The community structure of soil Sarcodina in Baiyun Mountain,Guangzhou, China

Community structures of soil Sarcodina in 7 different habitats within Baiyun Mountain in Guangzhou, China were investigated with qualitative and quantitative analyses. The abundance, dominance, species diversity and community similarity index of soil sarcodina with different physicochemical parameters were comparatively analyzed. A total 67 species of sarcodina belonging to 4 Super-groups, 6 First ranks and 14 Second ranks were identified. The first dominant group was Tubulinea, followed by Flabellinea, with dominance of 59.7% and 13.4%, respectively. The highest abundance of sarcodina appeared in autumn of Site 5, reaching 1.20 × 10⁵ ind g^?1; the lowest in spring of Site 2 with 1.73 × 10³ ind g^?1. Margalef's biodiversity index ranged from 1.26 (winter of Site 6) to 2.51 (summer of Site 1). Statistical analyses showed the sarcodina abundance was positively correlated with organic matter, soil moisture, soil pH, ammonia nitrogen and total nitrogen, but the correlation coefficient of total potassium was negative. Total phosphorus, nitrate nitrogen and sulphate showed no significant effect on sarcodina abundance in the present study.     

Incidence and diversity of phosphate-solubilising bacteria are linked to phosphorus status in grassland soils

The extent to which soil phosphorus (P) status affected the incidence of soil phosphate-solubilising bacteria (PSB) and their taxonomic abundance and diversity was examined at three long-term fertiliser trials (Whatawhata, Winchmore and Ballantrae) in New Zealand. Bacteria were isolated from rhizosphere (ryegrass and clover) and non-rhizosphere soils differing in P status. The P-solubilising phenotype was determined on agar supplemented with sparingly-soluble mineral phosphates (Ca₂OH(PO₄)₃ and CaHPO₄). The frequency of P-solubilisation in the bacterial population was significantly greater (P < 0.001) in soils of low-P status, demonstrating a selection pressure for this trait based on soil P availability. P-solubilising bacteria from high-P level soils and soils which had not received P fertiliser (nil-P soils) were identified based on 16S rRNA-gene sequence analysis. Across the samples, the P-solubilising community was very rich with 39 genera of PSB found, spanning 24 families and 4 phyla. At Ballantrae and Winchmore, the PSB composition differed (P < 0.05) across soil P status, which was associated with an alteration in abundance of Actinobacteria, Pseudomonadaceae and Moraxellaceae. The phylogenetic composition of PSB differed significantly (P < 0.05) between sites, however nearly half the families were common across all sites, constituting a ‘core community’ of P-solubilising bacteria for these New Zealand pasture soils. As the abundance and composition of P-solubilising bacteria are under strong selection pressure affected through farm management strategies, better understanding of their ecology provides the opportunity to increase the availability of soil P for plant-uptake.     

Contributions of soil biota to C sequestration varied with aggregate fractions under different tillage systems

It is increasingly believed that substantial soil organic carbon (SOC) can be sequestered in conservation tillage system by manipulating the functional groups of soil biota. Soil aggregates of different size provide diverse microhabitats for soil biota and consequently influence C sequestration. Our objective was to evaluate the contributions of soil biota induced by tillage systems to C sequestration among different aggregate size fractions. Soil microbial and nematode communities were examined within four aggregate fractions: large macroaggregates (>2 mm), macroaggregates (2–1 mm), small macroaggregates (1–0.25 mm) and microaggregates (<0.25 mm) isolated from three tillage systems: no tillage (NT), ridge tillage (RT) and conventional tillage (CT) in Northeast China. Soil microbial and nematode communities varied across both tillage systems and aggregate fractions. The activity and abundance of microbes and nematodes were generally higher under NT and RT than under CT. Among the four aggregate fractions, soil microbial biomass and diversity were higher in microaggregates, while soil nematode abundance and diversity were higher in large macroaggregates. Structural equation modelling (SEM) revealed that the linkage between microbial and nematode communities and their contributions to soil C accumulation in >1 mm aggregate fractions were different from those in <1 mm aggregate fractions. Higher abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) could enhance C retention within >1 mm aggregates, while more gram-positive bacteria and plant-parasitic nematodes might increase C accumulation within <1 mm aggregates. Our findings suggested that the increase in microbial biomass and nematode abundance and the alteration in their community composition at the micro-niche within aggregates could contribute to the higher C sequestration in conservation tillage systems (NT and RT).     

