Dataset Information

Comparison of seasonal soil microbial process in snow-covered temperate ecosystems of northern China.

ABSTRACT: More than half of the earth's terrestrial surface currently experiences seasonal snow cover and soil frost. Winter compositional and functional investigations in soil microbial community are frequently conducted in alpine tundra and boreal forest ecosystems. However, little information on winter microbial biogeochemistry is known from seasonally snow-covered temperate ecosystems. As decomposer microbes may differ in their ability/strategy to efficiently use soil organic carbon (SOC) within different phases of the year, understanding seasonal microbial process will increase our knowledge of biogeochemical cycling from the aspect of decomposition rates and corresponding nutrient dynamics. In this study, we measured soil microbial biomass, community composition and potential SOC mineralization rates in winter and summer, from six temperate ecosystems in northern China. Our results showed a clear pattern of increased microbial biomass C to nitrogen (N) ratio in most winter soils. Concurrently, a shift in soil microbial community composition occurred with higher fungal to bacterial biomass ratio and gram negative (G-) to gram positive (G+) bacterial biomass ratio in winter than in summer. Furthermore, potential SOC mineralization rate was higher in winter than in summer. Our study demonstrated a distinct transition of microbial community structure and function from winter to summer in temperate snow-covered ecosystems. Microbial N immobilization in winter may not be the major contributor for plant growth in the following spring.

SUBMITTER: Zhang X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3965484 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Comparison of seasonal soil microbial process in snow-covered temperate ecosystems of northern China.

Zhang Xinyue X Wang Wei W Chen Weile W Zhang Naili N Zeng Hui H

PloS one 20140325 3

More than half of the earth's terrestrial surface currently experiences seasonal snow cover and soil frost. Winter compositional and functional investigations in soil microbial community are frequently conducted in alpine tundra and boreal forest ecosystems. However, little information on winter microbial biogeochemistry is known from seasonally snow-covered temperate ecosystems. As decomposer microbes may differ in their ability/strategy to efficiently use soil organic carbon (SOC) within diffe ...[more]

PMID: 24667929

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Project description:The long-term application of excessive chemical fertilizers has resulted in the degeneration of soil quality parameters such as soil microbial biomass, communities, and nutrient content, which in turn affects crop health, productivity, and soil sustainable productivity. The objective of this study was to develop a rapid and efficient solution for rehabilitating degraded cropland soils by precisely quantifying soil quality parameters through the application of manure compost and bacteria fertilizers or its combination during maize growth. We investigated dynamic impacts on soil microbial count, biomass, basal respiration, community structure diversity, and enzyme activity using six different treatments [no fertilizer (CK), N fertilizer (N), N fertilizer + bacterial fertilizer (NB), manure compost (M), manure compost + bacterial fertilizer (MB), and bacterial fertilizer (B)] in the plowed layer (0-20 cm) of potted soil during various maize growth stages in a temperate cropland of eastern China. Denaturing gradient electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting analysis showed that the structure and composition of bacterial and fungi communities in the six fertilizer treatments varied at different levels. The Shannon index of bacterial and fungi communities displayed the highest value in the MB treatments and the lowest in the N treatment at the maize mature stage. Changes in soil microorganism community structure and diversity after different fertilizer treatments resulted in different microbial properties. Adding manure compost significantly increased the amount of cultivable microorganisms and microbial biomass, thus enhancing soil respiration and enzyme activities (p<0.01), whereas N treatment showed the opposite results (p<0.01). However, B and NB treatments minimally increased the amount of cultivable microorganisms and microbial biomass, with no obvious influence on community structure and soil enzymes. Our findings indicate that the application of manure compost plus bacterial fertilizers can immediately improve the microbial community structure and diversity of degraded cropland soils.

Project description:The N cycle of arid ecosystems is influenced by low soil organic matter, high soil pH, and extremes in water potential and temperature that lead to open canopies and development of biological soil crusts (biocrusts). We investigated the effects of N amendment on soil microbial dynamics in a Larrea tridentata-Ambrosia dumosa shrubland site in southern Nevada USA. Sites were fertilized with a NO3-NH4 mix at 0, 7, and 15 kg N ha(-1) y(-1) from March 2012 to March 2013. In March 2013, biocrust (0-0.5 cm) and bulk soils (0-10 cm) were collected beneath Ambrosia canopies and in the interspaces between plants. Biomass responses were assessed as bacterial and fungal SSU rRNA gene copy number and chlorophyll a concentration. Metabolic responses were measured by five ecoenzyme activities and rates of N transformation. By most measures, nutrient availability, microbial biomass, and process rates were greater in soils beneath the shrub canopy compared to the interspace between plants, and greater in the surface biocrust horizon compared to the deeper 10 cm soil profile. Most measures responded positively to experimental N addition. Effect sizes were generally greater for bulk soil than biocrust. Results were incorporated into a meta-analysis of arid ecosystem responses to N amendment that included data from 14 other studies. Effect sizes were calculated for biomass and metabolic responses. Regressions of effect sizes, calculated for biomass, and metabolic responses, showed similar trends in relation to N application rate and N load (rate × duration). The critical points separating positive from negative treatment effects were 88 kg ha(-1) y(-1) and 159 kg ha(-1), respectively, for biomass, and 70 kg ha(-1) y(-1) and 114 kg ha(-1), respectively, for metabolism. These critical values are comparable to those for microbial biomass, decomposition rates and respiration reported in broader meta-analyses of N amendment effects in mesic ecosystems. However, large effect sizes at low N addition rates indicate that arid ecosystems are sensitive to modest increments in anthropogenic N deposition.

Dataset Information

Comparison of seasonal soil microbial process in snow-covered temperate ecosystems of northern China.

Publications

Comparison of seasonal soil microbial process in snow-covered temperate ecosystems of northern China.

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