Development of microbial community during primary succession in areas degraded by mining activities

Together with plants, soil microbial communities play an essential role in the development of stable ecosystems on degraded lands, such as postmining spoil heaps. Our study addressed concurrent development of the vegetation and soil fungal and bacterial communities in the course of primary succession in a brown coal mine spoil deposit area in the Czech Republic across a chronosequence spanning 54 years. During succession, the plant communities changed from sparse plants over grassland and shrubland into a forest, becoming substantially more diverse with time. Microbial biomass increased until the 21st year of ecosystem development and later decreased. Although there was a close association between fungi and vegetation, with fungi mirroring the differences in plant community assemblages, the development of the bacterial community was different. The early succession community in the barren nonvegetated soil largely differed from that in the older sites, especially in its high abundance of autotrophic and free‐living N₂‐fixing bacteria. Later in succession, bacterial community changes were minor and reflected the chemical parameters of the soil, including pH, which also showed a minor change with time. Our results show that complex forest ecosystems developed over 54 years on the originally barren soil of the temperate zone and indicate an important role of bacteria in the initial stage of soil development. Although the arrival of vegetation affects substantially fungal as well as bacterial communities, it is mainly fungi that respond to the ongoing development of vegetation.     

Benefactor and allelopathic shrub species have different effects on the soil microbial community along an environmental severity gradient

Patches where shrubs have either positive or negative effects on their understory plant community are common in arid ecosystems. The intensity and balance of these effects change along environmental severity gradients but, despite the major role of soil microbes in plant interactions, little is known about the differences among soil microbial communities under these species and their possible influence on such contrasting shrub effects. We hypothesized that microbial communities associated to benefactor and allelopathic shrubs would differ among them and that differences would increase with environmental severity. To test these hypotheses we characterized soil microbial biomass, activity and community composition under a benefactor shrub species, Retama sphaerocarpa, an allelopathic shrub species, Thymus hyemalis, and in bare soil among plants (gaps) at three sites along an environmental severity gradient. Shrubs promoted an increase in soil bacterial diversity, being bacterial communities associated to benefactor shrubs, allelopathic shrubs and gaps different in composition. Microbial enzymatic activity and biomass increased under shrubs and under more mesic conditions; nonetheless, they were highest under benefactor shrubs at the most arid site and under allelopathic shrubs at the less severe site. Compared to gaps, the presence of shrubs induced changes in microbial activity and community composition that were larger at the most severe site than at the less severe site. Along the gradient, benefactor shrubs enhanced the abundance of bacterial groups involved in organic matter decomposition and N fixation as well as plant pathogens, which could contribute to Retama's outstanding positive effects on understory plant biomass and diversity. Plant patches mitigate the effects of extreme conditions on associated plant and soil microbial communities and promote soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in arid ecosystems, with shrubs actively selecting for specific microbial groups in their understory.     

Microbial community composition and activity in different Alpine vegetation zones

In alpine environments, climate change may alter vegetation composition as well as the quantity and quality of plant litter, which in turn may affect microbial community composition and functioning. In this study, we analyzed soil microbial community composition and its activity along a vegetation gradient (900-1900 m above sea level (a.s.l.)) in the Austrian Limestone Alps. Soil pH and C:N ratios were significantly different under different plant communities and ranged from 3.9 to 6.1 and from 29 to 17, respectively. The highest amounts of microbial biomass, estimated by the sum of microbial phospholipid fatty acids (total PLFAs), were found at sites with high pH and low C:N ratio, i.e. in alpine grassland and beech forest sites (3.9 ± 0.05 and 3.4 ± 0.7 μmol per g organic carbon (OC), respectively), and the lowest amounts were found at sites with low pH and high C:N ratio, i.e. sites with high percentage of conifers and acidophilic vegetation (around 2 μmol (g OC)⁻¹). Total and bacterial PLFAs as well as microbial activity (dimethyl sulphoxide reduction) did not show consistent altitudinal trends. The fungal PLFA 18:2ω6,9 was significantly higher in the forest sites (between 9.2 and 6.7 mol%) compared to the shrubland and grassland sites (between 4.5 and 2.3 mol%). A similar trend was found for ergosterol contents. As a consequence, the bacterial to fungal biomass ratio increased significantly from forest sites to shrubland and grassland sites. Expected future upward migration of the tree line in alpine environments in response to climate warming will therefore increase the abundance of fungi in these ecosystems.     

