Responses of Soil Microbial Communities to Experimental Warming in Alpine Grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Global surface temperature is predicted to increase by at least 1.5°C by the end of this century. However, the response of soil microbial communities to global warming is still poorly understood, especially in high-elevation grasslands. We therefore conducted an experiment on three types of alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to study the effect of experimental warming on abundance and composition of soil microbial communities at 0–10 and 10–20 cm depths. Plots were passively warmed for 3 years using open-top chambers and compared to adjacent control plots at ambient temperature. Soil microbial communities were assessed using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. We found that 3 years of experimental warming consistently and significantly increased microbial biomass at the 0–10 cm soil depth of alpine swamp meadow (ASM) and alpine steppe (AS) grasslands, and at both the 0–10 and 10–20 cm soil depths of alpine meadow (AM) grasslands, due primarily to the changes in soil temperature, moisture, and plant coverage. Soil microbial community composition was also significantly affected by warming at the 0–10 cm soil depth of ASM and AM and at the 10–20 cm soil depth of AM. Warming significantly decreased the ratio of fungi to bacteria and thus induced a community shift towards bacteria at the 0–10 cm soil depth of ASM and AM. While the ratio of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to saprotrophic fungi (AMF/SF) was significantly decreased by warming at the 0–10 cm soil depth of ASM, it was increased at the 0–10 cm soil depth of AM. These results indicate that warming had a strong influence on soil microbial communities in the studied high-elevation grasslands and that the effect was dependent on grassland type.     

Soil Bacterial Communities Respond to Climate Changes in a Temperate Steppe

Climate warming and shifting precipitation regimes are affecting biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Most studies have focused on the influence of warming and altered precipitation on macro-organisms, whereas the responses of soil microbial communities have been neglected. We studied the changes in the abundance, richness, and composition of the entire bacterial kingdom and 16 dominant bacterial phyla/classes in response to increased precipitation, warming, and their combination, by conducting a 5-year experiment in a steppe ecosystem in Inner Mongolia, China. Watering had a greater effect than warming on almost all the bacterial groups as indicated by changes in all the three attributes (abundance, richness, and composition). The 16 phyla/classes responded differentially to the experimental treatments, with Acidobacteria and Gamma-proteobacteria being the most sensitive. Stepwise regression analyses further revealed that climate changes altered the abundance and richness of bacterial groups primarily through direct routes (e.g., increasing soil water content), and changed the community composition through both direct and indirect routes (e.g., reducing soil total nitrogen content and increasing soil pH). The diverse responses of various bacterial groups could imply some potential shift in their ecosystem functions under climate changes; meanwhile, the indirect routes that are important in altering bacterial composition suggest that specific strategies (e.g., adding NH₄NO₃ to maintain soil nitrogen content and pH) could be adopted to maintain soil microbial composition under climate changes.     

青藏高原东缘高寒草甸常见植物种子形状对萌发的影响

以青藏高原东缘高寒草甸383种常见植物种子为材料,分析种子萌发特性与种子形状(长、宽、高的三维方差)、体积及相对表面积之间的相关性,研究高寒草甸地区植物种子性状对其萌发特性的影响。结果显示:(1)种子萌发率和萌发速率与种子三维方差、相对表面积呈极显著正相关,与体积呈显著负相关;(2)种子平均萌发时间与种子体积呈显著正相关、与种子相对表面积呈显著负相关、与种子三维方差无显著相关性。表明体积较小而形状细长的种子具有较高的萌发率及萌发速率,体积大而圆的种子需要更长的萌发时间;小种子具有较大的相对表面积可能是其具有较高萌发率和萌发速率的原因之一。研究结果为土壤种子库形成机制的研究提供了一定的理论依据。     