Regional and local factors affecting diversity, abundance and activity of free-living, N2-fixing bacteria in Australian agricultural soils

N₂-fixation by free-living (diazotrophic) microorganism is a key process affecting ecosystem functioning in soils. Understanding drivers affecting diazotrophic community assemblages and activities may lead to management practices to increase primary production and/or environmental sustainability. We used PCR-DGGE to determine the fundamental relationships between diazotrophic community structure and in a wide range of soils across southern Australia. In addition qPCR, RT-qPCR and N₂-fixation (acetylene reduction) were used to investigate factors influencing gene abundance, expression and processes in similar soils with different agricultural inputs. Across 22 soils, the structural composition of the nifH community was significantly influenced by site (ANOSIM R = 0.876; P = 0.001). The effects of management practices were evident, and often larger than between-soil differences, but were only present at some sites. Differences in nifH communities between sites correlated to particulate organic carbon (POC; measured by mid-infrared spectroscopy) content of the soils (BIO-ENV test; ρ = 0.502; P = 0.001), but not other factors including total soil C. In 3 soils from the Murrumbidgee irrigation region of NSW, intensification of the farming systems was associated with increasing N₂-fixation (P < 0.05), except where rice was cultivated. N₂-fixation correlated either with nifH abundance or gene expression in soils, but not both. Our data shows that soil C is closely linked to diazotrophic ecology. Principally, the amount of C entering the soil system is directly related to the abundance and N₂-fixation activity of free-living bacteria. However, we also show that C in the POC pool has associative links to the genetic diversity of the soil diazotroph community. Given the importance of diversity and abundance of functional organisms in supporting ecosystem processes, we suggest that soil C inputs should be considered for both qualitative and quantitative properties when considering impacts on diazotrophic bacterial ecology.     

Characterization of rhizosphere microbial communities in continuous cropping maca (Lepidium meyenii) red soil,Yunnan, China

ABSTRACT

Continuous cropping maca systems are widespread in Yunan Province, China. However, the relationships between continuous cropping maca systems and microbes are not well understood. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of continuous cropping maca systems (Maca with 0, 1, 2, and 3 years of continuous cultivation) on the soil microbial community. The results showed that the soil organic matter, total N, total P, and total K contents, as well as maca fresh and dry weight, decreased significantly with increased continuous cropping years. Interestingly, qPCR analysis showed that the bacterial and fungal abundance (DNA levels) decreased and active bacterial and fungal abundance (RNA levels) increased with cropping years from the first to the third cropping (p < 0.05). Moreover, the abundance of actinomycetes in the CK soil was significantly higher than that in the other maca soils. In addition, the continuous cropping system resulted in rich diversity in the fungal structure and had little effects on the bacterial and actinomycete communities. Acidobacteria (50%) and Ascomycota (58.3%) were detected in the continuous cropping maca soils. Based on the present results, continuous cropping of maca not exceeding two years could be optimal to maintain soil nutrition and microbial community.     

Long-term land-use effects on soil invertebrate communities in Southern Piedmont soils,USA

Historically, a large percentage of land area in the Piedmont of the southeastern USA was under intensive agricultural management for the production of cotton. This intensive farming resulted in massive erosion, and general degradation of soil resources until insect pests and poor economic conditions forced large-scale abandonment of farmland around the 1930s. In subsequent decades, there have been four predominant land-uses in the region, and we sampled soil macroinvertebrates from three replicate sites of cultivated fields, grass-dominated fields, loblolly pine stands, and remnant hardwood stands for a period of 2 years, with the objective of examining soil invertebrate community composition in relation to these long-term land-uses. At each site we dug three or four soil pits that were 30 × 30 cm to a depth of 15 cm, and sorted the soil volume by hand for a time not more than 1 person h, collecting all invertebrates ~5 mm in length or larger. We recorded abundance data for all invertebrate taxa collected, and we calculated community indices including diversity, evenness, rank abundance and percent similarity in order to identify patterns of community assemblage within each land-use type. Results suggest that soils in hardwood stands support the most taxonomically diverse macroinvertebrate communities followed by pine stands, pastures, and cultivated fields in order of decreasing diversity. For earthworms, Diplocardia spp. (North American megascolecids) were most abundant in the hardwood stands, but sometimes made up a substantial fraction of the community in other land-uses; whereas lumbricid earthworms (primarily introduced Apporectodea spp.) were most abundant in the cultivated and pasture soils, or showed no consistent habitat preference (native Bimastos spp.). Scarab beetles (larvae and adults) were common in all four systems, but reached the highest densities in cultivated and grass sites. Carabid beetle larvae were collected most often from cultivated soils. Several taxa were collected either exclusively or predominantly from forested sites, including diplopods, chilopods, gastropods, and several taxa of Diptera. These results indicate that long-term soil disturbance and the attendant differences in vegetation structure have profoundly influenced the community composition of invertebrates in Southern Piedmont soils, and that more intense disturbance results in a less diverse invertebrate community composed of a few, frequently non-native, disturbance-tolerant taxa.     

