Microbial Diversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Deadwood of Black Pine of a Temperate Forest
The present study provides a deeper insight on variations of microbial abundance and community composition concerning specific environmental parameters related to deadwood decay, focusing on a mesocosm experiment conducted with deadwood samples from black pine of different decay classes. The chemica...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/10/1418 |
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| author | Roberta Pastorelli Alessandro Paletto Alessandro Elio Agnelli Alessandra Lagomarsino Isabella De Meo |
| author_facet | Roberta Pastorelli Alessandro Paletto Alessandro Elio Agnelli Alessandra Lagomarsino Isabella De Meo |
| author_sort | Roberta Pastorelli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The present study provides a deeper insight on variations of microbial abundance and community composition concerning specific environmental parameters related to deadwood decay, focusing on a mesocosm experiment conducted with deadwood samples from black pine of different decay classes. The chemical properties and microbial communities of deadwood changed over time. The total carbon percentage remained constant in the first stage of decomposition, showing a significant increase in the last decay class. The percentage of total nitrogen and the abundances of <i>nifH</i> harbouring bacteria significantly increased as decomposition advanced, suggesting N wood-enrichment by microbial N immobilization and/or N<sub>2</sub>-fixation. The pH slightly decreased during decomposition and significantly correlated with fungal abundance. CO<sub>2</sub> production was higher in the last decay class 5 and positively correlated with bacterial abundance. Production of CH<sub>4</sub> was registered in one sample of decay class 3, which correlates with the highest abundance of methanogenic archaea that probably belonged to <i>Methanobrevibacter</i> genus. N<sub>2</sub>O consumption increased along decomposition progress, indicating a complete reduction of nitrate compounds to N<sub>2</sub> via denitrification, as proved by the highest <i>nosZ</i> gene copy number in decay class 5. Conversely, our results highlighted a low involvement of nitrifying communities in deadwood decomposition. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:32:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-96878439690f490c9b87fdcf638370f6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:32:55Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-96878439690f490c9b87fdcf638370f62023-11-22T18:19:23ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072021-10-011210141810.3390/f12101418Microbial Diversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Deadwood of Black Pine of a Temperate ForestRoberta Pastorelli0Alessandro Paletto1Alessandro Elio Agnelli2Alessandra Lagomarsino3Isabella De Meo4Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria, I-50125 Firenze, ItalyResearch Centre for Forestry and Wood, Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria, I-38123 Trento, ItalyResearch Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria, I-50125 Firenze, ItalyResearch Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria, I-50125 Firenze, ItalyResearch Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria, I-50125 Firenze, ItalyThe present study provides a deeper insight on variations of microbial abundance and community composition concerning specific environmental parameters related to deadwood decay, focusing on a mesocosm experiment conducted with deadwood samples from black pine of different decay classes. The chemical properties and microbial communities of deadwood changed over time. The total carbon percentage remained constant in the first stage of decomposition, showing a significant increase in the last decay class. The percentage of total nitrogen and the abundances of <i>nifH</i> harbouring bacteria significantly increased as decomposition advanced, suggesting N wood-enrichment by microbial N immobilization and/or N<sub>2</sub>-fixation. The pH slightly decreased during decomposition and significantly correlated with fungal abundance. CO<sub>2</sub> production was higher in the last decay class 5 and positively correlated with bacterial abundance. Production of CH<sub>4</sub> was registered in one sample of decay class 3, which correlates with the highest abundance of methanogenic archaea that probably belonged to <i>Methanobrevibacter</i> genus. N<sub>2</sub>O consumption increased along decomposition progress, indicating a complete reduction of nitrate compounds to N<sub>2</sub> via denitrification, as proved by the highest <i>nosZ</i> gene copy number in decay class 5. Conversely, our results highlighted a low involvement of nitrifying communities in deadwood decomposition.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/10/1418logsdecay classesmicrobial diversitymicrobial abundancefunctional microbial groups |
| spellingShingle | Roberta Pastorelli Alessandro Paletto Alessandro Elio Agnelli Alessandra Lagomarsino Isabella De Meo Microbial Diversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Deadwood of Black Pine of a Temperate Forest Forests logs decay classes microbial diversity microbial abundance functional microbial groups |
| title | Microbial Diversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Deadwood of Black Pine of a Temperate Forest |
| title_full | Microbial Diversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Deadwood of Black Pine of a Temperate Forest |
| title_fullStr | Microbial Diversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Deadwood of Black Pine of a Temperate Forest |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microbial Diversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Deadwood of Black Pine of a Temperate Forest |
| title_short | Microbial Diversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Deadwood of Black Pine of a Temperate Forest |
| title_sort | microbial diversity and ecosystem functioning in deadwood of black pine of a temperate forest |
| topic | logs decay classes microbial diversity microbial abundance functional microbial groups |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/10/1418 |
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