青藏高原高寒草甸和荒漠碳交换特征及其气象影响机制

以青藏高原玛沁地区高寒草甸和沱沱河地区高寒荒漠草原为观测研究站,利用涡动协方差技术获取高寒生态系统水平上的CO₂通量以及水和能量通量,通过REddyProc、随机森林(Random Forest, RF)进行了数据后处理,探究了不同下垫面典型环境因子对净生态系统CO₂交换量(Net Ecosystem Exchange, NEE)的影响机制。结果表明：1)玛沁高寒草甸在6—7月以吸收为主,表现为碳汇,吸收峰值出现在11:00—12:00(北京时,下同)之间,而在3、4、5、8月以排放为主,表现为碳源,排放峰值出现在21:00—23:00之间;沱沱河高寒荒漠在3—8月以吸收为主,表现为净碳汇,吸收峰值出现在13:00—14:00之间;整个生长季前后(3—8月),玛沁和沱沱河的累计NEE分别为79.50 g C/m²和79.24 g C/m²,都表现为碳汇。2)不同尺度不同下垫面,气象因子对NEE的重要程度不同,小时尺度上,高寒草甸辐射对NEE的重要性最大,高寒荒漠草原蒸散发对NEE的重要性最大;日尺度...     

青藏高原高寒灌丛植被对长期放牧强度试验的响应特征

在青藏高原中国科学院海北高寒草甸生态系统定位研究站对金露梅高寒灌丛草场植被开展了长期不同放牧强度试验,分别在短期(4年)、中期(11年)和长期(18年)放牧阶段研究不同放牧干扰强度对草地植物物种多样性、群落结构、地上生物量和草场质量的影响.研究表明,在不同放牧阶段,随着放牧强度增加植物群落的高度和盖度都降低.在中期放牧干扰阶段,物种多样性数和均匀度指数随着放牧强度增加呈现典型的单峰曲线模式;在长期放牧干扰阶段,随着放牧强度增加,占优势地位的灌木和禾草被典型杂类草替代,其中的重度放牧干扰简化了高寒灌丛植被群落结构,减少了地上现存生物量,特别是可食优良牧草生物量.植被对放牧的响应除了与放牧强度和放牧时间阶段密切相关外,还与该地区水热条件的变化有一定的相关性.针对长期放牧干扰的反应特性可将金露梅灌丛草场中植物划分为增加型、敏感型、忍耐型和无反应型4种类型.除了丰富度指数、多样性指数和均匀度指数外,其它一些特征参数并不支持著名的中度干扰假说.本研究发现,长期重度放牧促进了青藏高原高寒草地退化,适度放牧有利于高寒灌丛草场的生物多样性保护和牧草利用;"取半留半"的放牧原则在青藏高原草场放牧管理实践中值得推荐,它将有利于防止草场退化,提高牧草利用率和维持较高的生物多样性.     

青藏高原高寒草甸3种植物对模拟增温的生理生化响应

采用国际冻原计划(ITEX)模拟增温对植物影响的研究方法,将开项式生长室(OTC)按不同直径设置5个增温梯度,并按其直径从小到大的顺序依次标记为A、B、C、D、E 5个处理,研究了增温效应对青藏高原高寒草甸3种植物生理生化特性的影响。研究表明:（1） A~E 5个增温处理使OTC内部气温依次比对照升高了2.68 ℃、1.57 ℃、1.20 ℃、1.07 ℃ 和0.69 ℃,土壤温度依次比对照升高了1.74 ℃、1.06 ℃、0.80 ℃、0.60 ℃和0.30 ℃。（2）增温对3种植物的叶绿素含量、可溶性糖含量、可溶性蛋白含量、SOD活性、谷胱甘肽等生理生化特性产生了一系列的影响,3种植物对增温效应的响应也不尽相同。（3）增温对青藏高原3种植物生理生化特性的影响明显且复杂,适度增温0.69 ℃~1.07 ℃（D、E处理）对3种植物生理生化特性在总体上表现为正效应。     

Carbon Balance in an Alpine Steppe in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Carbon fluxes were measured using a static chamber technique in an alpine steppe in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from July 2000 to July 2001. It was shown that carbon emissions decreased in autumn and increased in spring of the next year, with higher values in growth seasons than in winters. An exponential correlation （Ecarbon = 0.22（exp（0.09T） ＋ In（0.31P ＋ 1））, R^2 = 0.77, P 〈 0.001） was shown between carbon emissions and environmental factors such as temperature （T） and precipitation （P）. Using the daily temperature （T） and total precipitation （R）, annual carbon emission from soil to the atmosphere was estimated to be 79.6 g C/m^2, 46% of which was emitted by microbial respiration. Considering an average net primary production of 92.5 g C/m^2 per year within the 2 year experiment, alpine steppes can take up 55.9 g CO2-C/m^2 per year. This indicates that alpine steppes are a distinct carbon sink, although this carbon reservoir was quite small.     