Identification of culturable microbial functional groups isolated from the rhizosphere of four species of mangroves and their biotechnological potential

This study identified microbial functional groups like total culturable bacteria, potential N₂-fixing free living bacteria, N₂-fixing hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria, N-assimilating hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria, total fungi, actinobacteria, P-solubilizers, lipolytic microorganisms, and starch, cellulose, pectin and protein degrading microorganisms, isolated from the rhizosphere of four species of mangroves (Red, Black, White, and Button) from the natural protected area at the Terminos Lagoon, Campeche, México. Overall, microbial populations showed significant differences (P < 0.05) among the four mangrove species. The rhizosphere of White mangrove showed better chemical and textural soil properties, and harbored the highest microbial populations when compared to the remaining mangrove species. The principal component analysis indicated that two components accounted the 85.3% of the total variation. The most significant textural and chemical soil properties were the major components, CP1 (organic matter and total organic carbon) and CP2 (sand and clay). Microbial populations correlated (P < 0.05, Pearson coefficient) with sand and clay particles, and with some soil chemical properties such as organic matter. The total nitrogen and organic carbon significantly correlated with cellulose degraders, while phosphorus with N₂-fixing bacteria, total fungi, and with pectin and starch degraders.     

The impact of increasing heavy metal stress on the diversity and structure of the bacterial and actinobacterial communities of metallophytic grassland soil

A study was undertaken to investigate the bacterial community found in metallophytic grassland soil contaminated with Zn and Pb. We hypothesised that such communities would be tolerant of additional heavy metal stress due to phylogenetic and functional adaptation. In microcosm experiments, lasting 51 days, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analyses was used to compare the total bacterial and actinobacterial communities in non-amended soils and those to which additional Pb and Zn concentrations were added. There was a decrease in total bacterial diversity with each addition of Pb and Zn; in contrast, the actinobacterial community diversity remained unaffected. The community structures were analysed using multivariate analyses of the DGGE profiles. Total bacterial community profiles showed two distinct groups sharing less than 80% similarity, irrespective of Pb and Zn addition. The first contained profiles sampled during the first 7 days of the experiment; the second contained those sampled from day 10 onwards. Actinobacterial profiles from those that were non-amended showed a similar distribution to those of the total bacterial community. However, in soil amended with fivefold additional Pb and Zn, all the profiles shared more than 80% similarity. Raup and Crick analyses suggested that total bacterial soil communities were subject deterministic selection becoming significantly similar as the experiment progressed, but this was inhibited by the highest concentration of additional Pb and Zn. Actinobacterial communities showed a similar response but were less affected by elevated Pb and Zn concentrations. These data indicate that the diversity of the actinobacterial community was not negatively affected by additional heavy metal stress in contrast to total bacterial community diversity.     

Mesofaunal arthropod diversity in shrub mangrove litter of Cozumel Island,Quintana Roo,México

We studied the mesofaunal arthropod diversity in a shrub mangrove in the Punta Sur area within the National Park Reefs of Cozumel Island in the South of Mexico. Two mangrove areas were selected for sampling, dominated by Rhizophora mangle and Avicennia nitida, respectively. Four sampling periods, two during the dry season and two during the rainy season, and 25 random litter samples of litter (225 cm²) per site and date led to a total of 200 samples. Spatial and temporal variation of arthropod diversity was analyzed at the order/suborder level. A total of 90,680 arthropods belonging to 30 taxa were recorded during the study, Oribatida being most abundant with 61.8%, followed by springtails (14%). Densities of arthropods were higher in the rainy season than in the dry season, showing a strong positive correlation with humidity. Highest abundance was found in the R. mangle mangrove in the rainy season, and highest diversity was found in the A. nitida mangrove in the dry season. Seasonal distribution of litter fauna in two mangroves are related with the particular characteristics shown in each one.     

