Rapid effects of plant species diversity and identity on soil microbial communities in experimental grassland ecosystems

Changes in plant community structure, including the loss of plant diversity may affect soil microbial communities. To test this hypothesis, plant diversity and composition were experimentally varied in grassland plots cultivated with monocultures or mixtures of 2, 3 or 4 species. We tested the effects of monocultures versus mixtures and of plant species composition on culturable soil bacterial activity, number of substrates used and catabolic diversity, microbial biomass N, microbial respiration, and root biomass. These properties were all measured 10 months after seeding the experiment. Soil bacterial activity, number of substrates used and catabolic diversity were measured in the different plant communities using BIOLOG GN and GP microplates, which are redox-based tests measuring capacity of soil culturable bacteria to use a variety of organic substrates. Microbial biomass N, microbial respiration, and root biomass were insensitive to plant diversity. Culturable soil microbial activity, substrates used and diversity declined with declining plant diversity. Their activity, number of substrates used and diversity were significantly higher in plots with 3 and 4 plant species than in monocultures and in plots with 2 species. There was also an effect of plant species composition. Culturable soil microbial activity and diversity was higher in the four-species plant community than in any of the plant monocultures suggesting that the effect of plant diversity could not be explained by the presence of a particular plant species. Our results showed that changes in plant diversity and composition in grassland ecosystems lead to a rapid response of bacterial activity and diversity.     

Functional resilience of microbial communities from perturbed upland grassland soils to further persistent or transient stresses

The microbial functioning of soils following perturbation was assessed at a temperate upland grassland site, maintained by the Soil Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function Programme at Sourhope Research Station, Scotland. Published results indicated that the soil microbial communities were resilient to these initial perturbations; in this paper we tested whether they were equally resilient to a subsequent perturbation. Soil samples were taken from field plots receiving treatments that represented different forms of perturbation, viz. reseeding, application of sewage-sludge, biocide or nitrogen plus lime, and a non-perturbed control. Functional resilience following further perturbation comprising a transient heat or persistent copper perturbation was assessed over 28 days, by monitoring the short-term decomposition of added plant residues. Bacterial community structure was assessed by DGGE separation of eubacterial 16S rDNA PCR products. PCR-DGGE did not distinguish any significant difference (P>0.05) between the bacterial communities of soils under different treatments, showing differences only between treated soils and the untreated, control soils.Two days after the application of stresses, functional capability differed in soils under different treatments. Soil samples from all the treated plots were less resilient to heat stress than soil from control plots. The initial reduction in decomposition following the addition of copper differed between treatments, but function had not recovered in any of the Cu-amended soils within 28 days. Soil resilience varied according to the type and duration of stress applied, microbial activity, soil characteristics and treatment regimes. The initial resistance of function to stress was not predictive of recovery of function over time.     

Temporal variation in pools of amino acids, inorganic and microbial N in a temperate grassland soil

Plants can take up intact amino acids, even in competition with soil microbes, yet we lack detailed information on which amino acids dominate the soil and whether amino acid composition varies seasonally. This study tested the hypotheses that 1) the pool of amino acid N is generally larger than inorganic N; 2) temporal changes in the concentration of amino acid N is related to changes in the size of the microbial N pool; and 3) amino acid N is dominated by simple, neutral amino acids during warm months, whereas during cold months the amino acid N is dominated by more complex aromatic and basic amino acids. Approximately every month for two years we collected soil from a temperate, sub-alpine grassland in the Snowy Mountains of Australia. We quantified exchangeable pools of amino acids, nitrate and ammonium in 1 M KCl extracts. Microbial N was quantified by chloroform fumigation. Averaged across the 21 monthly samples, nitrate was 13% of the quantified pool of soluble non-protein N, ammonium was 34% and amino acid N was 53%. These data are consistent with our hypothesis that the pool of amino acid N is larger than inorganic N. There was substantial variation between months in concentrations of amino acids and inorganic N, but no clear temporal pattern. Microbial N did not vary between months, and thus changes in amino acid N were unrelated to microbial N. Principal components analysis indicated multivariate groupings of the different pools of N that were broadly indicative of function and/or biosynthetic relationships. Thus PCA identified a grouping of aromatic amino acids (Phe and Try) with amino acids derived from oxaloacetate (Asp, Ala, Val, Leu, Ile), and a second group comprising microbial N, nitrate and glycine. The pool of exchangeable amino acid N was dominated by Arg (26% of amino N) Val (20%) Gln (18%), Try (8%) and Asn (8%). Contrary to our hypothesis, the composition of the amino acid pool did not vary in a consistent way between months, and there was no evidence simple amino acids were relatively more abundant in warm months and complex amino acids in cool months.     

