Simulating the effect of climate change on soil microbial community in an Abies georgei var. smithii forest

Abstract

Qinghai–Tibet Plateau is considered a region vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Studying the effects of climate change on the structure and function of soil microbial communities will provide insight into the carbon cycle under climate change. However, to date, changes in the successional dynamics and stability of microbial communities under the combined effects of climate change (warming or cooling) remain unknown, which limits our ability to predict the consequences of future climate change. In this study, in situ soil columns of an Abies georgei var. smithii forest at 4,300 and 3,500 m elevation in the Sygera Mountains were incubated in pairs for 1 year using the PVC tube method to simulate climate warming and cooling, corresponding to a temperature change of ±4.7°C. Illumina HiSeq sequencing was applied to study alterations in soil bacterial and fungal communities of different soil layers. Results showed that warming did not significantly affect the fungal and bacterial diversity of the 0–10 cm soil layer, but the fungal and bacterial diversity of the 20–30 cm soil layer increased significantly after warming. Warming changed the structure of fungal and bacterial communities in all soil layers (0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, and 20–30 cm), and the effect increased with the increase of soil layers. Cooling had almost no significant effect on fungal and bacterial diversity in all soil layers. Cooling changed the structure of fungal communities in all soil layers, but it showed no significant effect on the structure of bacterial communities in all soil layers because fungi are more adapted than bacteria to environments with high soil water content (SWC) and low temperatures. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and hierarchical analysis showed that changes in soil bacterial community structure were primarily related to soil physical and chemical properties, whereas changes in soil fungal community structure primarily affected SWC and soil temperature (Soil Temp). The specialization ratio of fungi and bacteria increased with soil depth, and fungi were significantly higher than bacteria, indicating that climate change has a greater impact on microorganisms in deeper soil layers, and fungi are more sensitive to climate change. Furthermore, a warmer climate could create more ecological niches for microbial species to coexist and increase the strength of microbial interactions, whereas a cooler climate could have the opposite effect. However, we found differences in the intensity of microbial interactions in response to climate change in different soil layers. This study provides new insights to understand and predict future effects of climate change on soil microbes in alpine forest ecosystems.

Reforestation of Cunninghamia lanceolata changes the relative abundances of important prokaryotic families in soil

“…The underlying mechanism might be related to the changes in temperature between seasons. Temperature changes alter the composition of bacterial communities in the soil (Fu et al, 2023 ). Dedysh and Sinninghe-Damste ( 2018 ) have shown that most Acidobacteria (Koribacteraceae, Acidobacteriaceae, and Solibacteraceae) either are classified as mesophiles or psychrotolerants with slow metabolic activity, that is, low temperature does not inhibit them as other microorganisms.…”

Effects of Climate Change and Global Warming on Enzymes

“…Theoretically, climate warming may increase the rate of enzymatically-catalysed reactions, thereby impacting soil chemical properties (Luis Moreno et al, 2022b). Warming can also cause changes in the structure of fungal and bacterial communities in different soil layers, with more pronounced effects observed with increasing temperatures (Fu et al, 2023). Multifactor climate change, including temperature increases, has an impact on microbial responses, potentially affecting the diversity and function of microbial communities and their enzymes (Steinweg et al, 2013b).…”

Soil Bacterial Community and Greenhouse Gas Emissions as Responded to the Coupled Application of Nitrogen Fertilizer and Microbial Decomposing Inoculants in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Seedling Stage under Different Water Regimes

“…This can be explained by the fact that the present study focused on the seedling stage, whereas most previous studies on drought have considered only the maturity stage of wheat. Several studies have shown the influence of different plant development stages on the response of the soil microbial community to different environmental stresses [90][91][92][93]. Therefore, future studies on drought need to consider the different stages of plant development to provide a clearer understanding of this climatic stress on the soil microbial community.…”