Carbon metabolism of soil microbial communities of restored forests in Southern China

Abstract

Purpose The structure and dynamics of carbon metabolic process of the soil microbial community in restored forests were dependent on the methods employed in reforestation and subsequent management. To find an appropriate method to restore degraded forests and to assess the ecological benefits of restorations, we studied community level physiological profiles of soil microbial communities in forests in Southern China that were restored by three different methods. Materials and methods Community level physiological profiles of soil microbial communities in restored introduced slash pine (Pinus elliottii) plantation, restored native Masson pine (Pinus massoniana) plantation, and natural secondary forest in Southern China were studied based on outcomes of the Biolog TM Ecoplates incubation. For each type of restored forest, 15 experimental plots were randomly selected in Southern China. In each plot, three composite samples of 0 to 10 cm depth were obtained from three subplots for the analyses. Results and discussion It was found that the soil microbial communities of three types of restored forests were capable of metabolizing all 31 preselected carbon substrates on Biolog TM Ecoplates. However, the soil microbial community of the natural secondary forest was more diverse in structure of carbon metabolism, and more efficient in utilizing the carbon substrates than those of the Masson pine and slash pine plantations that had to acclimate and adopt different biochemical pathways to metabolize some of the carbon substrates. Soil available N content, moisture content, organic C content, microbial biomass C content, pH, clay content, and Shannon-Wiener diversity index of tree layer were factors contributing to the carbon source utilization structure of the soil microbial communities for the three types of restored forests. Conclusions The soil microbial communities of all three types of restored forests would provide the same ecological services in metabolizing carbon sources in the forest soils. The microbial community of the natural secondary forest was consistently more efficient in carbon utilization than those of the Masson pine and slash pine plantation and often the Masson pine plantations were more efficient than that of the slash pine plantations. The natural secondary forest had a more diverse and stable soil microbial ecosystem and would be more adaptable to and respond more rapidly to environmental changes.

Changes in soil microbial community structure and metabolic activity following conversion from native Pinus massoniana plantations to exotic Eucalyptus plantations

“…Carbon metabolism function of the soil microbial community is closely related to the nutrient cycle process of forest ecosystems. Lower carbon metabolism function in a soil microbial community indicates a degradation trend in a forest or soil ecosystem (Zheng et al, 2005;Wang et al, 2011). In our study, lower carbon metabolism function of the soil microbial community in the Eucalyptus plantations suggests a decrease in soil quality, soil microbial diversity, and even ecosystem function following plantation conversion.…”

Continous application of bioorganic fertilizer induced resilient culturable bacteria community associated with banana Fusarium wilt suppression

“…Consistent with these observations, our results clearly showed that the enhanced metabolic capacity for carbohydrates in soils amended with BIO was also benefitable for the plant’s defense against Fusarium wilt. The PCA and kinetics analysis, both demonstrated that the lower carbon metabolism function was observed in CK rhizosphere soils along with the planting years, which indicated a degradation trend in a soil ecosystem39. In contrast, the stable general microbial metabolic potential was detected in fields applied by BIO.…”

Effects of cultivation duration and mode on the microbial diversity of the Amorphophallus konjac rhizosphere

“…Wang et al (2008Wang et al ( , 2011) also used these two methods to investigate the effects of fertilization on bacterial community structure and function in black soils. The microbial metabolic activity in konjac soils was described by AWCD of substrates arranged on the BIOLOG EcoPlate.…”