Parallel shifts in plant and soil microbial communities in response to biosolids in a semi-arid grassland

Approximately 70,150 dry Mg of biosolids from over 450 wastewater treatment facilities are applied to the semi-arid rangelands of Colorado every year. Research on semi-arid grassland responses to biosolids has become vital to better understand ecosystem dynamics and develop effective biosolids management strategies. The objectives of this study were to determine the long-term (∼12 years) effects of a single biosolids application, and the short-term (∼2 years) effects of a repeated application, on plant and microbial community structure in a semi-arid grassland soil. Specific attention was paid to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and linkages between shifts in plant and soil microbial community structures. Biosolids were surface applied to experimental plots once in 1991 (long-term plots) and again to short-term plots in 2002 at rates of 0, 2.5, 5, 10, 21, or 30 Mg ha⁻¹. Vegetation (species richness and above-ground biomass), soil chemistry (pH, EC, total C, total N, and extractable P, NO₃-N, and NH₄-N), and soil microbial community structure [ester-linked fatty acid methyl esters (EL-FAMEs)], were characterized to assess impacts of biosolids on the ecosystem. Soil chemistry was significantly affected and shifts in both soil microbial and plant community structure were observed with treatment. In both years, the EL-FAME biomarker for AMF decreased with increasing application rate of biosolids; principal components analysis of EL-FAME data yielded shifts in the structure of the microbial communities with treatment primarily related to the relative abundance of the AMF specific biomarker. Significant (p≤0.05) correlations existed among biomarkers for Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, AMF and specific soil chemical parameters and individual plant species' biomass. The AMF biomarker was positively correlated with biomass of the dominant native grass species blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis [Willd. ex Kunth] Lagasca ex Griffiths) and was negatively correlated with western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii Rydb.) biomass. This study demonstrated that applications of biosolids at relatively low rates can have significant long-term effects on soil chemistry, soil microbial community structure, and plant community species richness and structure in the semi-arid grasslands of northern Colorado. Reduced AMF and parallel shifts in the soil microbial community structure and the plant community structure require further investigation to determine precisely the sequence of influence and resulting ecosystem dynamics.     

Carbon stocks, soil respiration and microbial biomass in fire-prone tropical grassland, woodland and forest ecosystems

A thorough understanding of the role of microbes in C cycling in relation to fire is important for estimation of C emissions and for development of guidelines for sustainable management of dry ecosystems. We investigated the seasonal changes and spatial distribution of soil total, dissolved organic C (DOC) and microbial biomass C during 18 months, quantified the soil CO₂ emission in the beginning of the rainy season, and related these variables to the fire frequency in important dry vegetation types grassland, woodland and dry forest in Ethiopia. The soil C isotope ratios (δ¹³C) reflected the 15-fold decrease in the grass biomass along the vegetation gradient and the 12-fold increase in woody biomass in the opposite direction. Changes in δ¹³C down the soil profiles also suggested that in two of the grass-dominated sites woody plants were more frequent in the past. The soil C stock ranged from being 2.5 (dry forest) to 48 times (grassland) higher than the C stock in the aboveground plant biomass. The influence of fire in frequently burnt wooded grassland was evident as an unchanged or increasing total C content down the soil profile. DOC and microbial biomass measured with the fumigation-extraction method (C_mic) reflected the vertical distribution of soil organic matter (SOM). However, although SOM was stable throughout the year, seasonal fluctuations in C_mic and substrate-induced respiration (SIR) were large. In woodland and woodland-wooded grassland C_mic and SIR increased in the dry season, and gradually decreased during the following rainy season, confirming previous suggestions that microbes may play an important role in nutrient retention in the dry season. However, in dry forest and two wooded grasslands C_mic and SIR was stable throughout the rainy season, or even increased in this period, which could lead to enhanced competition with plants for nutrients. Both the range and the seasonal changes in soil microbial biomass C in dry tropical ecosystems may be wider than previously assumed. Neither SIR nor C_mic were good predictors of in situ soil respiration. The soil respiration was relatively high in infrequently burnt forest and woodland, while frequently burnt grasslands had lower rates, presumably because most C is released through dry season burning and not through decomposition in fire-prone systems. Shifts in the relative importance of the two pathways for C release from organic matter may have strong implications for C and nutrient cycling in seasonally dry tropical ecosystems.     