Carbon Balance in an Alpine Steppe in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Carbon fluxes were measured using a static chamber technique in an alpine steppe in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from July 2000 to July 200t. It was shown that carbon emissions decreased in autumn and increased in spring of the next year, with higher values in growth seasons than in winters. An exponential correlation (Ecarbon = 0.22(exp(0.09T) + In(0.31P + 1)), R2 = 0.77, P < 0.001) was shown between carbon emissions and environmental factors such as temperature (T) and precipitation (P). Using the daily temperature (T) and total precipitation (R), annual carbon emission from soil to the atmosphere was estimated to be 79.6 g C/m2, 46% of which was emitted by microbial respiration. Considering an average net primary production of 92.5 g C/m2 per year within the 2 year experiment, alpine steppes can take up 55.9 g CO2-C/m2 per year. This indicates that alpine steppes are a distinct carbon sink, although this carbon reservoir was quite small.     

高寒草甸生态系统中高原鼠兔的繁殖特征

2002年4月至8月,在中国科学院海北高寒草甸生态系统定位站附近,采用标志重捕法对高原鼠免的繁殖特征进行了研究。高原鼠兔的繁殖具有明显的季节性差异,4月下旬和5月为繁殖高峰期,雄性的睾丸重而饱满,雌性的怀孕率最大。雄性成体的体重和睾丸重在繁殖期的不同时段具有显的差异,在4月11日至5月10日、6月11日至7月10日体重和睾丸重之间呈显正相关。雌性怀孕早期胚胎数与临产前胚胎数没有显差异,未发现胚胎吸收现象;同时,胚胎数在繁殖期的不同时段存在显差异。采用种群统计学中同生群的划分方法,将5～8月份出生的幼体依次记为L1、L2、L3、L4。在出生后20天内L1、L2幼体存活率明显高于L3、L4;在从出生50天至80天期间L4的存活率显高于L2。当年出生的雌雄幼体在发育上存在不同步现象,当年出生的雌性幼体性成熟早,有的可以直接参加繁殖,但当年出生的雄性幼体却无此现象。结果表明：在海北地区,经过综合治理后,高原鼠兔的生境发生改变,其繁殖策略也随之发生改变,即,减少每次繁殖活动的投入,增加繁殖次数,延长繁殖时间。     

Seasonal Changes in an Alpine Soil Bacterial Community in the Colorado Rocky Mountains

The period when the snowpack melts in late spring is a dynamic time for alpine ecosystems. The large winter microbial community begins to turn over rapidly, releasing nutrients to plants. Past studies have shown that the soil microbial community in alpine dry meadows of the Colorado Rocky Mountains changes in biomass, function, broad-level structure, and fungal diversity between winter and early summer. However, little specific information exists on the diversity of the alpine bacterial community or how it changes during this ecologically important period. We constructed clone libraries of 16S ribosomal DNA from alpine soil collected in winter, spring, and summer. We also cultivated bacteria from the alpine soil and measured the seasonal abundance of selected cultured isolates in hybridization experiments. The uncultured bacterial communities changed between seasons in diversity and abundance within taxa. The Acidobacterium division was most abundant in the spring. The winter community had the highest proportion of Actinobacteria and members of the Cytophaga/Flexibacter/Bacteroides (CFB) division. The summer community had the highest proportion of the Verrucomicrobium division and of β-Proteobacteria. As a whole, α-Proteobacteria were equally abundant in all seasons, although seasonal changes may have occurred within this group. A number of sequences from currently uncultivated divisions were found, including two novel candidate divisions. The cultured isolates belonged to the α-, β-, and γ-Proteobacteria, the Actinobacteria, and the CFB groups. The only uncultured sequences that were closely related to the isolates were from winter and spring libraries. Hybridization experiments showed that actinobacterial and β-proteobacterial isolates were most abundant during winter, while the α- and γ-proteobacterial isolates tested did not vary significantly. While the cultures and clone libraries produced generally distinct groups of organisms, the two approaches gave consistent accounts of seasonal changes in microbial diversity.     