Physiological, biochemical and molecular responses of the soil microbial community after afforestation of pastures with Pinus radiata

Afforestation and deforestation are key land-use changes across the world, and are considered to be dominant factors controlling ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. However, the responses of soil microbial communities to these land-use changes are not well understood. Because changes in soil microbial abundance and community structure have consequences for nutrient cycling, C-sequestration and long-term sustainability, we investigated impacts of land-use change, age of stand and soil physico-chemical properties on fungal and bacterial communities and their metabolic activities. This study was carried out at four sites in two geographical locations that were afforested on long-established pastures with Pinus radiata D. Don (pine). Two of the sites were on volcanic soils and two on non-volcanic soils and stand age ranged from 5 to 20 y. Microbial communities were analysed by biochemical (phospho-lipid fatty acids; PLFA) and molecular (multiplex-terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism; M-TRFLP) approaches. Both site and stand age influenced microbial properties, with changes being least detectable in the 5-y-old stand. Land use was a key factor influencing soil metabolic activities as measured by physiological profiling using MicroResp. Pasture soils had higher microbial biomass (P < 0.001), and metabolic activities (P < 0.001), and basal respiration rates were up to 2.8-times higher than in the pine soils. Microbial abundance analysis by PLFA showed that the fungal to bacterial ratio was higher in the pine soils (P < 0.01). Community analysis suggested that soil bacterial communities were more responsive to site (principal component 1; P < 0.001) than to land use (principal component 5; P < 0.001). In contrast, the fungal community was more affected by land-use change (principal component 1; P < 0.001) than by site, although site still had some influence on fungal community structure (principal component 2; P < 0.001). Redundancy analysis also suggested that bacterial and fungal communities responded differently to various soil abiotic properties, land-use change and location of sites. Overall, our results indicate that the change in land use from pasture to P. radiata stands had a direct impact on soil fungal communities but an indirect effect, through its effects on soil abiotic properties, on bacterial communities. Most of the changes in bacterial communities could be explained by altered soil physico-chemical properties associated with afforestation of pastures.     

Relating microbial community structure and environmental variables in mangrove sediments inside Rhizophora mangle L. habitats

This study aimed to access the structure of microbial communities in sediments in the root zone of the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) in three sites with an increasing distance from the sea inside a mangrove forest in two distinct periods (dry and wet seasons) using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). These data were correlated to environmental variables and sediments characteristics by using redundancy analysis (RDA) which revealed that the distribution of the microbial communities is significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by the silt–clay percentages for both Bacteria and Archaea and organic matter content significantly influences the distribution of Archaea. The archaeal community also exhibited an annual clustering pattern. The sites had only 30% and 35% of similarity of bacterial and archaeal communities, respectively, and this could be interpreted as being the core microbiome of R. mangle. Thus the spatial distribution of microbial communities inside the red mangrove habitats seems to be primarily controlled by the abiotic variables of each habitat.     

Bacterial communities in soil mimic patterns of vegetative succession and ecosystem climax but are resilient to change between seasons

Organism succession during ecosystem development has been researched for aboveground plant communities, however, the associated patterns of change in below-ground microbial communities are less described. In 2008, a study was initiated along a developmental sand-dune soil chronosequence bordering northern Lake Michigan near Wilderness Park (WP). It was hypothesized that soil bacterial communities would follow a pattern of change that is associated with soil, plant, and ecosystem development. This study included 5 replicate sites along 9 soils (n = 45) ranging in age from ∼105 to 4010 years since deposition. Soil bacterial community composition and diversity were studied using bacterial tag-encoded FLX amplicon pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Bray–Curtis ordination indicated that bacterial community assembly changed along the developmental soil and plant gradient. The changes were not affected by seasonal differences, despite likely differences in plant root C (e.g. exudates), temperature, and water availability in soil. Soil base cations (Ca, Mg) and pH declined, showing log-linear correlations with soil age (r ∼ 0.83, 0.84 and 0.81; P < 0.01). Bacterial diversity (Simpson's 1/D) declined rapidly during the initial stages of soil development (∼105–450 y) and thereafter (>450 y) did not change. Turnover of plant taxa was also more rapid early during ecosystem development and correlated with bacterial community structural change (P < 0.000001; r = 0.56). It is hypothesized that plants help to drive pedogenic change during early (<450 y) soil development (e.g. pH decline, cation leaching) which drive selection of soil bacterial communities. In mature soils (∼450–4000 y), resilient and stable soil bacterial community structures developed, mimicking steady-state climax communities that were observed during latter stages of primary plant succession. These relationships point to possible feedbacks between plant and bacterial communities during ecosystem development.     