Functional shifts of grassland soil communities in response to soil warming

In terrestrial ecosystems most carbon (C) occurs below-ground, making the activity of soil decomposer organisms critical to the global carbon cycle. Temperate grassland ecosystems, contain large, diverse and active soil meso- and macrofauna decomposer communities. Understanding the effects of climate change on their ecology offers a first step towards meaningful predictions of changes in soil organic carbon mineralisation.We examined the effects of soil warming on the abundance, diversity and ecology of temperate grassland soil fauna functional groups, ecosystem net CO₂ flux and respiration and plant above- and below-ground productivity in a 2-year plant-soil mesocosm experiment. Low voltage heating cable mounted on a framework of stainless steel mesh provided a constant 3.5 °C difference between control and warmed mesocosm soils.Results showed that this temperature increment had little effect on soil respiration and above-ground plant biomass. There was, however, a significant effect on the soil fauna due to warmer conditions and increased root growth, with significant decreases in the numbers in the large oligochaete groups and Prostigmata mites and the re-distribution of enchytraeids to deeper soil layers. Functional groups exhibited individualistic responses to soil warming, with the total disappearance of epigeic species in the case of the ecosystem engineers and an increased diversity of fungivorous mites that, together, produced significant changes in the composition and trophic structure of the fauna community.The observed switch towards a fungal driven food web has important implications for the fate of soil organic carbon in temperate ecosystems subjected to sustained warming. Accordingly, soil biology needs to be properly incorporated in C models to make better predictions of the fate of SOC under warmer scenarios.     

Determinants of soil organic matter chemistry in maritime temperate forest ecosystems

While the influence of climate, vegetation, management and abiotic site factors on total carbon budgets and turn-over is intensively assessed, the influences of these ecosystem properties on the chemical complexity of soil organic matter (SOM) remains poorly understood. This study addresses the chemical composition of NaOH-extracted SOM from maritime temperate forest sites in Flanders (Belgium) by pyrolysis-GC/MS. The studied forests were chosen based on dominant tree species (Pinus sylvestris, Fagus sylvatica, Quercus robur and Populus spp.), soil texture and soil-moisture conditions. Differences in extractable-SOM pyrolysis products were correlated to site variables including dominant tree species, management of the woody biomass, site history, soil properties, total carbon stocks and indicators for microbial activity. Despite of a typical high intercorrelation between these site variables, the influence of the dominant tree species is prominent. The extractable-SOM composition is strongly correlated to litter quality and available nutrients. In nutrient-poor forests with low litter quality, the decomposition of relatively recalcitrant compounds (i.e. short and mid-chain alkanes/alkenes and aromatic compounds) appears hampered, causing a relative accumulation of these compounds in the soil. However, if substrate quality is favorable, no accumulations of recalcitrant compounds were observed, not even under high soil-moisture conditions. Former heathland vegetation still had a profound influence on extractable-SOM chemistry of young pine forests after a minimum of 60 years.     

