Dataset Information

Soil microbial community structure is unaltered by plant invasion, vegetation clipping, and nitrogen fertilization in experimental semi-arid grasslands.

ABSTRACT: Global and regional environmental changes often co-occur, creating complex gradients of disturbance on the landscape. Soil microbial communities are an important component of ecosystem response to environmental change, yet little is known about how microbial structure and function respond to multiple disturbances, or whether multiple environmental changes lead to unanticipated interactive effects. Our study used experimental semi-arid grassland plots in a Mediterranean-climate to determine how soil microbial communities in a seasonally variable ecosystem respond to one, two, or three simultaneous environmental changes: exotic plant invasion, plant invasion + vegetation clipping (to simulate common management practices like mowing or livestock grazing), plant invasion + nitrogen (N) fertilization, and plant invasion + clipping + N fertilization. We examined microbial community structure 5-6 years after plot establishment via sequencing of >1 million 16S rRNA genes. Abiotic soil properties (soil moisture, temperature, pH, and inorganic N) and microbial functioning (nitrification and denitrification potentials) were also measured and showed treatment-induced shifts, including altered NO(-) 3 availability, temperature, and nitrification potential. Despite these changes, bacterial and archaeal communities showed little variation in composition and diversity across treatments. Even communities in plots exposed to three interacting environmental changes were similar to those in restored native grassland plots. Historical exposure to large seasonal and inter-annual variations in key soil properties, in addition to prior site cultivation, may select for a functionally plastic or largely dormant microbial community, resulting in a microbial community that is structurally robust to single and multiple environmental changes.

SUBMITTER: Carey CJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4438599 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Soil microbial community structure is unaltered by plant invasion, vegetation clipping, and nitrogen fertilization in experimental semi-arid grasslands.

Carey Chelsea J CJ Beman J Michael JM Eviner Valerie T VT Malmstrom Carolyn M CM Hart Stephen C SC

Frontiers in microbiology 20150520

Global and regional environmental changes often co-occur, creating complex gradients of disturbance on the landscape. Soil microbial communities are an important component of ecosystem response to environmental change, yet little is known about how microbial structure and function respond to multiple disturbances, or whether multiple environmental changes lead to unanticipated interactive effects. Our study used experimental semi-arid grassland plots in a Mediterranean-climate to determine how s ...[more]

PMID: 26042104

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Project description:BackgroundIn the arid and semi-arid areas of northern China, overexploitation of fertilizers and extensive irrigation with brackish groundwater have led to soil degradation and large areas of farmland have been abandoned. In order to improve the soil quality of abandoned farmland and make reasonable use of brackish groundwater, we conducted field trials in 2013 and 2014.MethodsIn our study, we used three fertilization modes (CF, chemical fertilizer; OM, organic manure and chemical fertilizer; NF, no fertilizer) and three deficit irrigation levels (I0: 0 mm; I75: 75 mm; I150: 150 mm).ResultsThe results showed that the activities of soil urease, alkaline phosphatase, invertase, catalase, and dehydrogenase in the OM treatment were significantly improved compared with those in the CF and NF treatments under the three deficit irrigation levels. Compared with NF, the OM treatment significantly increased soil organic carbon (SOC), water-soluble carbon (WSC), total nitrogen, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen (MBC and MBN), and soil respiration rate, and significantly decreased soil C:N and MBC:MBN ratios and the metabolic quotient, thus improving the soil quality of abandoned farmland. Furthermore, the OM treatment increased alfalfa plant height, leaf area index, leaf chlorophyll content, and biomass yield. Under the CF and OM fertilization modes, the activities of urease and catalase in I150 were significantly higher than those in I0, whereas irrigating without fertilizer did not significantly increase the activity of these two enzymes. Regardless of fertilization, alkaline phosphatase activity increased with an increase in irrigation amount, whereas invertase activity decreased.DiscussionThe results showed that deficit irrigation with brackish groundwater under the OM treatment can improve soil quality. Over the two years of the study, maximum SOC, total nitrogen, WSC, MBC, and MBN were observed under the OM-I150 treatment, and the alfalfa biomass yield of this treatment was also significantly higher than that of the OM-I0 treatment. Therefore, the OM-I150 treatment could be used as a suitable measure not only to improve the quality of abandoned farmland soil but also to increase the alfalfa biomass yield in arid and semi-arid areas of northern China.

Dataset Information

Soil microbial community structure is unaltered by plant invasion, vegetation clipping, and nitrogen fertilization in experimental semi-arid grasslands.

Publications

Soil microbial community structure is unaltered by plant invasion, vegetation clipping, and nitrogen fertilization in experimental semi-arid grasslands.

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