure were related to plant traits representing the quality of resources available to soil microorganisms: the construction cost of leaf material, foliar carbon‐to‐nitrogen ratios, and leaf dry matter content. Thus, our study provides evidence that climate change could affect soil microbial communities indirectly via changes in plant inputs and highlights the importance of considering long‐term climate change effects, especially in nutrient‐poor systems with slow‐growing vegetation.     

Effects of Plant Diversity,Functional Group Composition,and Fertilization on Soil Microbial Properties in Experimental Grassland

BackgroundLoss of biodiversity and increased nutrient inputs are two of the most crucial anthropogenic factors driving ecosystem change. Although both received considerable attention in previous studies, information on their interactive effects on ecosystem functioning is scarce. In particular, little is known on how soil biota and their functions are affected by combined changes in plant diversity and fertilization.Conclusions/SignificanceOur study highlights the role of plant species and functional group diversity as well as interactions between plant community composition and fertilizer application for soil microbial functions. Our results suggest soil microbial stoichiometry to be a powerful indicator of microbial functioning under N limited conditions. Although our results support the notion that plant diversity and fertilizer application independently affect microbial functioning, legume effects on microbial N limitation were superimposed by fertilization, indicating significant interactions between the functional composition of plant communities and nutrient inputs for soil processes.     

Soil Fertility and the Impact of Exotic Invasion on Microbial Communities in Hawaiian Forests

Exotic plant invasions into Hawaiian montane forests have altered many important nutrient cycling processes and pools. Across different ecosystems, researchers are uncovering the mechanisms involved in how invasive plants impact the soil microbial community-the primary mediator of soil nutrient cycling. We examined whether the invasive plant, Hedychium gardnerianum, altered microbial community composition in forests dominated by a native tree, Metrosideros polymorpha, under varying soil nutrient limitations and soil fertility properties within forest plots of the Hawaii long-term substrate age gradient (LSAG). Microbial community lipid analysis revealed that when nutrient limitation (as determined by aboveground net primary production [ANPP]) and soil fertility were taken into account, plant species differentially altered soil microbial community composition. Microbial community characteristics differed under invasive and native plants primarily when N or P was added to the older, highly weathered, P-limited soils. Long-term fertilization with N or P at the P-limited site led to a significant increase in the relative abundance of the saprophytic fungal indicator (18:2 omega 6c,9c) under the invasive plant. In the younger, N-limited soils, plant species played a minor role in influencing soil microbial community composition. We found that the general rhizosphere microbial community structure was determined more by soil fertility than by plant species. This study indicates that although the aggressive invasion of a nutrient-demanding, rapidly decomposable, and invasive plant into Hawaiian forests had large impacts on soil microbial decomposers, relatively little impact occurred on the overall soil microbial community structure. Instead, soil nutrient conditions were more important determinants of the overall microbial community structure within Hawaii's montane forests.     

紫茎泽兰入侵对土壤细菌的群落组成和多样性的影响

外来生物入侵可能对生物群落结构和生态系统功能产生多种影响, 但入侵植物与土壤微生物群落组成和多样性的关系尚不清楚。为了揭示外来植物紫茎泽兰(Eupatorium adenophorum)入侵对土壤化学性质和细菌群落组成及多样性的影响, 本研究利用第二代高通量测序技术, 比较了紫茎泽兰不同入侵程度的生境(本地植物群落、紫茎泽兰与本地植物混生群落、紫茎泽兰单优群落)土壤中细菌群落的差异。土壤化学性质分析表明, 土壤pH值、有机质、全N和全K随着紫茎泽兰的入侵而逐渐降低, 而土壤全P则在入侵程度最高的生境土壤中最高。通过测序共获得7,755个细菌OUT (operational taxonomic unit)。结果表明, 紫茎泽兰入侵对土壤的细菌多样性影响较小, ACE和Chao指数在3种不同生境间的差异不显著。细菌在紫茎泽兰与本地植物混生群落中的Shannon指数最低, 即细菌的多样性在中等入侵程度的生境最低。此外, 紫茎泽兰入侵改变了土壤细菌组成和结构, 酸杆菌门(Acidobacteria)和疣微菌门(Verrucomicrobia)的相对丰度, 从本地植物群落、混合群落到紫茎泽兰单优群落, 呈现出先增加后减少的趋势。可见, 紫茎泽兰入侵一定程度上改变了土壤微生物的多样性和群落结构, 并改变了土壤的化学性质。     

A functional trait perspective on plant invasion

Background and Aims

Global environmental change will affect non-native plant invasions, with profound potential impacts on native plant populations, communities and ecosystems. In this context, we review plant functional traits, particularly those that drive invader abundance (invasiveness) and impacts, as well as the integration of these traits across multiple ecological scales, and as a basis for restoration and management.