Interactive effects of elevation and land use on soil bacterial communities in the Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau of China is uniquely vulnerable to the global climate change and anthropogenic disturbances. As soil bacteria exert a considerable influence on the ecosystem function, understanding their response to different climates and land-use types is important. Here, we characterized the bacterial community composition and diversity across three major ecosystems (cropland, forest, and grassland) in the Sygera Mountains of Tibet, along a typical elevational gradient (3 300-4 600 m). The abundance of taxa that preferentially inhabit neutral or weak alkaline soil environments (such as Actinobacteria, Thermoleophilia, and some non-acidophilus Acidobacteria) was significantly greater in the cropland than in the forest and grassland. Furthermore, the diversity of soil bacterial communities was also significantly greater in the cropland than in the forest and grassland. We observed a unimodal distribution of bacterial species diversity along the elevation gradient. The dominant phyla Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria exhibited consistent elevational distribution patterns that mirrored the abundance of their most abundant classes, while different patterns were observed for Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria at the class level. Soil pH was the primary edaphic property that regulated bacterial community composition across the different land-use types. Additionally, soil pH was the main factor distinguishing bacterial communities in managed soils (i.e., cropland) from the communities in the natural environments (i.e., forest and grassland). In conclusion, land use (particularly anthropogenic disturbances such as cropping) largely controlled soil environment, played a major role in driving bacterial community composition and distribution, and also surpassed climate in affecting bacterial community distribution.     

Soil moisture is the major factor influencing microbial community structure and enzyme activities across seven biogeoclimatic zones in western Canada

Although soil microorganisms play a central role in the soil processes that determine nutrient availability and productivity of forest ecosystems, we are only beginning to understand how microbial communities are shaped by environmental factors and how the structure and function of soil microbial communities in turn influence rates of key soil processes. Here we compare the structure and function of soil microbial communities in seven mature, undisturbed forest types across a range of regional climates in British Columbia and Alberta, and examine the variation in community composition within forest types. We collected the forest floor fermentation (F) and humus (H) layers and upper 10 cm of mineral soil at 3 sites in each of seven forest types (corresponding to seven Biogeoclimatic zones) in both spring and summer. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis was used to investigate the structure of soil microbial communities and total soil microbial biomass; potential activities of extra-cellular enzymes indicated the functional potential of the soil microbial community in each layer at each site.Multivariate analysis indicated that both structure and enzyme activities of soil microbial communities differed among the forest types, and significantly separated along the regional climate gradient, despite high local variation. Soil moisture and organic matter contents were most closely related to microbial community characteristics. Forests in the Ponderosa Pine and Mountain Hemlock zones were distinct from other forests and from each other when comparing potential enzyme activities and had the most extreme moisture and temperature values. Forest floors from the hot and dry Ponderosa Pine forests were associated with enzymes characteristic of water-stress and high concentrations of phenols and other recalcitrant compounds. The wet and cold Mountain Hemlock forests were associated with low enzyme activity.An influence of tree species was apparent at the three sites within the Coastal Western Hemlock zone; high bacterial:fungal biomass ratios were found under western redcedar (Thuja plicata) which also had high pH and base-cation levels, and under Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), which had high N availability. Potential activities enzymes differed among soil layers: potential activities of phenol oxidase and peroxidase were highest in mineral soil, whereas phosphatase, betaglucosidase, NAGase, sulfatase, xylosidase and cellobiohydrolase were highest in the forest floors.     