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea are more important than ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in nitrification and NO3 −-N loss in acidic soil of sloped land

As part of a long-term sloped land use experiment established in 1995 at Taoyuan Agro-ecosystem Research Station (111°26′ E, 28°55′ N) in China, soil samples were collected from three land use types, including cropland (CL), natural forest, and tea plantation. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism were used to determine the abundance and community composition of amoA-containing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA). The results indicate that land use type induced significant changes in soil potential nitrification rate and community composition, diversity, and abundance of AOB and AOA. Both AOB and AOA community compositions were generally similar between upper and lower slope positions (UP and LP), except within CL. The LP soils had significantly (p?<?0.05) higher diversity and abundance of both AOB and AOA than in the UP. Potential nitrification rate was significantly correlated (p?<?0.05) with diversity and abundance of AOA, but not with AOB. Among land use types, the NO₃ ^? and amoA-containing AOA runoff loss was greatest in CL. Nitrate-N runoff loss was significantly correlated (p?<?0.05) with the loss of AOA amoA copies in the runoff water. Furthermore, relationships between NO₃ ^?-N runoff loss and abundance of AOA but not of AOB at both slope positions were significantly correlated (p?<?0.05). These findings suggest that AOA are more important than AOB in nitrification and NO₃ ^?-N runoff loss in acidic soils across sloped land use types.     

Improving soil structure by promoting fungal abundance with organic soil amendments

Building soil structure in agroecosystems is important because it governs soil functions such as air and water movement, soil C stabilization, nutrient availability, and root system development. This study examined, under laboratory conditions, effects of organic amendments comprised of differing proportions of labile and semi-labile C on microbial community structure and macroaggregate formation in three variously textured soils where native structure was destroyed. Three amendment treatments were imposed (in order of increasing C lability): vegetable compost, dairy manure, hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth). Formation of water stable macroaggregates and changes in microbial community structure were evaluated over 82 days. Regardless of soil type, formation of large macroaggregates (LMA, >2000 μm diameter) was highest in soils amended with vetch, followed by manure, non-amended control, and compost. Vetch and manure had greater microbially available C and caused an increase in fungal biomarkers in all soils. Regression analysis indicated that LMA formation was most strongly related to the relative abundance of the fungal fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) 18:2ω6c (r = 0.55, p < 0.001), fungal ergosterol (r = 0.58, p < 0.001), and microbial biomass (r = 0.57, p < 0.001). Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) ordination of FAME profiles revealed that vetch and manure drove shifts toward fungal-dominated soil microbial communities and greater LMA formation in these soils. This study demonstrated that, due to their greater amounts of microbially available C, vetch or manure inputs can be used to promote fungal proliferation in order to maintain or improve soil structure.     

Woodland trees modulate soil resources and conserve fungal diversity in fragmented landscapes