Scope

We review the concepts and terminology surrounding functional traits and how functional traits influence processes at the individual level. We explore how phenotypic plasticity may lead to rapid evolution of novel traits facilitating invasiveness in changing environments and then ‘scale up’ to evaluate the relative importance of demographic traits and their links to invasion rates. We then suggest a functional trait framework for assessing per capita effects and, ultimately, impacts of invasive plants on plant communities and ecosystems. Lastly, we focus on the role of functional trait-based approaches in invasive species management and restoration in the context of rapid, global environmental change.

Conclusions

To understand how the abundance and impacts of invasive plants will respond to rapid environmental changes it is essential to link trait-based responses of invaders to changes in community and ecosystem properties. To do so requires a comprehensive effort that considers dynamic environmental controls and a targeted approach to understand key functional traits driving both invader abundance and impacts. If we are to predict future invasions, manage those at hand and use restoration technology to mitigate invasive species impacts, future research must focus on functional traits that promote invasiveness and invader impacts under changing conditions, and integrate major factors driving invasions from individual to ecosystem levels.     

植物寄生对生态系统结构和功能的影响

寄生植物是生态系统中的特殊类群之一。植物寄生可以驱动生态系统中生物与非生物因子的变化,在生态系统结构与功能中起关键作用。寄生植物可以通过对寄主营养的集聚、改变凋落物的质量与数量、改变根的周转与分泌物格局、改变土壤水势,从而影响土壤理化特性。寄生植物会改变寄主的行为,改变寄主与非寄主植物之间的相互作用,从而影响植物群落的结构、多样性和动态,进而影响植被演替和植被生产力等。寄生植物与寄主均可被消费者取食,可直接或间接地影响生态系统的食草动物,包括草食昆虫等。寄生植物与寄主的其它寄生物存在竞争关系,可以直接或间接地影响寄主的其它寄生植物或病原真菌。寄生植物可以明显地改变土壤地球化学循环,将固有的不可动的成分转变为可利用的营养成分,改变土壤生物群落的结构与功能,从而显著影响地下生物群落。这些表明,植物寄生对生态系统的结构和功能有重要影响。针对特殊的被入侵的植物群落,该地寄生植物可以通过影响入侵植物寄主的生长、繁殖、生物量分配格局,改变土壤的理化特性,促进非寄主的非优势本地植物的生长,从而改变被入侵植物群落结构与多样性,达到生物防治及生态恢复的目的。     

冬季升温对高山生态系统碳氮循环过程的影响

全球温度升高是目前面临的重要环境问题,但存在明显的季节差异性,即冬季升温幅度显著高于夏季的季节非对称性趋势,这在高纬度和高海拔地区更加显著。冬季升温会直接影响积雪覆盖与冰冻层厚度,并引起冻融交替循环的增加,而冬季植物处于休眠状态,这会直接影响土壤中有效氮的吸收与损失,引起土壤有效氮可利用性的变化。然而,关于冬季增温对后续生长季节植物活动、土壤碳氮循环过程的影响等方面的研究仍存在诸多不确定。综述了冬季升温对积雪覆盖与冻融交替循环改变对高山生态系统物质循环的影响,以及冬季升温对土壤碳氮循环、微生物与酶活性的影响,并由此引起的植物物候期、群落结构、生产与养分循环与凋落物分解等生理、生态过程方面的研究进展。在未来的研究中,应针对不同生态系统特点选择合适的冬季增温方式,加强非极地苔原地区关于冬季升温的研究,注重关注冬季升温对植物-土壤微生物之间反馈作用的影响,重点关注冬季升温对生态系统的延滞效应。     

外来植物入侵对土壤生物多样性和生态系统过程的影响

随着科学家对生态系统地下部分的重视,评价外来植物入侵对土壤生态系统的影响成为当前入侵生态学领域的研究热点之一。本文综述了外来植物入侵对土壤微生物、土壤动物以及土壤碳、氮循环动态影响的研究,并探讨了其影响机制。已有的研究表明,植物入侵对土壤生物多样性及相关生态系统过程的影响均存在不一致的格局,影响机制也是复杂多样的。外来植物与土著植物凋落物的质与量、根系特征、物候等多种生理生态特性的差异可能是形成格局多样性和影响机制复杂性的最主要原因。今后,加强多尺度和多生态系统的比较研究、机制性研究、生物多样性和生态系统过程的整合性研究及土壤生态系统对植物入侵的反馈研究是评价外来植物入侵对土壤生态系统影响的发展趋势。     