脱硫废弃物改良宁夏盐渍化土壤对细菌和氨氧化微生物丰度的影响

为探明脱硫废弃物改良盐渍化土壤对微生物群落的影响效果,在2009~2010年,采用田间试验,施用不同量的脱硫废弃物(0、0.74、1.49、2.25、3.00 kg·m-2),研究了脱硫废弃物对盐渍化土壤细菌、氨氧化细菌和氨氧化古菌的影响。试验结果表明:0~20 cm土层,Ca2+和NO-3-N含量随着施用量增加而增加;土壤p H值、电导率值显著下降。实时荧光定量PCR(q PCR)分析结果表明,微生物丰度随着脱硫废弃物的施用发生变化,但这种变化并不与脱硫废弃物的施用量呈线性关系。在0~20 cm土壤层,施脱硫废弃物使得细菌16S rRNA基因拷贝数处理组显著高于对照组。氨氧化古菌与氨氧化细菌基因拷贝数在T2和T4处理高于其它处理。20~40 cm土层各处理间微生物群落没有显著变化,或没有出现规律的变化趋势。因此,脱硫废弃物增加了土壤细菌和氨氧化功能基因丰度,且对上层土壤影响更为显著。本研究中施用脱硫废弃物1.49 kg·m-2(T2)是引起细菌和氨氧化功能基因丰度增加的施用量。     

Bacterial communities in paddy soils changed by milk vetch as green manure: A study conducted across six provinces in South China

The use of green manures contributes to sustainable soil and nutrient management in agriculture; however, the responses of soil microbial communities to different fertilization regimes at the regional scale are uncertain. A study was undertaken across multiple sites and years in Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, and Fujian provinces of South China to investigate the effects of green manuring on the structure and function of soil bacterial communities in rice-green manure cropping systems. The study included four treatments:winter fallow with no chemical fertilizer as a control (NF), milk vetch as green manure without chemical fertilizer (GM), winter fallow and chemical fertilizer (CF), and a combination of chemical fertilizer and milk vetch (GMCF). Significant differences were found in the responses of soil microbial communities at different sites, with sampling sites explaining 72.33% (F=36.59, P=0.001) of the community composition variation. The bacterial communities in the soils from Anhui, Henan, and Hubei were broadly similar, while those from Hunan were distinctly different from other locations. The analysis of Weighted UniFrac distances showed that milk vetch changed soil microbial communities compared with winter fallow. Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi predominated in these paddy soils; however, the application of green manures increased the relative abundance of Actinobacteria. There was evidence showing that the functional microbes which play important roles in the cycling of soil carbon, nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S) changed after several years of milk vetch utilization (linear discriminant analysis score > 2). The abundance of methane-oxidizing bacteria and S-reducing bacteria increased, and microbes involved in N fixation, nitrification, and denitrification also increased in some provinces. We concluded that the application of milk vetch changed the bacterial community structure and affected the functional groups related to nutrient transformation in soils at a regional scale.     

Land-use history has a stronger impact on soil microbial community composition than aboveground vegetation and soil properties

The response of soil microbial communities following changes in land-use is governed by multiple factors. The objectives of this study were to investigate (i) whether soil microbial communities track the changes in aboveground vegetation during succession; and (ii) whether microbial communities return to their native state over time. Two successional gradients with different vegetation were studied at the W. K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan. The first gradient comprised a conventionally tilled cropland (CT), mid-succession forest (SF) abandoned from cultivation prior to 1951, and native deciduous forest (DF). The second gradient comprised the CT cropland, early-succession grassland (ES) restored in 1989, and long-term mowed grassland (MG). With succession, the total microbial PLFAs and soil microbial biomass C consistently increased in both gradients. While bacterial rRNA gene diversity remained unchanged, the abundance and composition of many bacterial phyla changed significantly. Moreover, microbial communities in the relatively pristine DF and MG soils were very similar despite major differences in soil properties and vegetation. After >50 years of succession, and despite different vegetation, microbial communities in SF were more similar to those in mature DF than in CT. In contrast, even after 17 years of succession, microbial communities in ES were more similar to CT than endpoint MG despite very different vegetation between CT and ES. This result suggested a lasting impact of cultivation history on the soil microbial community. With conversion of deciduous to conifer forest (CF), there was a significant change in multiple soil properties that correlated with changes in microbial biomass, rRNA gene diversity and community composition. In conclusion, history of land-use was a stronger determinant of the composition of microbial communities than vegetation and soil properties. Further, microbial communities in disturbed soils apparently return to their native state with time.     

