Compared with pure forest, mixed forest alters microbial diversity and increases the complexity of interdomain networks in arid areas

ABSTRACT Soil microbial communities are key to material cycling and energy exchange in forest soils. As the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang are rich in tree species, it is important to understand the impact of tree species composition on soil microbial community structure and co-occurrence networks i...

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Main Authors: Qian Guo, Lu Gong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Society for Microbiology 2024-01-01
Series:Microbiology Spectrum
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.02642-23
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author Qian Guo
Lu Gong
author_facet Qian Guo
Lu Gong
author_sort Qian Guo
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Soil microbial communities are key to material cycling and energy exchange in forest soils. As the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang are rich in tree species, it is important to understand the impact of tree species composition on soil microbial community structure and co-occurrence networks in arid mountain habitats. In this study, soil microbial community structure of five typical vegetation types in the Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang, China, was investigated using bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal ITS sequences. The results showed that the relationship between the fungal community and tree species was strong, while the bacterial community was mainly affected by soil carbon. The dominant bacterial composition was Ascomycota, which had the highest relative abundance in herbaceous soils (27%–41%); the dominant fungal phylum was Ascomycota (50.22%–63.95% of the total sequences), followed by Stramonium (8.99%–28.09%). The fungal community structure of mixed coniferous and broadleaf forests was similar to that of conifers, while the bacterial community structure was similar to that of pure broadleaf forests. Mixed forests (mean connectivity: 812.50, clustering coefficient: 8.89) showed a more complex co-occurrence network and a significant increase in microbial structure related to soil carbon and nitrogen than pure forests (broad: mean connectivity: 710.69, clustering coefficient: 6.94; coniferous: mean connectivity: 730.79, clustering coefficient: 7.76). The results contribute to the understanding of the interactions between soil microorganisms and soil factors in different forest ecosystems and provide new insights into the interactions among forest microorganisms in arid zones. IMPORTANCE The results provide a comparative study of the response of soil microbial ecology to the afforestation of different tree species and deepen the understanding of the factors controlling soil microbial community structure.
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spelling doaj.art-8dd3a0794b2c476f9994cbb47b3893552024-01-11T14:04:38ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologyMicrobiology Spectrum2165-04972024-01-0112110.1128/spectrum.02642-23Compared with pure forest, mixed forest alters microbial diversity and increases the complexity of interdomain networks in arid areasQian Guo0Lu Gong1College of Ecology and Environment, Xinjiang University , Urumqi, ChinaCollege of Ecology and Environment, Xinjiang University , Urumqi, ChinaABSTRACT Soil microbial communities are key to material cycling and energy exchange in forest soils. As the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang are rich in tree species, it is important to understand the impact of tree species composition on soil microbial community structure and co-occurrence networks in arid mountain habitats. In this study, soil microbial community structure of five typical vegetation types in the Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang, China, was investigated using bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal ITS sequences. The results showed that the relationship between the fungal community and tree species was strong, while the bacterial community was mainly affected by soil carbon. The dominant bacterial composition was Ascomycota, which had the highest relative abundance in herbaceous soils (27%–41%); the dominant fungal phylum was Ascomycota (50.22%–63.95% of the total sequences), followed by Stramonium (8.99%–28.09%). The fungal community structure of mixed coniferous and broadleaf forests was similar to that of conifers, while the bacterial community structure was similar to that of pure broadleaf forests. Mixed forests (mean connectivity: 812.50, clustering coefficient: 8.89) showed a more complex co-occurrence network and a significant increase in microbial structure related to soil carbon and nitrogen than pure forests (broad: mean connectivity: 710.69, clustering coefficient: 6.94; coniferous: mean connectivity: 730.79, clustering coefficient: 7.76). The results contribute to the understanding of the interactions between soil microorganisms and soil factors in different forest ecosystems and provide new insights into the interactions among forest microorganisms in arid zones. IMPORTANCE The results provide a comparative study of the response of soil microbial ecology to the afforestation of different tree species and deepen the understanding of the factors controlling soil microbial community structure.https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.02642-23interdomain networksmaterial cyclingsoil microbial communityTianshan Mountainsvegetation type
spellingShingle Qian Guo
Lu Gong
Compared with pure forest, mixed forest alters microbial diversity and increases the complexity of interdomain networks in arid areas
Microbiology Spectrum
interdomain networks
material cycling
soil microbial community
Tianshan Mountains
vegetation type
title Compared with pure forest, mixed forest alters microbial diversity and increases the complexity of interdomain networks in arid areas
title_full Compared with pure forest, mixed forest alters microbial diversity and increases the complexity of interdomain networks in arid areas
title_fullStr Compared with pure forest, mixed forest alters microbial diversity and increases the complexity of interdomain networks in arid areas
title_full_unstemmed Compared with pure forest, mixed forest alters microbial diversity and increases the complexity of interdomain networks in arid areas
title_short Compared with pure forest, mixed forest alters microbial diversity and increases the complexity of interdomain networks in arid areas
title_sort compared with pure forest mixed forest alters microbial diversity and increases the complexity of interdomain networks in arid areas
topic interdomain networks
material cycling
soil microbial community
Tianshan Mountains
vegetation type
url https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.02642-23
work_keys_str_mv AT qianguo comparedwithpureforestmixedforestaltersmicrobialdiversityandincreasesthecomplexityofinterdomainnetworksinaridareas
AT lugong comparedwithpureforestmixedforestaltersmicrobialdiversityandincreasesthecomplexityofinterdomainnetworksinaridareas