紫茎泽兰(Ageratina adenophora)入侵对土壤微生物群落和理化性质的影响

外来入侵植物与入侵地土壤微生物群落的互作关系是影响外来植物入侵力和生态系统可入侵性的一个重要领域。因此,研究外来植物入侵对入侵地土壤微生物群落及其理化性质的影响不仅可以全面地评估入侵植物对生态系统的影响,而且对于探索外来植物入侵的土壤微生物学机制尤为重要。采用磷脂脂肪酸(PLFAs)和传统培养相结合的方法研究了外来入侵植物紫茎泽兰对入侵地土壤微生物群落结构的影响;同时研究了紫茎泽兰入侵对11种土壤理化因子的影响。结果表明紫茎泽兰入侵改变了土壤微生物群落结构,提高了土壤自生固氮菌、氨氧化细菌和真菌的数量;同时,显著地提高了土壤的有效磷、速效钾、硝态氮、氨态氮和土壤有机碳含量,降低了土壤总钾含量和pH值。土壤微生物不同生理类群的变化与土壤中植物可直接吸收利用养分的变化显著相关。紫茎泽兰在入侵地成功定殖后,可能通过改变土壤微生物群落结构,特别是增加了与土壤养分循环相关的微生物功能类群数量,进而提高了土壤可利用的养分水平,创造对自身生长有利的土壤环境。紫茎泽兰改变土壤微生物群落是其入侵的一部分,这种改变进而加速了土壤养分循环,可能增强了紫茎泽兰的养分吸收,进而促进其生长、竞争和扩张。     

Abiotic drivers and plant traits explain landscape‐scale patterns in soil microbial communities

The controls on aboveground community composition and diversity have been extensively studied, but our understanding of the drivers of belowground microbial communities is relatively lacking, despite their importance for ecosystem functioning. In this study, we fitted statistical models to explain landscape‐scale variation in soil microbial community composition using data from 180 sites covering a broad range of grassland types, soil and climatic conditions in England. We found that variation in soil microbial communities was explained by abiotic factors like climate, pH and soil properties. Biotic factors, namely community‐weighted means (CWM) of plant functional traits, also explained variation in soil microbial communities. In particular, more bacterial‐dominated microbial communities were associated with exploitative plant traits versus fungal‐dominated communities with resource‐conservative traits, showing that plant functional traits and soil microbial communities are closely related at the landscape scale.     

Invasion by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aegilops triuncialis</Emphasis> (Barb Goatgrass) Slows Carbon and Nutrient Cycling in a Serpentine Grassland

Invasive plant species alter plant community composition and ecosystem function. In the United States, California native grasslands have been displaced almost completely by invasive annual grasses, with serpentine grasslands being one of the few remaining refugia for California grasslands. This study examined how the invasive annual grass, Aegilops triuncialis, has altered decomposition processes in a serpentine annual grassland. Our objectives were to (1) assess howA. triuncialis alters primary productivity and litter tissue chemistry, (2) determine whether A. triuncialis litter is more recalcitrant to decomposition than native litter, and (3) evaluate whether differences in the soil microbial community in A. triuncialis-invaded and native-dominated areas result in different decomposition rates of invasive and/or native plant litter. In invaded plant patches, A. triuncialis was approximately 50% of the total plant cover, in contrast to native plant patches in which A. triuncialis was not detected and native plants comprised over 90% of the total plant cover. End-of-season aboveground biomass was 2-fold higher in A. triuncialis dominated plots compared to native plots; however, there was no significant difference in belowground biomass. Both above- and below-ground plant litter from A. triuncialis plots had significantly higher lignin:N and C:N ratios and lower total N, P, and K than litter from native plant plots. Aboveground litter from native plots decomposed more rapidly than litter from A. triuncialis plots, although there was no difference in decomposition of belowground tissues. Soil microbial community composition associated with different soil patch types had no effect on decomposition rates. These data suggest that plant invasion impacts decomposition and nutrient cycling through changes in plant community tissue chemistry and biomass production.     