The bacterial community inhabiting temperate deciduous forests is vertically stratified and undergoes seasonal dynamics

Bacterial communities living in forest soils contribute to the decomposition of organic matter and the recycling of nutrients in these ecosystems and form one of the most diverse habitats on Earth. Unfortunately, due to difficulty in culturing soil bacteria, the understanding of their ecology is still limited. In the case of temperate deciduous forests, soil microbial communities face large seasonal variations in environmental conditions, such as temperature or moisture. Moreover, the supply of nutrients also differs due to seasonal processes, such as the allocation of photosynthates into soil by the roots of primary producers or the seasonal input of fresh litter. The aim of this study was to reveal how the bacterial community responds to these seasonal processes in the litter and soil of a Quercus petraea forest. Bacterial communities from litter and from the organic and mineral horizons of soil were analyzed during the four seasons of the year by 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. The results revealed that the composition of the bacterial community is horizon specific. The litter horizon had a higher relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes than soil, while the organic and mineral horizons had a higher abundance of Acidobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria than litter. Moreover, the bacterial community was significantly affected by seasonality in all horizons. Bacterial communities in the litter showed significant differences between the vegetation season (May and July) and the autumn and winter seasons (October, February). In mineral soil, bacterial community composition was specific in the summer, when it was significantly different from all other seasons, with a larger number of taxa described as rhizosphere and mycorrhizosphere inhabitants. The results indicate that litter decomposition is the main driver of bacterial community composition in litter horizon. In contrast to reports on fungal communities, bacterial community composition in mineral soil responds to the seasonal peaks of rhizodeposition in the summer.     

Composition of the microbial communities in the mineral soil under different types of natural forest

Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) patterns were used to describe the composition of the soil microbial communities under 12 natural forest stands including oak and beech, spruce-fir-beech, floodplain and pine forests. In addition to the quantification of total PLFAs, soil microbial biomass was measured by substrate-induced respiration and chloroform fumigation-extraction. The forest stands possess natural vegetation, representing an expression of the natural site factors, and we hypothesised that each forest type would support a specific soil microbial community. Principal component analysis (PCA) of PLFA patterns revealed that the microbial communities were compositionally distinct in the floodplain and pine forests, comprising azonal forest types, and were more similar in the oak, beech and spruce-fir-beech forests, which represent the zonal vegetation types of the region. In the nutrient-rich floodplain forests, the fatty acids 16:1ω5, 17:0cy, a15:0 and a17:0 were the most prevalent and soil pH seemed to be responsible for the discrimination of the soil microbial communities against those of the zonal forest types. The pine forest soils were set apart from the other forest soils by a higher abundance of PLFA 18:2ω6,9, which is typical of fungi and may also indicate ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with pine trees, and high amounts of PLFA 10Me18:0, which is common in actinomycetes. These findings suggest that the occurrence of azonal forest types at sites with specific soil conditions is accompanied by the development of specific soil microbial communities. The study provides information on the microbial communities in undisturbed forest soils which may facilitate interpretation of data derived from managed or even damaged or degraded forests.     

Bacterial and enchytraeid abundance accelerate soil carbon turnover along a lowland vegetation gradient in interior Alaska

