Seasonal Stabilities of Soil Nematode Communities and Their Relationships with Environmental Factors in Different Temperate Forest Types on the Chinese Loess Plateau
The bottom-up effects of vegetation have been documented to be strong drivers of the soil food web structure and functioning in temperate forests. However, how the forest type affects the stability of the soil food web is not well known. In the Ziwuling forest region of the Loess Plateau, we selecte...
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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/1999-4907/12/2/246 |
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| author | Na Huo Shiwei Zhao Jinghua Huang Dezhou Geng Nan Wang Panpan Yang |
| author_facet | Na Huo Shiwei Zhao Jinghua Huang Dezhou Geng Nan Wang Panpan Yang |
| author_sort | Na Huo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The bottom-up effects of vegetation have been documented to be strong drivers of the soil food web structure and functioning in temperate forests. However, how the forest type affects the stability of the soil food web is not well known. In the Ziwuling forest region of the Loess Plateau, we selected three typical forests, <i>Pinus tabuliformis</i> Carrière <i>(</i>PT), <i>Betula platyphylla</i> Sukaczev <i>(</i>BP), and <i>Quercus liaotungensis</i> Koidz. <i>(</i>QL), to investigate the soil nematode community characteristics in the dry (April) and rainy (August) season, and analyzed their relationships with the soil properties. The results showed that the characteristics of the soil nematode communities and their seasonal variations differed markedly among the forest types. Compared to <i>P. tabuliformis</i> (PT), the <i>B. platyphylla</i> (BP) and <i>Q. liaotungensis</i> (QL) forests had higher plant diversity and more easily decomposed litters, which were more effective for improving the soil resource availability, thus, leading to more beneficial effects on the soil nematode community. In both the dry and rainy season, the soil nematode abundance was the highest in the BP forest. The Shannon–Wiener diversity index (<i>H’</i>), Pielou’s evenness index (<i>J’</i>), and nematode channel ratio index (<i>NCR</i>) were higher, while the Simpson dominance index (<i>λ</i>) and plant parasite index (<i>PPI</i>) were lower, in the BP and QL forests compared with in the PT forest. From the dry to rainy season, the total nematode abundance and the abundance of fungivores, bacterivores, and omnivore-predators, significantly increased in the QL and PT forests, and the values of the Wasilewska index (<i>WI</i>), maturity index (<i>MI</i>), <i>H’</i>, <i>J’</i>, <i>λ</i>, and <i>NCR</i> showed the most significant seasonal variability in the PT forest, which were mainly driven by changes in the soil labile C and N and the moisture content between the two seasons. Generally, the seasonal stability of the soil nematode communities was the highest in the BP forest and the poorest in the PT forest, probably due to variations in the plant diversity. Our results suggest the importance of tree species and diversity as bottom-up regulating factors of the soil food web structure, function, and seasonal stability, which has important implications for sustainable forest management in the Loess Plateau and other temperate regions. |
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| spelling | doaj.art-b1585bcde0be4277a473fe95fd7d60d12023-12-11T17:54:06ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072021-02-0112224610.3390/f12020246Seasonal Stabilities of Soil Nematode Communities and Their Relationships with Environmental Factors in Different Temperate Forest Types on the Chinese Loess PlateauNa Huo0Shiwei Zhao1Jinghua Huang2Dezhou Geng3Nan Wang4Panpan Yang5College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, ChinaCollege of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, ChinaCollege of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, ChinaCollege of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, ChinaInstitute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, ChinaThe bottom-up effects of vegetation have been documented to be strong drivers of the soil food web structure and functioning in temperate forests. However, how the forest type affects the stability of the soil food web is not well known. In the Ziwuling forest region of the Loess Plateau, we selected three typical forests, <i>Pinus tabuliformis</i> Carrière <i>(</i>PT), <i>Betula platyphylla</i> Sukaczev <i>(</i>BP), and <i>Quercus liaotungensis</i> Koidz. <i>(</i>QL), to investigate the soil nematode community characteristics in the dry (April) and rainy (August) season, and analyzed their relationships with the soil properties. The results showed that the characteristics of the soil nematode communities and their seasonal variations differed markedly among the forest types. Compared to <i>P. tabuliformis</i> (PT), the <i>B. platyphylla</i> (BP) and <i>Q. liaotungensis</i> (QL) forests had higher plant diversity and more easily decomposed litters, which were more effective for improving the soil resource availability, thus, leading to more beneficial effects on the soil nematode community. In both the dry and rainy season, the soil nematode abundance was the highest in the BP forest. The Shannon–Wiener diversity index (<i>H’</i>), Pielou’s evenness index (<i>J’</i>), and nematode channel ratio index (<i>NCR</i>) were higher, while the Simpson dominance index (<i>λ</i>) and plant parasite index (<i>PPI</i>) were lower, in the BP and QL forests compared with in the PT forest. From the dry to rainy season, the total nematode abundance and the abundance of fungivores, bacterivores, and omnivore-predators, significantly increased in the QL and PT forests, and the values of the Wasilewska index (<i>WI</i>), maturity index (<i>MI</i>), <i>H’</i>, <i>J’</i>, <i>λ</i>, and <i>NCR</i> showed the most significant seasonal variability in the PT forest, which were mainly driven by changes in the soil labile C and N and the moisture content between the two seasons. Generally, the seasonal stability of the soil nematode communities was the highest in the BP forest and the poorest in the PT forest, probably due to variations in the plant diversity. Our results suggest the importance of tree species and diversity as bottom-up regulating factors of the soil food web structure, function, and seasonal stability, which has important implications for sustainable forest management in the Loess Plateau and other temperate regions.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/2/246vegetation restorationsoil resource availabilitynematode diversitybottom-up effectssoil food webZiwuling forest region |
| spellingShingle | Na Huo Shiwei Zhao Jinghua Huang Dezhou Geng Nan Wang Panpan Yang Seasonal Stabilities of Soil Nematode Communities and Their Relationships with Environmental Factors in Different Temperate Forest Types on the Chinese Loess Plateau Forests vegetation restoration soil resource availability nematode diversity bottom-up effects soil food web Ziwuling forest region |
| title | Seasonal Stabilities of Soil Nematode Communities and Their Relationships with Environmental Factors in Different Temperate Forest Types on the Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title_full | Seasonal Stabilities of Soil Nematode Communities and Their Relationships with Environmental Factors in Different Temperate Forest Types on the Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title_fullStr | Seasonal Stabilities of Soil Nematode Communities and Their Relationships with Environmental Factors in Different Temperate Forest Types on the Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seasonal Stabilities of Soil Nematode Communities and Their Relationships with Environmental Factors in Different Temperate Forest Types on the Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title_short | Seasonal Stabilities of Soil Nematode Communities and Their Relationships with Environmental Factors in Different Temperate Forest Types on the Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title_sort | seasonal stabilities of soil nematode communities and their relationships with environmental factors in different temperate forest types on the chinese loess plateau |
| topic | vegetation restoration soil resource availability nematode diversity bottom-up effects soil food web Ziwuling forest region |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/2/246 |
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