Bacterial Responses to a Simulated Colon Tumor Microenvironment

One of the few bacteria that have been consistently linked to colorectal cancer (CRC) is the opportunistic pathogen Streptococcus gallolyticus. Infections with this bacterium are generally regarded as an indicator for colonic malignancy, while the carriage rate of this bacterium in the healthy large intestine is relatively low. We speculated that the physiological changes accompanying the development of CRC might favor the colonization of this bacterium. To investigate whether colon tumor cells can support the survival of S. gallolyticus, this bacterium was grown in spent medium of malignant colonocytes to simulate the altered metabolic conditions in the CRC microenvironment. These in vitro simulations indicated that S. gallolyticus had a significant growth advantage in these spent media, which was not observed for other intestinal bacteria. Under these conditions, bacterial responses were profiled by proteome analysis and metabolic shifts were analyzed by ¹H-NMR-spectroscopy. In silico pathway analysis of the differentially expressed proteins and metabolite analysis indicated that this advantage resulted from the increased utilization of glucose, glucose derivates, and alanine. Together, these data suggest that tumor cell metabolites facilitate the survival of S. gallolyticus, favoring its local outgrowth and providing a possible explanation for the specific association of S. gallolyticus with colonic malignancy.The human intestine is the habitat for several hundred different bacterial species with an increasing bacterial concentration and variability toward the distal colon (1). The resident gut microbiota is essential for human health by making dietary nutrients available to the host and preventing the invasion of pathogens by competitive colonization and nutrient competition (2, 3). Strikingly, the part of the intestine with the highest bacterial colonization, the colon, is also most affected by cancer, with 146,970 annual cases in the United States of America (4). In a healthy colonic environment, the host has several defense mechanisms to shield itself from bacterial infection, such as the viscous mucus layer overlaying the epithelium. However, the progression of CRC¹ is accompanied by changes in the integrity of the colon, including reduced mucus production (5) and increased epithelial permeability (6). These physiological changes can drive the intestinal ecosystem, which is relatively stable during adult life, into dysbiosis (7, 8). As a consequence, the host may become more susceptible to opportunistic bacterial infections (9–11).One of the few bacteria that have been consistently linked to CRC is the opportunistic pathogen Streptococcus gallolyticus (previously known as Streptococcus bovis biotype I). In CRC patients the fecal carriage rate of this bacterium is increased from 10% to about 50% (12), which suggests that this disease facilitates the colonic survival of S. gallolyticus. Importantly, ∼60% of patients that present with S. gallolyticus endocarditis have concomitant CRC (both adenomas and carcinomas) (13, 14), which largely exceeds the rates reported in the general population (∼25%) (15). These patients had no gastro-intestinal signs or clinical symptoms of malignancy and CRC was only detected because this bacterial infection guided the physician to perform a colonoscopy.Several mechanisms for this apparent association between S. gallolyticus and CRC can be envisaged. Recently, we postulated a model in which the collagen binding ability of S. gallolyticus contributes to the specific colonization of malignant colonic sites (16). However, the altered microenvironment of the tumor may also provide conditions that favor survival and outgrowth of S. gallolyticus in this newly formed intestinal niche. For example, Hirayama et al. have shown that glucose-1-phosphate and fructose-1-phophate levels as well as amino acid concentrations were significantly higher in tumor tissue than in normal tissue (17). To investigate if this altered nutritional status of the CRC microenvironment could facilitate the foraging of S. gallolyticus, we simulated the influence of colon tumor cell metabolites on S. gallolyticus growth by incubating this bacterium in spent medium of malignant cells. Subsequently, the bacterial responses were profiled by two-dimensional proteome analysis, and metabolic shifts in the culture medium were assessed by ¹H-NMR-spectroscopy. In silico pathway analysis and further in vitro simulations showed that, unlike other intestinal bacteria, S. gallolyticus had a growth advantage under these conditions, which could mainly be attributed to increased glycolysis. These results provide the first molecular support that tumor metabolites may facilitate the local outgrowth of tumor-foraging bacteria, such as S. gallolyticus.     