Boreal wetlands are characterized by a mosaic of plant communities, including forests, shrublands, grasslands, and fens, which are structured largely by changes in topography and water table position. The soil associated with these plant communities contain quantitatively and qualitatively different forms of soil organic matter (SOM) and nutrient availability that drive changes in biogeochemical cycling rates. Therefore different boreal plant communities likely contain different soil biotic communities which in turn affect rates of organic matter decomposition. We examined relationships between plant communities, microbial communities, enchytraeids, and soil C turnover in near-surface soils along a shallow topographic soil moisture and vegetation gradient in interior Alaska. We tested the hypothesis that as soil moisture increases along the gradient, surface soils would become increasingly dominated by bacteria and mesofauna and have more rapid rates of C turnover. We utilized bomb radiocarbon techniques to infer rates of C turnover and the ¹³C isotopic composition of SOM and respired CO₂ to infer the degree of soil humification. Soil phenol oxidase and peroxidase enzyme activities were generally higher in the rich fen compared with the forest and bog birch sites. Results indicated greater C fluxes and more rapid C turnover in the surface soils of the fen sites compared to the wetland forest and shrub sites. Quantitative PCR analyses of soil bacteria and archaea, combined with enchytraeid counts, indicated that surface soils from the lowland fen ecosystems had higher abundances of these microbial and mesofaunal groups. Fungal abundance was highly variable and not significantly different among sites. Microbial data was utilized in a food web model that confirmed that rapidly cycling systems are dominated by bacterial activity and enchytraeid grazing. However, our results also suggest that oxidative enzymes play an important role in the C mineralization process in saturated systems, which has been often ignored.     

Microbial communities in forest floors under four tree species in coastal British Columbia

We compare forest floor microbial communities in pure plots of four tree species (Thuja plicata, Tsuga heterophylla, Pseudotsuga menziesii, and Picea sitchensis) replicated at three sites on Vancouver Island. Microbial communities were characterised through community level physiological profiles (CLPP), and profiling of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA).Microbial communities from cedar forest floors had higher potential C utilisation than the other species. The F layer of the forest floor under cedar contained significantly higher bacterial biomass (PLFA) than the F layer under the other three tree species. There were differences in microbial communities among the three sites: Upper Klanawa had the highest bacterial biomass and potential C utilisation; this site also had the highest N availability in the forest floors. Forest floor H layers under hemlock and Douglas-fir contained greater biomass of Gram positive, Gram negative bacteria and actinomycetes than F layers based on PLFA, and H layers under spruce contained greater biomass of Gram negative bacteria than F layers. There were no significant differences in bacterial biomass between forest floor layers under cedar. Fungal biomass displayed opposite trends to bacteria and actinomycetes, being lowest in cedar forest floors, and highest in the F layer and at the site with lowest N availability. There were also differences in community composition among species and sites, with cedar forest floors having a much lower fungal:bacterial ratio than spruce, hemlock and Douglas-fir. The least fertile Sarita Lake site had a much greater fungal:bacterial ratio than the more fertile San Juan and Upper Klanawa sites. Forest floor layer had the greatest effect on microbial community structure and potential function, followed by site, and tree species. The similarity in trends among measures of N availability and microbial communities is further evidence that these techniques provide information on microbial communities that is relevant to N cycling processes in the forest floor.     

Drying and rewetting of forest floors: dynamics of soluble phosphorus,microbial biomass-phosphorus,and the composition of microbial communities

Drying and rewetting (D/W) of soils often leads to a pulse of total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) by lysis of sensitive microorganisms. The relevance of D/W on the P cycle in ecosystems depends on the duration of the TDP release. In forest soils, the forest floor represents a hotspot of microbial activity and is often prone to D/W. Here, we investigated the dynamics of TDP, the microbial P pool (Pmic), and the composition of microbial communities after D/W. Samples were taken from Oi and Oe layers of a European beech and a Norway spruce site and desiccated up to ??100 MPa (pF 6) at 20 °C, while controls were kept moist. TDP and Pmic were measured 0, 1, 3, 7, and 14 days after rewetting and the composition of microbial communities was analyzed by automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis after 14 days. After D/W, the largest TDP net release (D/W-control) was from Oe layers with 40–50 mg P kg^?1 and inorganic P as the dominant fraction. The TDP concentrations decreased strongly in Oi layers within 1 (beech) to 4 (spruce) days, while remaining stable in Oe layers. The TDP dynamics were linked to the decrease and recovery of Pmic after D/W. Pmic dynamics differed between layers and stand types, suggesting the influence of microbial communities with different D/W sensitivities. The composition of microbial communities varied strongly among sites and layers, while D/W only affected the composition of bacterial and fungal communities in the spruce Oe layer. D/W of forest floors increases the plant available P and affects the P cycle in forest ecosystems.     

