TY - JOUR
T1 - Vertical Patterns of Soil Bacterial and Fungal Communities along a Soil Depth Gradient in a Natural Picea crassifolia Forest in Qinghai Province, China
AU - Hu, Lei
AU - Wang, Xin
AU - Song, Xiaoyan
AU - Dai, Di
AU - Ding, Luming
AU - Degen, Abraham Allan
AU - Wang, Changting
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U20A2008), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Southwest Minzu University (ZYN2023072), and the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research (STEP) program (2019QZKK0302).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/5/1
Y1 - 2023/5/1
N2 - Soil bacterial and fungal communities play different roles in maintaining the ecosystem structure and functions. However, these differences, which are related to soil depths, remain unclear and are the subject of this study. We selected six sample plots (20 m × 50 m) in a natural Picea crassifolia forest in an alpine meadow to determine the vertical patterns (0~10 cm, 10~20 cm, 20~30 cm, and 30~50 cm) of soil bacterial and fungal communities, and to predict their potential functions. The phyla Verrucomicrobia, Acidobacteria, and Proteobacteria dominated the soil bacteria, with more than 50% of the relative abundance, while the fungi Basidiomycota and Ascomycota dominated the soil fungi. The potential functions of bacteria, including metabolism and transcription, increased with soil depth, and corresponded to specific bacterial taxa. The functional guilds of fungi, including endophytes, arbuscular mycorrhiza, and ectomycorrhiza, did not change with soil depth. The structural equation modeling analysis revealed that soil organic carbon (SOC) and pH were the key drivers shaping the soil bacterial communities and potential functions in the 0–50 cm soil layer. SOC was also a key driver of soil fungal α diversity. The sample plot, namely, its geographic locations, was another key driver shaping soil fungal β diversity and potential functions, but soil depth was not. Our results differentiate the importance of SOC and geographic location in shaping soil bacterial and fungal communities, respectively, and indicate that examining soil microbial composition and corresponding functions concomitantly is important for the maintenance and management of forest ecosystem functions.
AB - Soil bacterial and fungal communities play different roles in maintaining the ecosystem structure and functions. However, these differences, which are related to soil depths, remain unclear and are the subject of this study. We selected six sample plots (20 m × 50 m) in a natural Picea crassifolia forest in an alpine meadow to determine the vertical patterns (0~10 cm, 10~20 cm, 20~30 cm, and 30~50 cm) of soil bacterial and fungal communities, and to predict their potential functions. The phyla Verrucomicrobia, Acidobacteria, and Proteobacteria dominated the soil bacteria, with more than 50% of the relative abundance, while the fungi Basidiomycota and Ascomycota dominated the soil fungi. The potential functions of bacteria, including metabolism and transcription, increased with soil depth, and corresponded to specific bacterial taxa. The functional guilds of fungi, including endophytes, arbuscular mycorrhiza, and ectomycorrhiza, did not change with soil depth. The structural equation modeling analysis revealed that soil organic carbon (SOC) and pH were the key drivers shaping the soil bacterial communities and potential functions in the 0–50 cm soil layer. SOC was also a key driver of soil fungal α diversity. The sample plot, namely, its geographic locations, was another key driver shaping soil fungal β diversity and potential functions, but soil depth was not. Our results differentiate the importance of SOC and geographic location in shaping soil bacterial and fungal communities, respectively, and indicate that examining soil microbial composition and corresponding functions concomitantly is important for the maintenance and management of forest ecosystem functions.
KW - alpine forest
KW - bacterial composition
KW - fungal diversity
KW - potential functions
KW - soil profile
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85160714166&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/f14051016
DO - 10.3390/f14051016
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85160714166
SN - 1999-4907
VL - 14
JO - Forests
JF - Forests
IS - 5
M1 - 1016
ER -