Multi-scale variability analysis reveals the importance of spatial distance in shaping Arctic soil microbial functional communities

Understanding biological diversity and distribution patterns at multiple spatial scales is a central issue in ecology. Here, we investigated the biogeographical patterns of microbial functional genes in 24 heath soils from across the Arctic using GeoChip-based metagenomics and principal coordinates of neighbour matrices (PCNM)-based analysis. Functional gene richness varied considerably among sites, while the proportions of each major functional gene category were evenly distributed. Functional gene composition varied significantly at most medium to large spatial scales, and the PCNM analyses indicated that 14–20% of the variation in total and major functional gene categories could be attributed primarily to relatively large-scale spatial effects that were consistent with broad-scale variation in soil pH and total nitrogen. The combination of variance partitioning and multi-scales analysis indicated that spatial distance effects accounted for 12% of the total variation in functional gene composition, whereas environmental factors accounted for only 3%. This small but significant influence of spatial variation in determining functional gene distributions contrasts sharply with typical microbial phylotype/species-based biogeographical patterns (including these same Arctic soil samples), which are primarily determined by contemporary environmental heterogeneities. Therefore, our results suggest that historical contingencies such as disturbance events, physical heterogeneities, community interactions or dispersal barriers that occurred in the past, have some significant influence on soil functional gene distribution patterns.     

Size and activity of soil microbial communities in long-term experimental grassland plots treated with manure and inorganic fertilizers

We determined the size, activity, and affinity of the microbial community for glucose in soils from long-term experimental grassland plots. The plots had been treated annually with either farmyard manure, inorganic NPK fertilizers, farmyard manure+inorganic NPK fertilizers, (NH₄)₂SO₄ only, or no experimental amendment sine 1897. The largest biomass and activity differences were between the (NH₄)₂SO₄-treated soil, which was very acid, and the rest, which were nearer neutral. In the (NH₄)₂SO₄-treated soil, the biomass C to organic C ratio was small, but overall the community had high respiratory activity per unit of biomass (qCO₂) and high overall affinity for glucose (low K _m). The effects of the manure treatment were a greater biomass C and a lower overall glucose affinity than in the control plot. In the presence farmyard manure, NPK led to smaller biomass and a lower biomass to organic C ratio while having no significant effect on either glucose K _m or qCO₂. In the absence of farmyard manure, NPK led to significantly greater glucose affinity but had no significant effect on the biomass, the biomass C to organic C ratio or qCO₂.     

Spatial distribution of fungal communities in a coastal grassland soil

In grasslands, saprotrophic fungi, including basidiomycetes, are major decomposers of dead organic matter, although spatial distributions of their mycelial assemblages are little described. The aim of this study was to characterise the scale and distribution of saprotrophic fungal communities in a coastal grassland soil using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP).Soil fungi were sampled at Point Reyes, California, USA, by taking forty-five 26 mm diam. cores in a spatially defined manner. Within each sampled core, complete core sections at 1-2 cm and 14-15 cm depths were removed and sub-sampled for DNA extraction and amplification using the primer pairs ITS1F-FAM/ITS4 (general fungi) or ITS1F-FAM/ITS4B (basidiomycete-specific).Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling showed that general fungal communities could be clearly separated by depth, although basidiomycete communities could not. There were no strong patterns of community similarity or dissimilarity for general or basidiomycete fungal communities at horizontal geographical distances from 25 cm to 96 m in the upper horizon. These results show considerable vertical, but little horizontal, variability in fungal community structure in a semi-natural grassland at the spatial scales measured here.     

The soil microbial community in a sewage-sludge-amended semi-arid grassland

Summary The value of sewage sludge for improving the fertility and productivity of a degraded semi-arid grassland soil was tested by quantifying and describing the effects of surface application of sewage sludge on soil chemical properties and the soil microbial community. Three surface application rates (22.5, 45, and 90 Mg sludge ha^–1) were tested over the course of two growing seasons. Most nutrient levels, including N, P, and K, increased linearly with increasing sludge application rates. Soil pH, however, declined linearly, from 7.8 to 7.4, with increasing sludge application rates. With the exception of Zn, heavy metals, including Cd, did not increase with the small decrease in pH or with increasing sludge application rates. Soil bacterial, fungal, and ammonium oxidizer populations increased linearly with increasing sludge application rates, and Streptomyces spp. populations remained relatively unchanged. The diversity of fungal groups declined initially with increasing sewage sludge rates but rebounded to near pretreatment levels under the low and intermediate application rates within 1 year. High fungal populations and low fungal diversity were related to the high nutrient contents provided by sludge amendment. Mucor spp. and Penicillium chrysogenum dominated the sludge-amended soils, and their densities in the treated soils in the first growing season were almost directly proportional to the sludge application rates. The improvement in soil fertility of a degraded semi-arid grassland due to sludge application was reflected in populations, diversity, and composition of the soil microbial community.The research reported here was conducted in cooperation with the USDI Bureau of Land Management which furnished funds and field study locations     