Soil microbial abundance and community structure vary with altitude and season in the coniferous forests,China

Purpose

Soil microbes control the bioelement cycles and energy transformation in forest ecosystems, and are sensitive to environmental change. As yet, the effects of altitude and season on soil microbes remain unknown. A 560 m vertical transitional zone was selected along an altitude gradient from 3023, 3298 and 3582 m, to determine the potential effects of seasonal freeze-thaw on soil microbial community.

Materials and methods

Soil samples were collected from the three elevations in the growing season (GS), onset of freezing period (FP), deeply frozen period (FPD), thawing period (TP), and later thawing period (TPL), respectively. Real-time qPCR and polymerase chain reaction denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) were used to measure the abundance and structure of soil microbial community.

Results and discussion

The bacterial, archaeal, and fungal ribosomal DNA (rDNA) copy numbers decreased from GS to freezing stage (FP and FPD) and then increased in thawing stage (TP and TPL). Similarly, the diversity of microbial community varied with seasonal freeze-thaw processes. The diversity index (H) of the bacterial and archaeal communities decreased from GS to FP and then increased to TPL. The fungal community H index increased in the freezing process.

Conclusions

Our results suggested that abundance and structure of soil microbial community in the Tibetan coniferous forests varied by season and bacterial and archaeal communities respond more promptly to seasonal freeze-thaw processes relative to fungal community. This may have important implications for carbon and nutrient cycles in alpine forest ecosystems. Accordingly, future warming-induced changes in seasonal freeze-thaw patterns would affect soil nutrient cycles via altering soil microbial properties.

     

INTRODUCED EUCALYPTUS UROPHYLLA PLANTATIONS CHANGE THE COMPOSITION OF THE SOIL MICROBIAL COMMUNITY IN SUBTROPICAL CHINA

Fast‐growing tree species are widely used as pioneers for reforestation. These plantations strongly affect the ecosystem productivity and nutrient cycling, whereas their effect on the soil microbial community is still unclear. In a reforestation chronosequence in subtropical China consisting of Eucalyptus plantation with ages of 1, 2, 4 or 5 years, we examined the response of the soil microbial community and its function. The results showed that soil bulk density and dissolved organic carbon decreased significantly along the chronosequence. Soil pH was highest in the 5‐year‐old plantation. The amount of bacterial phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal PLFAs increased, but the ratio of fungal‐to‐bacterial PLFAs decreased with increasing forest age. The composition of the soil microbial community obviously changed after 5 years' development. Redundancy analysis showed that dissolved organic carbon was the major factor associated with the changes of soil microbial community composition. The short‐rotation Eucalyptus plantation could affect the composition of soil microbial communities through changing soil available carbon when planted in subtropical region at the early developmental stage. We suggest that soil microbial community composition should be taken into consideration in the large‐scale reforestation activities. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of agricultural land use change on community composition of bacteria and ammonia oxidizers

Purpose

Soil microbial communities can be strongly influenced by agricultural practices, but little is known about bacterial community successions as land use changes. The objective of this study was to determine microbial community shifts following major land use changes in order to improve our understanding of land use impacts on microbial community composition and functions.

Materials and methods

Four agricultural land use patterns were selected for the study, including old rice paddy fields (ORP), Magnolia nursery planting (MNP), short-term vegetable (STV), and long-term vegetable (LTV) cultivation. All four systems are located in the same region with same soil parent material (alluvium), and the MNP, STV, and LTV systems had been converted from ORP for 10, 3, and 30 years, respectively. Soil bacteria and ammonia oxidizer community compositions were analyzed by 454 pyrosequencing and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism, respectively. Quantitative PCR was used to determine 16S rRNA and amoA gene copy numbers.