Resource islands around woody plants are thought to define the structure and function of many semiarid and arid ecosystems, but their role in patterning of soil microbial communities remains largely unexamined in dry environments. This study examined soil resource distribution and associated fungal communities in two Allocasuarina luehmannii (buloke) remnants of semiarid north-western Victoria, Australia. These savannah-like woodlands are listed as endangered due to extensive clearing for agriculture. We used the DNA-based profiling technique T-RFLP and ordination-based statistical methods to compare fungal community compositions in surface soils from two remnants (located 1.6 km apart) and three sampling positions (beneath individual buloke canopies; grassy inter-canopy areas; and adjoining cleared paddocks). Resource island formation beneath buloke trees was clearly evident in soil physicochemical properties (e.g. threefold concentrations of total carbon and nitrogen in canopy versus non-canopy soils). This heterogeneity of resources was moderately correlated with soil fungal community compositions, which were distinct for each sampling position. We argue that fungal composition patterns reflected multiple roles of fungi in dryland ecosystems, namely: responses of saprotrophic fungi to tree organic matter inputs; specificity of ectomycorrhizal fungi to tree rooting zones; and fungal involvement in biological soil crusts that variably covered non-canopy soils. Our data did not indicate that buloke canopy areas were particular hotspots of soil fungal diversity, but that they increased landscape-level diversity by supporting a distinct suite of fungi. In addition, we provide evidence of phylogenetic differentiation of soil fungal communities between our two remnants, which adds to growing evidence of fungal genetic structure at localised scales. These findings highlight the importance of remnant trees in conserving both soil resources and microbial genetic diversity. In addition, evidence of differentiation of soil fungal phylogenetics between nearby but isolated remnants suggests that conserving soil fungal diversity requires conservation of host habitats over their entire (remaining) range, and indicates previously unseen consequences of tree loss from extensively cleared landscapes.     

Influence of irrigated agriculture on soil microbial diversity

Organic carbon (C), bacterial biomass and structural community diversity were measured in Southern Idaho soils with long term cropping histories. The soils tested were native sagebrush vegetation (NSB), irrigated moldboard plowed crops (IMP), irrigated conservation – chisel – tilled crops (ICT) and irrigated pasture systems (IP). Organic C concentration in soils decreased in the order NSB 0–5 cm > IP 0–30 cm = ICT 0–15 cm > IMP 0–30 cm > NSB 5–15 cm = NSB 15–30 cm. Active bacterial, fungal and microbial biomass correlated with soil C as measured by the Walkely Black method in positive curvilinear relationships (r² = 0.93, 0.80 and 0.76, respectively). Amplicon length heterogeneity (LH-PCR) DNA profiling was used to access the eubacterial diversity in all soils and at all depths. The Shannon–Weaver diversity index was used to measure the differences using the combined data from three hypervariable domains of the eubacterial 16S rRNA genes. Diversity was greatest in NSB 15–30 cm soil and lowest in the IMP soil. With the exception of IMP with the lowest diversity index, the samples highest in C (NSB 0–5 cm, IP 0–30 cm, ICT 0–15 cm) reflected lower diversity indices. However, these indices were not significantly different from each other. ICT and IP increase soil C and to some extent increase diversity relative to IMP. Since soil bacteria respond quickly to environmental changes, monitoring microbial communities may be one way to assess the impact of agricultural practices such as irrigation and tillage regimes.     

Characterization of redox-related soil microbial communities along a river floodplain continuum by fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and 16S rRNA genes

Redox states affect substrate availability and energy transformation, and, thus, play a crucial role in regulating soil microbial abundance, diversity, and community structure. We evaluated microbial communities in soils under oxic, intermittent, and anoxic conditions along a river floodplain continuum using fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and 16S rRNA genes-based terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) bacterial fingerprints. In all the soils tested, microbial communities clustered according to soil redox state by both evaluation techniques. Bacteria were dominant components of soil microbial communities, while mycorrhizal fungi composed about 12% of the microbial community in the oxic soils. Gram-positive bacteria consisted >10% of the community in all soils tested and their abundance increased with increasing soil depth when shifting from oxic to anoxic conditions. In the anoxic soils, Gram-positive bacteria composed about 16% of the total community, suggesting that their growth and maintenance were not as sensitive to oxygen supply as for other microbes. In general, microorganisms were more abundant and diverse, and distributed more evenly in the oxic layers than the anoxic layers. The decrease in abundance with increasing oxygen and substrate limitation, however, was considerably more drastic than the decrease in diversity, suggesting that growth of soil microorganisms is more energy demanding than maintenance. The lower diversity in the anoxic than the oxic soils was attributed primarily to the differences in oxygen availability in these soils.     

