Effects of Litter and Root Manipulations on Soil Bacterial and Fungal Community Structure and Function in a Schrenk’s Spruce (Picea schrenkiana) Forest

Abstract

Soil microorganisms are the key driver of the geochemical cycle in forest ecosystem. Changes in litter and roots can affect soil microbial activities and nutrient cycling; however, the impact of this change on soil microbial community composition and function remain unclear. Here, we explored the effects of litter and root manipulations [control (CK), doubled litter input (DL), litter removal (NL), root exclusion (NR), and a combination of litter removal and root exclusion (NI)] on soil bacterial and fungal communities and functional groups during a 2-year field experiment, using illumina HiSeq sequencing coupled with the function prediction platform of PICRUSt and FUNGuild. Our results showed that litter and root removal decreased the diversity of soil bacteria and fungi (AEC, Shannon, and Chao1). The bacterial communities under different treatments were dominated by the phyla Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Actinomycetes, and NL and NR reduced the relative abundance of the first two phyla. For the fungal communities, Basidiomycetes, Ascomycota, and Mortierellomycota were the dominant phyla. DL increased the relative abundance of Basidiomycetes, while NL and NR decreased the relative abundance of Ascomycota. We also found that litter and root manipulations altered the functional groups related to the metabolism of cofactors and vitamins, lipid metabolism, biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites, environmental adaptation, cell growth, and death. The functional groups including ectomycorrhizal, ectomycorrhizal-orchid mycorrhizal root-associated biotrophs and soil saprotrophs in the fungal community were also different among the different treatments. Soil organic carbon (SOC), pH, and soil water content are important factors driving changes in bacterial and fungal communities, respectively. Our results demonstrate that the changes in plant detritus altered the soil microbial community structure and function by affecting soil physicochemical factors, which provides important data for understanding the material cycle of forest ecosystems under global change.

Nutrients dynamic and temperature sensitivity of emergent plant litter decomposition in an inland freshwater wetland: perspective of microbial community structure and function

“…According to the bacterial genus level data of litter decomposition, the relatively high abundance of Pseudomonas (0.34-43.75%), Curvibacter (1.95-57.87%) and Flavobacterium (0.04-28.74%) might be the result of the nitrogen-xing abilities consistent with other studies (Zhu et al 2022). There were 92 genera common to all experimental groups, indicating a highly similar microbial composition (Fig.…”

Microbial interactions play an important role in regulating the effects of plant species on soil bacterial diversity

“…Dasiphora fruticosa and Salix oritrepha are deciduous shrubs ( Kudo et al, 2001 ; Myers-Smith et al, 2011 ), producing higher quality and more easily decomposed plant litter ( DeMarco et al, 2014 ). Research has shown that dominant plant can modify the diversity of soil microbial communities by impacting soil physicochemical properties through litter inputs ( Zhu et al, 2022 ). The aims of this study were to (1) analyze the bacterial community diversity, microbial antagonistic interaction, and soil properties under different shrub types (i.e., evergreen shrub and deciduous shrubs); and (2) analyze the pathway of deciduous shrubs’ effects on bacterial community diversity compared to evergreen shrub.…”

Analysis of Microbial Diversity and Community Structure of Rhizosphere Soil of Three Astragalus Species Grown in Special High-Cold Environment of Northwestern Yunnan, China

“…The ability to degrade cellulose and lignins is widespread in fungi derived from soil [ 38 ], and is particularly well represented in Ascomycota and Basidiomycota [ 39 ]. Basidiomycota is positively correlated with soil C and N [ 40 ], and a large proportion of this phylum can actually form mycorrhizas with plant roots in soil [ 38 ]. Ascomycota is more prevalent in harsh habitats, while Basidiomycota tends to thrive in nutrient-rich environments [ 26 ], hence justifying its highest abundance in AF.…”