Results and discussion

The results showed that when land use was changed from rice paddy to upland systems, the relative abundance of Chloroflexi increased whereas Acidobacteria decreased significantly. While LTV induced significant shifts of bacterial composition, MNP had the highest relative abundance of genera GP1, GP2, and GP3, which were mainly related to the development of soil acidity. The community composition of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) but not ammonia-oxidizing archaea was strongly impacted by the agricultural land use patterns, with LTV inducing the growth of a single super predominant AOB group. The land use changes also induced significant shifts in the abundance of 16S rRNA and bacterial amoA genes, but no significant differences in the abundance of archaea amoA was detected among the four land use patterns. Soil total phosphorous, available phosphorous, NO₃ ^?, and soil organic carbon contents and pH were the main determinants in driving the composition of both bacteria and AOB communities.

Conclusions

These results clearly show the significant impact of land use change on soil microbial community composition and abundance and this will have major implications on the microbial ecology and nutrient cycling in these systems, some of which is unknown. Further research should be directed to studying the impacts of these microbial community shifts on nutrient dynamics in these agroecosystems so that improved nutrient management systems can be developed.     

有机无机肥配施对日光温室番茄连作土壤微生物的影响

  目的  为解决日光温室番茄连作障碍,必须弄清有机无机肥配施对番茄连作土壤微生物的影响。  方法  试验共设置6个处理,分别为不施肥（CK）、20%有机肥 + 80%化肥（M20C80）、40%有机肥 + 60%化肥（M40C60）、60%有机肥 + 40%化肥（M60C40）、80%有机肥 + 20%化肥（M80C20）、100%有机肥 + 0%化肥（M100）。测定了连作土壤理化性质、细菌和真菌的微生物群落结构、物种组成和丰度等相关指标。  结果  M40C60处理使连作土壤孔隙度在54.38% ~ 55.61%,pH维持在7.19 ~ 7.22,有机质和速效钾含量分别维持在49.70 ~ 59.21 g kg?1和536.1 ~ 605.5 mg kg?1的中等水平,速效磷含量则维持在680.4 ~ 783.0 mg kg?1的高水平。增施有机肥,可以改善土壤微生物群落组成,分别提高芽孢杆菌（Bacillus）、土胞杆菌（Terrisporbacter）、链霉菌（Streptomyces）以及头束霉菌（Cephalotrichum）等有益菌群落相对丰度0.86%、0.60%、0.12%和47.82%,降低变形菌（Proteobacteria）酸杆菌（Acidobacteriota）等有害菌群落相对丰度3.47%和1.74%。  结论  增施有机肥改善番茄连作土壤的基础理化性质,保持土壤中的养分含量。同时有益于微生物群落演替,维持或提高有益菌群的丰度,抑制或降低有害菌群的丰度,使连作土壤维持在一个较稳定的微生物群落结构。减少番茄连作土壤病害的发生,维持良好的土壤状态。     

Soil microbial community composition under Eucalyptus plantations of different age in subtropical China

Eucalyptus is one of the fastest growing woody plants in the world, but few studies have reported the soil microbial community composition in Eucalyptus ecosystems. This study investigated the soil microbial communities in plantations of 3-, 7-, 10- and 13-year-old Eucalyptus in subtropical China based on phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) analysis. The variation in soil microbial biomass and community compositions were influenced by sampling site and season and the interaction of both, which were consistent with the variation in soil total nitrogen (TN), soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil moisture. The number and abundances of PLFAs, and the amount of soil TN and SOC were higher in plantation of 13-year-old Eucalyptus than those in other younger plantations, suggesting that the soil properties and the soil microbial community composition is not negatively affected by the planting of Eucalyptus. The ratio of monounsaturated-to-branched fatty acids, the proportional abundance (mol%) of bacterial PLFA and fungal PLFA varied significantly with Eucalyptus plantations of different age, suggesting that the individual PLFA signatures might be sensitive indicators of soil properties associated with forest plantations.     