Responses of soil microbial communities and functions associated with organic carbon mineralization to nitrogen addition in a Tibetan grassland

Alpine grasslands with a high soil organic carbon(SOC) storage on the Tibetan Plateau are experiencing rapid climate warming and anthropogenic nitrogen(N) deposition; this is expected to substantially increase the soil N availability, which may impact carbon(C) cycling. However, little is known regarding how N enrichment influences soil microbial communities and functions relative to C cycling in this region. We conducted a 4-year field experiment on an alpine grassland to evaluate the effects o...     

秸秆覆盖对红壤旱地间作生态系统小气候的影响

田间试验研究秸秆覆盖对红壤旱地间作生态系统小气候的影响结果表明,红壤旱地实施秸秆覆盖后湍流交换热通量增大、潜热交换热通量和土壤热通量变小,且使秸秆全覆盖和半覆盖处理近地面温度和土壤湿度增高、土壤温度和近地面湿度降低,秸秆覆盖具有蓄水保墒和低温效应。     

刈割对草甸草原土壤微生物化学计量特征的影响

以内蒙古呼伦贝尔草甸草原作为研究对象,探讨土壤微生物化学计量特征在不同刈割频次处理下的变化规律,以期为草原资源的可持续利用提供理论依据。试验设有6个处理,对照区(CK)、1年1割(M1)、2年1割(M2)、3年1割(M3)、6年1割(M6)和12年1割(M12),每个刈割处理设置3个重复。2018年8月中旬在样地内随机设置3个样方,在样方内随机设置3个取样点,分别按0～10、10～20、20～30 cm土层进行均一采样,将土样按层次充分混合并带回实验室,采用氯仿熏蒸法对样品进行处理后,进行土壤微生物生物量碳(MBC)、氮(MBN)、磷(MBP)含量的测定。研究结果表明:刈割没有显著影响MBC、MBN、MBP含量及其化学计量比,表明刈割处理下微生物系统具有相对的稳定性。从6个处理的平均值整体来看,MBC、MBN、MBP含量以及微生物生物量C∶N、C∶P(MBC∶N、MBC∶P)随刈割间隔延长呈现先升高后下降的趋势,并在M2和M3处最高;本研究区各处理梯度MBC∶P平均值大于30,比值较高,微生物生物量N∶P(MBN∶P)低于全球平均水平(6.9或5.6)。由于刈割一般在生长季后期进行,对草原生态系的影响比传统刈割要小得多,因此对MBC、MBN、MBP含量及其化学计量比的影响不明显,但适当的刈割不仅利于微生物的繁殖和根系的生长,而且对草原生态系统生产力以及植被群落产生积极影响,进而影响草地生态系统的结构和功能,因此应进行适宜的刈割。     

Partitioning of soil CO2 flux components in a temperate grassland ecosystem

We deployed an automated multiplexed soil‐respiration (SR) system to monitor partitioned soil CO₂ component fluxes (from roots, mycorrhizal hyphae and heterotrophs) in a UK grassland using a combination of shallow surface (total SR flux), deep (excluding roots and mycorrhizal fungi) and 20‐µm pore mesh window soil collars (excluding roots only). Soil CO₂ efflux was monitored during a 3‐month period during summer. Repeated cutting of mycorrhizal connections in some of the mycorrhizal treatments enabled assessment of subsequent recovery of mycorrhizal fluxes and a comparison with deep collar fluxes. After soil collar insertion, fluxes in the deep collars were significantly reduced, by approximately 40%. Whereas fluxes in the uncut, mycorrhizal collar treatments remained close to those from the surface collar, cut mycorrhizal treatments showed an immediate reduction after cutting to values close to those from the deep collar with a subsequent recovery of around 4 weeks. Overall, the autotrophic root and mycorrhizal flux was relatively stable throughout. Whereas root fluxes contributed about 10–30% of the total flux during the initial larger flux period, this declined and there was an increased mycorrhizal contribution during the latter part of the measurement period. Moreover, SR flux components differed in their response to key climatic factors, with root fluxes responding equally to temperature and light. Importantly, whereas the heterotrophic flux component responded strongly to temperature and soil moisture, the mycorrhizal component responded much less to those factors, but more to light. We also investigated treatment impacts over time on soil biochemical variables such as microbial biomass C, extractable C, microbial quotient and metabolic quotient, and bacterial community structure, and discussed these in relation to measured SR fluxes and the partitioning technique.     