The influence of different types of urban land use on soil microbial biomass and functional diversity in Beijing,China

Soil microbes in urban ecosystems are affected by a variety of abiotic and biotic factors resulting from changes in land use. However, the influence of different types of land use on soil microbial properties and soil quality in urban areas remains largely unknown. Here, by comparing five types of land use: natural forest, park, agriculture, street green and roadside trees, we examined the effects of different land uses on soil microbial biomass and microbial functional diversity in Beijing, China. We found that soil properties varied with land uses in urban environments. Compared to natural forest, soil nutrients under the other four types of urban land use were markedly depleted, and accumulation of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd was apparent. Importantly, under these four types of land use, there was less microbial biomass, but it had greater functional diversity, particularly in the roadside‐tree soils. Furthermore, there were significant correlations between the microbial characteristics and physicochemical properties, such as organic matter, total nitrogen and total phosphorus (P < 0.05), suggesting that lack of nutrients was the major reason for the decrease in microbial biomass. In addition, the larger C/N ratio, Ni concentration and pool of organic matter together with a higher pH contributed to the increase in microbial functional diversity in urban soils. We concluded that different land uses have indirect effects on soil microbial biomass and microbial community functional diversity through their influence on soil physicochemical properties, especially nutrient availability and heavy metal content.     

Microbial biomass dynamics in recently air-dried and rewetted soils compared to others stored air-dry for up to 103 years

Our aim was to compare the soil microbial biomass concentration and its activity (measured as CO₂-C evolved) following the rewetting and aerobic incubation of soils which have previously been stored air-dry for different periods. Some of the soils have been stored in the Rothamsted sample archive for 103 years, others were comparable freshly sampled soils following air-drying and rewetting and other soils were stored air-dry for 2 years then rewetted for the work described here. Following air-drying, soil ATP concentrations were variable in recently air-dried soil, comprising about 10-35% of the initial ATP concentrations in fresh soil. Following rewetting, the percentage recovery of ATP increased in all soils by 7 days, then declined to between 73% and 87% of the original ATP concentration in the air-dried soils by day 12. Storage of air-dried soils decreased the ability of the microbial biomass to restore its ATP concentrations. For example, the ATP concentration in a soil sampled from stubbed (i.e. tree seedling, saplings and bushes cut frequently to ground level) grassland of the Broadbalk continuous wheat experiment at Rothamsted then air-dried for 2 years was only about 14% of that in the fresh soil at 2 days after rewetting. In other soils from the Hoosfield Barley Experiment, also at Rothamsted, previously given NPK or FYM since 1852, and sampled then stored air-dry for between 13 and 83 years, from 52% to 57% of the ATP in the comparable fresh soils was measured at two days after rewetting. The soil ATP concentration then changed little more up to 12 days. One of the most interesting findings was that while the microbial biomass ATP concentration in the above NPK soils only ranged from about 2 to 4 μmol ATP g⁻¹ biomass C, in the FYM soil the microbial biomass ATP concentrations (range 11.5-13.6 μmol ATP g⁻¹ biomass C) were the same as we repeatedly measure in fresh moist aerobic soil. We do not yet know the reasons for this. More than twice as much CO₂-C was evolved from the long-term stored soils than from freshly sampled ones. However, the specific respiration of the microbial biomass did not change much after the first 12 years of storage, indicating that loss of viability mainly occurred in the earlier years.     

Differences in the composition and diversity of bacterial communities from agricultural and forest soils

Differences in the bacterial communities of soils caused by disturbances and land management were identified in rRNA gene libraries prepared from conventional tilled (CT) and no tilled (NT) cropland, a successional forest after 30 y of regrowth (NF) and an old forest of >65 y (OF) at Horseshoe Bend, in the southern Piedmont of Georgia (USA). Libraries were also prepared from forests after 80 y of regrowth at the Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research site (CWT) in the Southern Appalachians of western North Carolina (USA). The composition of the bacterial communities in cropland soils differed from those of the Horseshoe Bend OF and CWT forest soils, and many of the most abundant OTUs were different. Likewise, the diversity of bacterial communities from forest was less than that from cropland. The lower diversity in forest soils was attributed to the presence of a few, very abundant taxa in forest soils that were of reduced abundance or absent in cropland soils. After 30 y of regrowth, the composition of the bacterial soil community of the NF was similar to that of the OF, but the diversity was greater. These results suggested that the bacterial community of soil changes slowly within the time scale of these studies. In contrast, the composition and diversity of the bacterial communities in the Horseshoe Bend OF and Coweeta soils were very similar. Thus, this forest soil bacterial community was widely distributed in spite of the differences in soil properties, vegetation, and climate as well as resilient to disturbances of the above ground vegetation.