Pyrosequencing Reveals Changes in Soil Bacterial Communities after Conversion of Yungas Forests to Agriculture

The Southern Andean Yungas in Northwest Argentina constitute one of the main biodiversity hotspots in the world. Considerable changes in land use have taken place in this ecoregion, predominantly related to forest conversion to croplands, inducing losses in above-ground biodiversity and with potential impact on soil microbial communities. In this study, we used high-throughput pyrosequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene to assess whether land-use change and time under agriculture affect the composition and diversity of soil bacterial communities. We selected two areas dedicated to sugarcane and soybean production, comprising both short- and long-term agricultural sites, and used the adjacent native forest soils as a reference. Land-use change altered the composition of bacterial communities, with differences between productive areas despite the similarities between both forests. At the phylum level, only Verrucomicrobia and Firmicutes changed in abundance after deforestation for sugarcane and soybean cropping, respectively. In cultivated soils, Verrucomicrobia decreased sharply (~80%), while Firmicutes were more abundant. Despite the fact that local diversity was increased in sugarcane systems and was not altered by soybean cropping, phylogenetic beta diversity declined along both chronosequences, evidencing a homogenization of soil bacterial communities over time. In spite of the detected alteration in composition and diversity, we found a core microbiome resistant to the disturbances caused by the conversion of forests to cultivated lands and few or none exclusive OTUs for each land-use type. The overall changes in the relative abundance of copiotrophic and oligotrophic taxa may have an impact in soil ecosystem functionality. However, communities with many taxa in common may also share many functional attributes, allowing to maintain at least some soil ecosystem services after forest conversion to croplands.     

Effects of Warming and Clipping on Ecosystem Carbon Fluxes across Two Hydrologically Contrasting Years in an Alpine Meadow of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Responses of ecosystem carbon (C) fluxes to human disturbance and climatic warming will affect terrestrial ecosystem C storage and feedback to climate change. We conducted a manipulative experiment to investigate the effects of warming and clipping on soil respiration (Rs), ecosystem respiration (ER), net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and gross ecosystem production (GEP) in an alpine meadow in a permafrost region during two hydrologically contrasting years (2012, with 29.9% higher precipitation than the long-term mean, and 2013, with 18.9% lower precipitation than the long-tem mean). Our results showed that GEP was higher than ER, leading to a net C sink (measured by NEE) over the two growing seasons. Warming significantly stimulated ecosystem C fluxes in 2012 but did not significantly affect these fluxes in 2013. On average, the warming-induced increase in GEP (1.49 µ mol m⁻²s⁻¹) was higher than in ER (0.80 µ mol m⁻²s⁻¹), resulting in an increase in NEE (0.70 µ mol m⁻²s⁻¹). Clipping and its interaction with warming had no significant effects on C fluxes, whereas clipping significantly reduced aboveground biomass (AGB) by 51.5 g m⁻² in 2013. These results suggest the response of C fluxes to warming and clipping depends on hydrological variations. In the wet year, the warming treatment caused a reduction in water, but increases in soil temperature and AGB contributed to the positive response of ecosystem C fluxes to warming. In the dry year, the reduction in soil moisture, caused by warming, and the reduction in AGB, caused by clipping, were compensated by higher soil temperatures in warmed plots. Our findings highlight the importance of changes in soil moisture in mediating the responses of ecosystem C fluxes to climate warming in an alpine meadow ecosystem.     

