Liming Alters the Soil Microbial Community and Extracellular Enzymatic Activities in Temperate Coniferous Forests
Soil acidification caused by anthropogenic activities adversely affects forest ecosystems by altering soil pH, which is an important factor in soil quality and function. Liming is one suggested way to solve this problem. This study was performed to evaluate the effects of liming in acidic forest soi...
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/2/190 |
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| author | Sangsub Cha Yong Suk Kim Ah Lim Lee Dong-Hyeon Lee Namin Koo |
| author_facet | Sangsub Cha Yong Suk Kim Ah Lim Lee Dong-Hyeon Lee Namin Koo |
| author_sort | Sangsub Cha |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil acidification caused by anthropogenic activities adversely affects forest ecosystems by altering soil pH, which is an important factor in soil quality and function. Liming is one suggested way to solve this problem. This study was performed to evaluate the effects of liming in acidic forest soils by determining soil microbial biomass, microbial community structure, and extracellular enzyme activities associated with carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling. Lime treatment increased soil pH by up to 40%, significantly increased organic matter (OM) content at some sites, and altered the enzyme activity of the soil. With liming, the microbial biomass appeared to be affected by the chemical properties of the soil, such as pH, Ca<sup>2+</sup>, Mg<sup>2+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup>, and exchangeable aluminum (Ale) levels, although there were no significant differences at the site level. Enzymatic activity was found to be affected by pH, Ca<sup>2+</sup>, Mg<sup>2+</sup>, electrical conductivity (EC), and Ale; and acid phosphatase (AP) and phenol oxidase (POX) activity were significantly affected by lime treatment. AP activity decreased from 0.62 to 0.66, and POX activity increased from 1.75 to 3.00 in part of the sites. The bacterial community richness was influenced by pH as a direct effect of lime treatment. The fungal community richness was associated with changes in K<sup>+</sup> that were not due to lime treatment. The bacterial community structure was affected by soil OM, total nitrogen (TN), pH, and Ca<sup>2+</sup>; and the fungal community structure was affected by pH, Mg<sup>2+</sup>, and K<sup>+</sup>. In conclusion, changes in soil environmental conditions by liming can affect soil microbial communities and functions through direct or indirect processes, further changing ecosystem processes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:16:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9d66c49f68db40fa8135c83d2a1ad3a4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:16:10Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-9d66c49f68db40fa8135c83d2a1ad3a42023-12-03T12:45:30ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072021-02-0112219010.3390/f12020190Liming Alters the Soil Microbial Community and Extracellular Enzymatic Activities in Temperate Coniferous ForestsSangsub Cha0Yong Suk Kim1Ah Lim Lee2Dong-Hyeon Lee3Namin Koo4Division of Forest Resource Management and Restoration, National Institute of Forest Science, Seoul 02455, KoreaDivision of Forest Resource Management and Restoration, National Institute of Forest Science, Seoul 02455, KoreaDivision of Forest Resource Management and Restoration, National Institute of Forest Science, Seoul 02455, KoreaDivision of Forest Insect Pests and Disease, National Institute of Forest Science, Seoul 02455, KoreaDivision of Forest Resource Management and Restoration, National Institute of Forest Science, Seoul 02455, KoreaSoil acidification caused by anthropogenic activities adversely affects forest ecosystems by altering soil pH, which is an important factor in soil quality and function. Liming is one suggested way to solve this problem. This study was performed to evaluate the effects of liming in acidic forest soils by determining soil microbial biomass, microbial community structure, and extracellular enzyme activities associated with carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling. Lime treatment increased soil pH by up to 40%, significantly increased organic matter (OM) content at some sites, and altered the enzyme activity of the soil. With liming, the microbial biomass appeared to be affected by the chemical properties of the soil, such as pH, Ca<sup>2+</sup>, Mg<sup>2+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup>, and exchangeable aluminum (Ale) levels, although there were no significant differences at the site level. Enzymatic activity was found to be affected by pH, Ca<sup>2+</sup>, Mg<sup>2+</sup>, electrical conductivity (EC), and Ale; and acid phosphatase (AP) and phenol oxidase (POX) activity were significantly affected by lime treatment. AP activity decreased from 0.62 to 0.66, and POX activity increased from 1.75 to 3.00 in part of the sites. The bacterial community richness was influenced by pH as a direct effect of lime treatment. The fungal community richness was associated with changes in K<sup>+</sup> that were not due to lime treatment. The bacterial community structure was affected by soil OM, total nitrogen (TN), pH, and Ca<sup>2+</sup>; and the fungal community structure was affected by pH, Mg<sup>2+</sup>, and K<sup>+</sup>. In conclusion, changes in soil environmental conditions by liming can affect soil microbial communities and functions through direct or indirect processes, further changing ecosystem processes.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/2/190lime treatmentmicrobial biomassenzyme activitybacterial communityfungal community |
| spellingShingle | Sangsub Cha Yong Suk Kim Ah Lim Lee Dong-Hyeon Lee Namin Koo Liming Alters the Soil Microbial Community and Extracellular Enzymatic Activities in Temperate Coniferous Forests Forests lime treatment microbial biomass enzyme activity bacterial community fungal community |
| title | Liming Alters the Soil Microbial Community and Extracellular Enzymatic Activities in Temperate Coniferous Forests |
| title_full | Liming Alters the Soil Microbial Community and Extracellular Enzymatic Activities in Temperate Coniferous Forests |
| title_fullStr | Liming Alters the Soil Microbial Community and Extracellular Enzymatic Activities in Temperate Coniferous Forests |
| title_full_unstemmed | Liming Alters the Soil Microbial Community and Extracellular Enzymatic Activities in Temperate Coniferous Forests |
| title_short | Liming Alters the Soil Microbial Community and Extracellular Enzymatic Activities in Temperate Coniferous Forests |
| title_sort | liming alters the soil microbial community and extracellular enzymatic activities in temperate coniferous forests |
| topic | lime treatment microbial biomass enzyme activity bacterial community fungal community |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/2/190 |
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