Soil, Plant, and Microorganism Interactions Drive Secondary Succession in Alpine Grassland Restoration
Plant secondary succession has been explored extensively in restoring degraded grasslands in semiarid or dry environments. However, the dynamics of soil microbial communities and their interactions with plant succession following restoration efforts remain understudied, particularly in alpine ecosys...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-03-01
|
| Series: | Plants |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/6/780 |
| _version_ | 1827305279128076288 |
|---|---|
| author | Chenglong Han Defei Liang Weidi Zhou Qiuyun Xu Mingxue Xiang Yanjie Gu Kadambot H. M. Siddique |
| author_facet | Chenglong Han Defei Liang Weidi Zhou Qiuyun Xu Mingxue Xiang Yanjie Gu Kadambot H. M. Siddique |
| author_sort | Chenglong Han |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plant secondary succession has been explored extensively in restoring degraded grasslands in semiarid or dry environments. However, the dynamics of soil microbial communities and their interactions with plant succession following restoration efforts remain understudied, particularly in alpine ecosystems. This study investigates the interplay between soil properties, plant communities, and microbial populations across a chronosequence of grassland restoration on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau in China. We examined five succession stages representing artificial grasslands of varying recovery durations from 0 to 19. We characterized soil microbial compositions using high-throughput sequencing, enzymatic activity assessments, and biomass analyses. Our findings reveal distinct plant and microbial secondary succession patterns, marked by increased soil organic carbon, total phosphorus, and NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>-N contents. Soil microbial biomass, enzymatic activities, and microbial community diversity increased as recovery time progressed, attributed to increased plant aboveground biomass, cover, and diversity. The observed patterns in biomass and diversity dynamics of plant, bacterial, and fungal communities suggest parallel plant and fungal succession occurrences. Indicators of bacterial and fungal communities, including biomass, enzymatic activities, and community composition, exhibited sensitivity to variations in plant biomass and diversity. Fungal succession, in particular, exhibited susceptibility to changes in the soil C: N ratio. Our results underscore the significant roles of plant biomass, cover, and diversity in shaping microbial community composition attributed to vegetation-induced alterations in soil nutrients and soil microclimates. This study contributes valuable insights into the intricate relationships driving secondary succession in alpine grassland restoration. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:54:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e43d8585c9c0423cb3dbe9a57c1a5ca8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:54:16Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-e43d8585c9c0423cb3dbe9a57c1a5ca82024-03-27T14:00:38ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472024-03-0113678010.3390/plants13060780Soil, Plant, and Microorganism Interactions Drive Secondary Succession in Alpine Grassland RestorationChenglong Han0Defei Liang1Weidi Zhou2Qiuyun Xu3Mingxue Xiang4Yanjie Gu5Kadambot H. M. Siddique6State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, ChinaCollege of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, ChinaCollege of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, ChinaCollege of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, ChinaThe UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6001, AustraliaPlant secondary succession has been explored extensively in restoring degraded grasslands in semiarid or dry environments. However, the dynamics of soil microbial communities and their interactions with plant succession following restoration efforts remain understudied, particularly in alpine ecosystems. This study investigates the interplay between soil properties, plant communities, and microbial populations across a chronosequence of grassland restoration on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau in China. We examined five succession stages representing artificial grasslands of varying recovery durations from 0 to 19. We characterized soil microbial compositions using high-throughput sequencing, enzymatic activity assessments, and biomass analyses. Our findings reveal distinct plant and microbial secondary succession patterns, marked by increased soil organic carbon, total phosphorus, and NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>-N contents. Soil microbial biomass, enzymatic activities, and microbial community diversity increased as recovery time progressed, attributed to increased plant aboveground biomass, cover, and diversity. The observed patterns in biomass and diversity dynamics of plant, bacterial, and fungal communities suggest parallel plant and fungal succession occurrences. Indicators of bacterial and fungal communities, including biomass, enzymatic activities, and community composition, exhibited sensitivity to variations in plant biomass and diversity. Fungal succession, in particular, exhibited susceptibility to changes in the soil C: N ratio. Our results underscore the significant roles of plant biomass, cover, and diversity in shaping microbial community composition attributed to vegetation-induced alterations in soil nutrients and soil microclimates. This study contributes valuable insights into the intricate relationships driving secondary succession in alpine grassland restoration.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/6/780recovery of grasslandvegetation typessoil nutrient cyclesmicrobial community compositionsuccession |
| spellingShingle | Chenglong Han Defei Liang Weidi Zhou Qiuyun Xu Mingxue Xiang Yanjie Gu Kadambot H. M. Siddique Soil, Plant, and Microorganism Interactions Drive Secondary Succession in Alpine Grassland Restoration Plants recovery of grassland vegetation types soil nutrient cycles microbial community composition succession |
| title | Soil, Plant, and Microorganism Interactions Drive Secondary Succession in Alpine Grassland Restoration |
| title_full | Soil, Plant, and Microorganism Interactions Drive Secondary Succession in Alpine Grassland Restoration |
| title_fullStr | Soil, Plant, and Microorganism Interactions Drive Secondary Succession in Alpine Grassland Restoration |
| title_full_unstemmed | Soil, Plant, and Microorganism Interactions Drive Secondary Succession in Alpine Grassland Restoration |
| title_short | Soil, Plant, and Microorganism Interactions Drive Secondary Succession in Alpine Grassland Restoration |
| title_sort | soil plant and microorganism interactions drive secondary succession in alpine grassland restoration |
| topic | recovery of grassland vegetation types soil nutrient cycles microbial community composition succession |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/6/780 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chenglonghan soilplantandmicroorganisminteractionsdrivesecondarysuccessioninalpinegrasslandrestoration AT defeiliang soilplantandmicroorganisminteractionsdrivesecondarysuccessioninalpinegrasslandrestoration AT weidizhou soilplantandmicroorganisminteractionsdrivesecondarysuccessioninalpinegrasslandrestoration AT qiuyunxu soilplantandmicroorganisminteractionsdrivesecondarysuccessioninalpinegrasslandrestoration AT mingxuexiang soilplantandmicroorganisminteractionsdrivesecondarysuccessioninalpinegrasslandrestoration AT yanjiegu soilplantandmicroorganisminteractionsdrivesecondarysuccessioninalpinegrasslandrestoration AT kadambothmsiddique soilplantandmicroorganisminteractionsdrivesecondarysuccessioninalpinegrasslandrestoration |