青藏高原高寒草甸植物群落结构和功能对氮、磷、钾添加的短期响应

对中国科学院海北高寒草甸生态系统定位站的矮嵩草草甸水肥样地进行了氮、磷、钾及其组合的施肥处理,研究了施肥对植物群落结构和功能的影响。结果表明:(1)施肥使矮嵩草草甸植物群落物种丰富度减少,不同施肥处理下物种丰富度大小分别为:对照钾磷氮氮磷磷钾氮钾氮磷钾。(2)在氮磷配合施肥处理下,矮嵩草草甸植物群落Shannon-Wiener指数显著高于对照,而其它施肥处理对Shannon-Wiener指数影响不显著。(3)在同一施肥处理下,禾草类和莎草类的重要值明显高于豆科和杂类草功能群,不同施肥处理使禾草、莎草、豆科植物的重要值增加,而杂类草重要值减少。(4)与对照相比,不同施肥(除钾外)处理可不同程度的增加植物群落的高度。(5)除钾、磷钾养分添加对矮嵩草草甸地上生物量的影响与对照差异不显著外,其它养分及其组合添加都极显著增加了群落地上生物量,且大小顺序依次为氮磷氮磷钾磷氮钾氮磷钾钾对照。(6)施用不同种类的肥料后,矮嵩草草甸各功能群地上生物量的比例变化明显,禾草和莎草的比例均增加,杂类草的比例减少,而豆科植物无规律性。(7)熵值法综合评价短期施肥处理对矮嵩草草甸群落的影响表明,氮磷、氮磷钾配合施肥是青藏高原高寒草甸最佳施肥选择。     

Growth Response of Soda Lake Bacterial Communities to Simulated Rainfall

Moderately saline soda lakes harbor extremely abundant and fast growing bacterial communities. An interesting phenomenon of an explosive bacterial growth in shallow soda lakes in Eastern Austria after dilution with rainwater, concomitantly with a significant decrease in temperature was observed in a former study. In the present study, we tried to identify the factors being responsible for this enhanced bacterial growth in laboratory batch cultures. Three experiments were performed with water taken from two different lakes at different seasons. Natural soda lake water was diluted with distilled water, artificial lake water, sterile filtered soda lake water, and grazer-free water to test (1) for the influence of compatible solutes released to the environment and reduced salt stress after osmotic down-shock, (2) for the influence of nutrients, which may be washed in from the dry areas of the lake bottom after rainfall and (3) for the decrease of grazing pressure due to dilution. The potential influence of (4) viruses was indirectly deduced. The response of the bacterial community to the manipulations was measured by changes in bacterial numbers, the incorporation of ³H-leucine and the concomitant determination of the amount of ³H-leucine uptaking bacteria by microautoradiography. The influence of the environmental factors enhancing bacterial growth after a simulated rainfall event showed variations between the lakes and over the seasons. The addition of nutrients was, in all experiments, the main factor triggering bacterial growth. The decrease in grazing pressure and viral lysis after dilution was of significant importance in two of three experiments. In the experiment with the highest salinity, we could show that either compatible solutes released after osmotic down-shock and used as a source of nutrients for the soda lake bacterial populations or reduced salt stress were most probably responsible for the observed marked enhancement of bacterial growth.     

青藏高原高寒草甸生态系统高原鼠兔种群调查及其防控阈值研究（英文）

认识高原鼠兔Ochotona curzoniae在草地退化中的角色和地位,对于加强高寒草甸生态系统高原鼠兔种群管理具有重要的意义。以高原鼠兔有效洞穴密度为调查对象,根据所调查的12个样地遴选出4个不同鼠洞等级的研究样地去评估鼠兔数量和植物生物量变化之间的关系。主要结论如下:高原鼠兔活动并非引起草地退化的原因,而是作为草地退化的标志性信号,然而高频度的鼠兔活动会加剧草地逆向演替的进程。因此,一些综合措施诸如减少牲畜数量、动态的轮牧、草地恢复管理技术、社区参与式管理等可以有效提高草地生产力和防止鼠害爆发。对各类型退化草地进行综合治理时,应加强对害鼠种群动态的监测,当种群密度超过经济阈值或达到高密度种群时,应急性、常规性灭鼠工作才可以实施,为重度型退化草地重建、植被恢复和土壤发育提供可能性。     

