Soil pH Is the Primary Factor Correlating With Soil Microbiome in Karst Rocky Desertification Regions in the Wushan County, Chongqing, China

Abstract

Karst rocky desertification (KRD) is a process of land degradation, which causes desert-like landscapes, deconstruction of endemic biomass, and declined soil quality. The relationship of KRD progression with above-ground communities (e.g. vegetation and animal) is well-studied. Interaction of soil desertification with underground communities, such as soil microbiome, however, is vastly unknown. This study characterizes change in soil bacterial community in response to KRD progression. Soil bacterial communities were surveyed by deep sequencing of 16S amplicons. Eight soil properties, pH, soil organic matter (SOM), total and available nitrogen (TN and AN), total and available phosphorus (TP and AP), and total and available potassium (TK and AK), were measured to assess soil quality. We find that the overall soil quality decreases along with KRD progressive gradient. Soil bacterial community compositions are distinguishingly different in KRD stages. The richness and diversity in bacterial community do not significantly change with KRD progression although a slight increase in diversity was observed. A slight decrease in richness was seen in SKRD areas. Soil pH primarily correlates with bacterial community composition. We identified a core microbiome for KRD soils consisting of; Acidobacteria, Alpha-Proteobacteria, Planctomycetes, Beta-Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Delta-Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes, Nitrospirae, and Gemmatimonadetes in this study. Phylum Cyanobacteria is significantly abundant in non-degraded soils, suggesting that Cyanobacterial activities might be correlated to soil quality. Our results suggest that Proteobacteria are sensitive to changes in soil properties caused by the KRD progression. Alpha- and beta-Proteobacteria significantly predominated in SKRD compared to NKRD, suggesting that Proteobacteria, along with many others in the core microbiome (Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Nitrospirae), were active in nutrient limiting degraded soils. This study demonstrates the relationship of soil properties with bacterial community in KRD areas. Our results fill the gap of knowledge on change in soil bacterial community during KRD progression.

Microbial Diversity of Some Sabkha and Desert Sites in Saudi Arabia

“…The microbes that exist abundantly in all study areas with 1% are known as core microbiome ( Qi et al, 2018 ). Accordingly, Fusarium spp., Alternaria spp., Aspergillus spp., Bacillus spp., and Lactobcillus spp.…”

Soil properties rather than plant production strongly impact soil bacterial community diversity along a desertification gradient on the Tibetan Plateau

“…Soil microbes are important parts of terrestrial ecosystems. They control many ecological processes and are the driving forces for material transformation and the energy cycle in ecosystems (Qi, Wieneke, Tao, Zhou, & Desilva, ; Rutigliano, D'Ascoli, & Santo, ). Therefore, soil microbial diversity is an important factor for maintaining ecological function.…”

Water-soluble phosphorus contributes significantly to shaping the community structure of rhizospheric bacteria in rocky desertification areas

“…S2). It has been reported that the degree of rocky soil desertification and vegetation restoration affects the physicochemical properties and then the growth of microorganisms and plants 3,30,37 . Therefore, it is quite logic that the soil fertility, particularly WSP content, affects the diversity and abundance of bacteria in rocky and non-rocky desertification areas.…”

“…There are a large number of rocky desertification areas in the southwest of China, mainly concentrated in the karst areas, known as karst rocky desertification areas. Rocky desertification areas have fragile ecological environments, poor soil quality, reduced productivity, and decreased levels of phosphorus, which is indispensable for plant growth and development 1–3 .…”