Temporal variation in soil microbial communities in Alpine tundra

Temporal variation in soil microbial communities was studied at a mid-alpine environment in Latnjajaure, northern Sweden, using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. The results show two seasonal shifts in microbial composition. The first shift was associated with snowmelt and mainly related to a decrease in fungal PLFAs, accompanied by an increase in branched 17:0 and methylated PLFAs (biomarkers for Gram-positive- and actinobacteria, respectively), resulting in a decrease in the ratio of fungi-to-bacteria. The second shift occurred across the growing season, and was associated with a switch from shorter to longer PLFAs and an increase in 18:1ω7 (biomarker for Gram-negative bacteria). Vegetation, snow cover dynamics, and N turnover seem to be of minor importance to broad-scale microbial community structure in this area.     

Response of soil microbial communities to compost amendments

Soil organic matter is considered as a major component of soil quality because it contributes directly or indirectly to many physical, chemical and biological properties. Thus, soil amendment with composts is an agricultural practice commonly used to improve soil quality and also to manage organic wastes. We evaluated in laboratory scale experiments the response of the soilborne microflora to the newly created soil environments resulting from the addition of three different composts in two different agricultural soils under controlled conditions. At a global level, total microbial densities were determined by classical plate count methods and global microbial activities were assessed by measuring basal respiration and substrate induced respiration (SIR). Soil suppressiveness to Rhizoctonia solani diseases was measured through bioassays performed in greenhouses. At a community level, the modifications of the metabolic and molecular structures of bacterial and fungal communities were assessed. Bacterial community level physiological profiles (CLPP) were determined using Biolog™ GN microtiter plates. Bacterial and fungal community structures were investigated using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) fingerprinting. Data sets were analyzed using analysis of variance and ordination methods of multivariate data. The impact of organic amendments on soil characteristics differed with the nature of the composts and the soil types. French and English spent mushroom composts altered all the biological parameters evaluated in the clayey soil and/or in the sandy silty clay soil, while green waste compost did not modify either bacterial and fungal densities, SIR values nor soil suppressiveness in any of the soils. The changes in bacterial T-RFLP fingerprints caused by compost amendments were not related to the changes in CLPP, suggesting the functional redundancy of soil microorganisms. Assessing the density, the activity and the structure of the soil microflora allowed us not only to detect the impact of compost amendment on soil microorganisms, but also to evaluate its effect at a functional level through the variation of soil disease suppressiveness. Differences in disease suppressiveness were related to differences in chemical composition, in availability of nutrients at short term and in microbial composition due to both incorporation and stimulation of microorganisms by the compost amendments.     

Association between lowland grassland plant communities and soil properties

Soil properties should be taken into account when managing and restoring semi-natural grasslands. Topsoils sampled at 462 sites in temperate lowland grasslands in England, UK, were analysed for pH, extractable phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg), total nitrogen (N), organic matter (OM), and estimated available water capacity. Soil-plant community relationships were determined using Canonical Correspondence Analysis. Mesotrophic semi-improved grasslands had soil nutrient levels closer to semi-natural communities than to agriculturally improved grasslands, and will be suitable targets for restoration. Unimproved mesotrophic sub-communities were distributed along a pH gradient and will be sensitive to soil pH changes. Wet grasslands were differentiated at the community level; the most species-rich had low extractable P and K levels and will require high levels of soil wetness. Calcareous grasslands were less well differentiated from one another but had lowest ecological amplitudes. Soil summary data for communities are presented to assist site managers and policy makers.