Grassland Degradation Has Stronger Effects on Soil Fungal Community Than Bacterial Community across the Semi-Arid Region of Northern China
Soil microbes play crucial roles in grassland ecosystem functions, such as soil carbon (C) pool and nutrient cycle. Soil microbes in grasslands are susceptible to the degradation mediated by climate change and anthropogenic disturbance. However, research on how the degradation influences the diversi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/24/3488 |
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| author | Congwen Wang Zhangkai Liu Wanying Yu Xuehua Ye Linna Ma Renzhong Wang Zhenying Huang Guofang Liu |
| author_facet | Congwen Wang Zhangkai Liu Wanying Yu Xuehua Ye Linna Ma Renzhong Wang Zhenying Huang Guofang Liu |
| author_sort | Congwen Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil microbes play crucial roles in grassland ecosystem functions, such as soil carbon (C) pool and nutrient cycle. Soil microbes in grasslands are susceptible to the degradation mediated by climate change and anthropogenic disturbance. However, research on how the degradation influences the diversity and community structure of different soil microbial taxa is relatively scarce. We conducted a large-scale field survey to describe the effects of four degradation levels (PD: potential degradation, LD: light degradation, MD: moderate degradation, and SD: severe degradation) on soil bacterial and fungal community in the semi-arid grasslands of northern China. We found that soil moisture, nutrients, and clay content decreased, but soil sand content increased along the increasing degradation gradient. However, the degradation had no effects on soil pH and the C:N ratio. Grassland degradation had non-significant effect on soil bacterial diversity, but it significantly affected soil bacterial community structure. The degradation decreased soil fungal diversity and had a relatively larger influence on the community structure of soil fungi than that of bacteria. The community composition and structure of soil fungi were mainly affected by soil nutrients and texture, while those of soil bacteria were mainly affected by soil pH. These results indicate that changes in soil properties induced by grassland degradation mainly drive the variation in the soil fungal community and have less effect on the soil bacterial community. This study reveals the sensitivity of soil fungal community to grassland degradation, highlighting the priority of soil fungal community for the management and restoration of degraded grasslands. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:56:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2412f7d41c4643bb90dd0f212d827647 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:56:12Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-2412f7d41c4643bb90dd0f212d8276472023-11-24T17:28:09ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472022-12-011124348810.3390/plants11243488Grassland Degradation Has Stronger Effects on Soil Fungal Community Than Bacterial Community across the Semi-Arid Region of Northern ChinaCongwen Wang0Zhangkai Liu1Wanying Yu2Xuehua Ye3Linna Ma4Renzhong Wang5Zhenying Huang6Guofang Liu7State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijng 100093, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijng 100093, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijng 100093, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijng 100093, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijng 100093, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijng 100093, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijng 100093, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijng 100093, ChinaSoil microbes play crucial roles in grassland ecosystem functions, such as soil carbon (C) pool and nutrient cycle. Soil microbes in grasslands are susceptible to the degradation mediated by climate change and anthropogenic disturbance. However, research on how the degradation influences the diversity and community structure of different soil microbial taxa is relatively scarce. We conducted a large-scale field survey to describe the effects of four degradation levels (PD: potential degradation, LD: light degradation, MD: moderate degradation, and SD: severe degradation) on soil bacterial and fungal community in the semi-arid grasslands of northern China. We found that soil moisture, nutrients, and clay content decreased, but soil sand content increased along the increasing degradation gradient. However, the degradation had no effects on soil pH and the C:N ratio. Grassland degradation had non-significant effect on soil bacterial diversity, but it significantly affected soil bacterial community structure. The degradation decreased soil fungal diversity and had a relatively larger influence on the community structure of soil fungi than that of bacteria. The community composition and structure of soil fungi were mainly affected by soil nutrients and texture, while those of soil bacteria were mainly affected by soil pH. These results indicate that changes in soil properties induced by grassland degradation mainly drive the variation in the soil fungal community and have less effect on the soil bacterial community. This study reveals the sensitivity of soil fungal community to grassland degradation, highlighting the priority of soil fungal community for the management and restoration of degraded grasslands.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/24/3488grassland degradationsoil microbial diversitymicrobial community structuresoil propertiessemi-arid region |
| spellingShingle | Congwen Wang Zhangkai Liu Wanying Yu Xuehua Ye Linna Ma Renzhong Wang Zhenying Huang Guofang Liu Grassland Degradation Has Stronger Effects on Soil Fungal Community Than Bacterial Community across the Semi-Arid Region of Northern China Plants grassland degradation soil microbial diversity microbial community structure soil properties semi-arid region |
| title | Grassland Degradation Has Stronger Effects on Soil Fungal Community Than Bacterial Community across the Semi-Arid Region of Northern China |
| title_full | Grassland Degradation Has Stronger Effects on Soil Fungal Community Than Bacterial Community across the Semi-Arid Region of Northern China |
| title_fullStr | Grassland Degradation Has Stronger Effects on Soil Fungal Community Than Bacterial Community across the Semi-Arid Region of Northern China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Grassland Degradation Has Stronger Effects on Soil Fungal Community Than Bacterial Community across the Semi-Arid Region of Northern China |
| title_short | Grassland Degradation Has Stronger Effects on Soil Fungal Community Than Bacterial Community across the Semi-Arid Region of Northern China |
| title_sort | grassland degradation has stronger effects on soil fungal community than bacterial community across the semi arid region of northern china |
| topic | grassland degradation soil microbial diversity microbial community structure soil properties semi-arid region |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/24/3488 |
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