柑橘生长与土壤养分及微生物群落的关系研究

  目的  探讨影响柑橘生长的相关因子,为柑橘生长的科学管理提供依据。  方法  在相同管理措施条件且树木无病害的情况下,采集四种长势（长势良好为Ⅰ等级,长势一般为Ⅱ等级,长势较差为Ⅲ等级,矮小无产为Ⅳ等级）的柑橘根区土壤,分析其土壤养分有效性、酶活性以及细菌群落结构。  结果  Ⅳ等级柑橘根区土壤中全氮和速效钾含量显著低于其他等级的柑橘根区土壤（P < 0.05）,Ⅰ等级柑橘根区土壤中有效钙、镁、硼含量均显著高于其他三个等级柑橘根区土壤（P < 0.05）, Ⅳ等级柑橘根区土壤中的铜含量显著低于其他等级柑橘根区土壤（P < 0.05）。Ⅰ等级柑橘根区土壤中β-葡萄糖苷酶和纤维二糖水解酶活性显著低于其他等级的橘树根区土壤。Ⅰ等级柑橘根区土壤中绿弯菌门（Chloroflexi）和假单胞菌属（Pseudomonas）相对丰度显著高于Ⅳ等级柑橘根区土壤。冗余分析结果表明,Ⅳ等级柑橘树根区土壤细菌群落明显区别于Ⅰ ~ Ⅲ等级柑橘树,速效钾与有效钙是影响细菌群落的重要因子。  结论  不同长势柑橘树土壤中有效钾、全氮、有效钙、镁、硼等养分含量具有显著差异,从而导致柑橘树生长状况出现差异。其次中微量元素的缺乏也提醒农户在果园日常施肥中,除注意大量元素的施用之外,还应重视中微量元素的肥料施用。本研究尚未发现土壤酶活性与柑橘长势情况显著相关,但发现微生物群落对柑橘长势产生影响,各级柑橘根区土壤微生物群落之间差异较大、优势菌为芽孢杆菌属（Bacillus）、假单胞菌属（Pseudomonas）,由此推测土壤微生物群落与土壤养分联系紧密,进而影响柑橘的生长发育。     

Temporal dynamics and variation with forest type of phospholipid fatty acids in litter and soil of temperate forests across regions

Microorganisms form the basis of soil food webs and represent key control points of carbon cycling and sequestration. Virtually all central European forests are managed and land-use regimes likely impact microbial abundance and community composition. Consequently, knowledge on how land-use intensity and abiotic variables, such as pH, C-to-N ratios, moisture regimes and concomitantly different stress levels, affect microbial communities is needed. We investigated phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles of leaf litter and soil from four forest types differing in foliage, age and management intensity, replicated in three regions across Germany. To account for temporal variation, samples were taken twice in the same season, but with an interval of three years. Total microbial biomass and microbial community composition differed between years, presumably due to between year variations in weather conditions. The litter layer was more prone to effects of drying, with a reduction of almost 30% of total PLFAs in the drier year. In soil effects of weather conditions depended on soil type and therefore differed between regions, with microorganisms in the sandy soils of the Schorfheide being more susceptible to water-stress, as evidenced by a ten-fold increase of the stress indicator cy/pre ratio in the drier year. Despite temporal variations in microbial biomass and community composition, the balance between the fungal and bacterial energy channel, as measured by fungal-to-bacterial ratios, remained rather constant in particular in soil. While total microbial biomass did not differ between forest types, microbial community composition differed significantly between beech and coniferous forests. Despite more acidic conditions, the fungal energy channel was less pronounced in leaf litter of coniferous forests than in broad-leaved forests, whereas the proportion of bacterial fatty acids was the highest in coniferous forests. Increasing management intensity presumably fosters the bacterial energy channel in the exposed litter layer. Supporting this assumption coniferous forests featured significantly higher values of the stress indicators cy/pre and SAT/MONO ratio. Bacterial community structure and biomass closely correlated with pH, with particular PLFAs dominating at high and low pH, respectively, indicating pH-specific microbial communities. In contrast, fungal abundance in leaf litter was correlated with C-to-N ratio. The results suggest that leaf litter and soil need to be considered separately when investigating changes in microbial community composition, since susceptibility of microorganisms to environmental stressors differs markedly between these layers. This, and repeated sampling events, may be particularly important when investigating subtle effects such as those related to climate change.