Identifying qualitative effects of different grazing types on below‐ground communities and function in a long‐term field experiment

Herbivory is an important modulator of plant biodiversity and productivity in grasslands, but our understanding of herbivore‐induced changes on below‐ground processes and communities is limited. Using a long‐term (17 years) experimental site, we evaluated impacts of rabbit and invertebrate grazers on some soil functions involved in carbon cycling, microbial diversity, structure and functional composition. Both rabbit and invertebrate grazing impacted soil functions and microbial community structure. All functional community measures (functions, biogeochemical cycling genes, network association between different taxa) were more strongly affected by invertebrate grazers than rabbits. Furthermore, our results suggest that exclusion of invertebrate grazers decreases both microbial biomass and abundance of genes associated with key biogeochemical cycles, and could thus have long‐term consequences for ecosystem functions. The mechanism behind these impacts are likely to be driven by both direct effects of grazing altering the pattern of nutrient inputs and by indirect effects through changes in plant species composition. However, we could not entirely discount that the pesticide used to exclude invertebrates may have affected some microbial community measures. Nevertheless, our work illustrates that human activity that affects grazing intensity may affect ecosystem functioning and sustainability, as regulated by multi‐trophic interactions between above‐ and below‐ground communities.     

Effects and mechanism of plant litter on grassland ecosystem: A review

Plant litter is dead, above and below ground; organic material i.e. leaves barks, needles, twigs and roots. Plant litter plays a key role in nutrient cycling and community organization in grassland ecosystems. Litter can have important consequences on recruitment of plant species through modification of biological, physical, and chemical features of microenvironment. Plant litter offers a major input of organic matter to the soil which modifies soil chemistry, hence impacts nutrient cycling. At early stages of litter decomposition, a particular amount of carbon is transporting to the soil nutrient pool. In terrestrial ecosystems, plant litter regulating biogeochemical cycles, maintain soil fertility, nutrient availability, and therefore influence plant growth, diversity, composition, structure, and productivity. Litter can also impact plant above net plant productivity and below net plant productivity in grassland ecosystem. Plant litter accumulation and decomposition can impact plant species composition and community structure through temperature, light and nutrient availability. The effects of plant litter on vegetation may be negative, positive or neutral due vegetation variability, study duration, habitat, latitude, quantity and quality of litter. These diverse effects of plant litter on grassland ecosystem might be due to, management practice type, management intensity, climate type, timing, precipitation and soil nutrient pool etc. Current review attempts to describe prominent effects of plant litter on vegetation, seed germination, soil fertility, Productivity, species composition, community structure and mechanism in grassland ecosystem.     

Evolutionary ecology of plant-microbe interactions: soil microbial structure alters selection on plant traits

? Below-ground microbial communities influence plant diversity, plant productivity, and plant community composition. Given these strong ecological effects, are interactions with below-ground microbes also important for understanding natural selection on plant traits? ? Here, we manipulated below-ground microbial communities and the soil moisture environment on replicated populations of Brassica rapa to examine how microbial community structure influences selection on plant traits and mediates plant responses to abiotic environmental stress. ? In soils with experimentally simplified microbial communities, plants were smaller, had reduced chlorophyll content, produced fewer flowers, and were less fecund when compared with plant populations grown in association with more complex soil microbial communities. Selection on plant growth and phenological traits also was stronger when plants were grown in simplified, less diverse soil microbial communities, and these effects typically were consistent across soil moisture treatments. ? Our results suggest that microbial community structure affects patterns of natural selection on plant traits. Thus, the below-ground microbial community can influence evolutionary processes, just as recent studies have demonstrated that microbial diversity can influence plant community and ecosystem processes.     

Local soil characteristics determine the microbial communities under forest understorey plants along a latitudinal gradient

The soil microbial community is essential for maintaining ecosystem functioning and is intimately linked with the plant community. Yet, little is known on how soil microbial communities in the root zone vary at continental scales within plant species. Here we assess the effects of soil chemistry, large-scale environmental conditions (i.e. temperature, precipitation and nitrogen deposition) and forest land-use history on the soil microbial communities (measured by phospholipid fatty acids) in the root zone of four plant species (Geum urbanum, Milium effusum, Poa nemoralis and Stachys sylvatica) in forests along a 1700 km latitudinal gradient in Europe.Soil microbial communities differed significantly among plant species, and soil chemistry was the main determinant of the microbial community composition within each plant species. Influential soil chemical variables for microbial communities were plant species-specific; soil acidity, however, was often an important factor. Large-scale environmental conditions, together with soil chemistry, only explained the microbial community composition in M. effusum and P. nemoralis. Forest land-use history did not affect the soil microbial community composition.Our results underpin the dominant role of soil chemistry in shaping microbial community composition variation within plant species at the continental scale, and provide insights into the composition and functionality of soil microbial communities in forest ecosystems.