Response of Archaeal and Bacterial Soil Communities to Changes Associated with Outdoor Cattle Overwintering

Archaea and bacteria are important drivers for nutrient transformations in soils and catalyse the production and consumption of important greenhouse gases. In this study, we investigate changes in archaeal and bacterial communities of four Czech grassland soils affected by outdoor cattle husbandry. Two show short-term (3 years; STI) and long-term impact (17 years; LTI), one is regenerating from cattle impact (REG) and a control is unaffected by cattle (CON). Cattle manure (CMN), the source of allochthonous microbes, was collected from the same area. We used pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes to assess the composition of archaeal and bacterial communities in each soil type and CMN. Both short- and long- term cattle impact negatively altered archaeal and bacterial diversity, leading to increase of homogenization of microbial communities in overwintering soils over time. Moreover, strong shifts in the prokaryotic communities were observed in response to cattle overwintering, with the greatest impact on archaea. Oligotrophic and acidophilic microorganisms (e.g. Thaumarchaeota, Acidobacteria, and α-Proteobacteria) dominated in CON and expressed strong negative response to increased pH, total C and N. Whereas copiotrophic and alkalophilic microbes (e.g. methanogenic Euryarchaeota, Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes) were common in LTI showing opposite trends. Crenarchaeota were also found in LTI, though their trophic interactions remain cryptic. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Methanobacteriaceae, and Methanomicrobiaceae indicated the introduction and establishment of faecal microbes into the impacted soils, while Chloroflexi and Methanosarcinaceae suggested increased abundance of soil-borne microbes under altered environmental conditions. The observed changes in prokaryotic community composition may have driven corresponding changes in soil functioning.     

青海高寒草甸土壤放线菌区系研究

2001～2002年从海北高寒草甸生态系统采集土样,用不同方法从中分离放线菌300余株,根据其形态和分类特征,分别归入小单孢菌属(Micromonospora)、诺卡氏菌属(Nocardia)、糖多孢菌属(Saccharopolyspora)、原小单孢菌属(Promicromonospora)和链霉菌属(Streptomyces),并将链霉菌归入7个类群。同时对230株中温菌和110株低温菌的部分酶活性及其对真菌和细菌的拮抗性进行了测定,发现链霉菌不仅具有许多酶活性,而且对真菌和细菌有拮抗性。     

Changes in the Soil Bacterial Communities in a Cedar Plantation Invaded by Moso Bamboo

Moso bamboo is fast-growing and negatively allelopathic to neighboring plants. However, there is little information on the effects of its establishment and expansion to adjacent forest soil communities. To better understand the impacts of bamboo invasion on soil communities, the phylogenetic structure and diversity of the soil bacterial communities in moso bamboo forest, adjacent Japanese cedar plantation, and bamboo-invaded transition zone were examined using a combination of 16S rRNA gene clone libraries and bar-coded pyrosequencing techniques. Based on the number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs), Shannon diversity index, Chao1 estimator, and rarefaction analysis of both techniques, the bamboo soil bacterial community was the most diverse, followed by the transition zone, with the cedar plantation possessing the lowest diversity. The results from both techniques revealed that the Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria predominated in the three communities, though the relative abundance was different. The 250 most abundant OTUs represented about 70 % of the total sequences found by pyrosequencing. Most of these OTUs were found in all three soil communities, demonstrating the overall similarity among the bacterial communities. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis showed further that the bamboo and transition soil communities were more similar with each other than the cedar soils. These results suggest that bamboo invasion to the adjacent cedar plantation gradually increased the bacterial diversity and changed the soil community. In addition, while the 10 most abundant OTUs were distributed worldwide, related sequences were not abundant in soils from outside the forest studied here. This result may be an indication of the uniqueness of this region.     

青藏高原高寒草甸生态系统碳通量特征及其控制因子

青藏高原特殊的气候变化特征,在区域生态系统碳动态平衡起着重要作用。本文就青藏高原不同生态系统CO2通量的时空变化及其影响因子和控制途径进行综述,以明确青藏高原植草地生态系统的碳源汇状况及时空变化特征,为全球变化的研究提供依据。