• Succession of soil bacterial and fungal communities of Caragana korshinskii plantation in a typical agro-pastoral ecotone in northern China over a 50-a period

    分类: 地球科学 >> 地理学 提交时间: 2021-11-10 合作期刊: 《干旱区科学》

    摘要: Bacterial and fungal communities play critical roles in reestablishing vegetation structure, function and biodiversity in ecosystem restoration in arid and semi-arid areas. However, the long-term successional changes in bacterial and fungal communities that occur with artificial vegetation development are not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the successional changes in bacterial and fungal communities in Caragana korshinskii Kom. plantation over a period of 50 a (6, 12, 18, 40 and 50 a) and their relationships with key soil environmental factors in a typical agro-pastoral ecotone, northern China. The results showed that bacterial and fungal diversities (α- and β-diversity) were significantly affected by plantation age; moreover, the change in fungal community was more evident than that in bacterial community. Soil samples from 12 a plantation had the highest (P<0.05) bacterial and fungal α-diversity (i.e., abundance-based coverage estimator (ACE) and Chao1 index) at 0–10 cm depth compared with other samples. However, soil samples from plantation at the late recovery stage (40–50 a) had the highest α-diversity at 10–20 cm depth. Soil bacterial community was not significantly affected by plantation age at the genus level; but, soil fungal community was significantly affected at the genus level. Overall, Mortierella and Chaetomium were the dominant genera at natural recovery stage (0 a); Inocybe was the dominant genus at the early recovery stage (6–12 a); Inocybe and Mortierella were the dominant genera at the mid-recovery stage (12–40 a); And Mortierella, Cladosporium and Humicola were the dominant genera at the late recovery stage (40–50 a). Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that β-glucosidase activity, total nitrogen and soil organic carbon were closely associated with bacterial community composition, while alkaline phosphatase, urease activity and total nitrogen were associated with fungal community composition, indicating that changes in enzyme activity and soil nutrients were the most important determinants of dominant genera. Furthermore, pathogenic microorganisms (Cladosporium and Humicola) were dominant in soils from 40–50 a plantation, which may affect plant growth, resulting in the decline of C. korshinskii plantation. Overall, the findings of this study improve the understanding of ecological patterns of bacterial and fungal communities in artificial vegetation and provide an important scientific basis for comprehensive ecological restoration management in arid and semi-arid areas.

  • Effects of long-term fencing on soil microbial community structure and function in the desert steppe, China

    分类: 农、林、牧、渔 >> 土壤学 提交时间: 2024-03-13 合作期刊: 《干旱区科学》

    摘要: One of the goals of grazing management in the desert steppe is to improve its ecosystem. However, relatively little is known about soil microbe communities in the desert steppe ecosystem under grazing management. In this study, we investigated the diversity and aboveground biomass of Caragana korshinskii Kom. shrub communities in long-term fencing and grazing areas, combined with an analysis of soil physical-chemical properties and genomics, with the aim of understanding how fence management affects plant-soil-microbial inter-relationships in the desert steppe, China. The results showed that fence management (exclosure) increased plant diversity and aboveground biomass in C. korshinskii shrub area and effectively enhanced soil organic carbon (233.94%), available nitrogen (87.77%), and available phosphorus (53.67%) contents. As well, the Shannon indices of soil bacteria and fungi were greater in the fenced plot. Plant-soil changes profoundly affected the alpha- and beta-diversity of soil bacteria. Fence management also altered the soil microbial community structure, significantly increasing the relative abundances of Acidobacteriota (5.31%–8.99%), Chloroflexi (3.99%–5.58%), and Glomeromycota (1.37%–3.28%). The soil bacterial-fungal co-occurrence networks under fence management had higher complexity and connectivity. Based on functional predictions, fence management significantly increased the relative abundance of bacteria with nitrification and nitrate reduction functions and decreased the relative abundance of bacteria with nitrate and nitrite respiration functions. The relative abundances of ecologically functional fungi with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, ectomycorrhizal fungi, and saprotrophs also significantly increased under fence management. In addition, the differential functional groups of bacteria and fungi were closely related to plant-soil changes. The results of this study have significant positive implications for the ecological restoration and reconstruction of dry desert steppe and similar areas.

  • Spatiotemporal characteristics of seed rain and soil seed bank of artificial Caragana korshinskii Kom. forest in the Tengger Desert, China

    分类: 生物学 >> 植物学 提交时间: 2024-04-15 合作期刊: 《干旱区科学》

    摘要: Vegetation restoration and reconstruction are effective approaches to desertification control and achieving social and economic sustainability in desert areas. However, the self-succession ability of native plants during the later periods of vegetation restoration remains unclear. Therefore, this study was conducted to bridge the knowledge gap by investigating the regeneration dynamics of artificial forest under natural conditions. The information of seed rain and soil seed bank was collected and quantified from an artificial Caragana korshinskii Kom. forest in the Tengger Desert, China. The germination tests were conducted in a laboratory setting. The analysis of species quantity and diversity in seed rain and soil seed bank was conducted to assess the impact of different durations of sand fixation (60, 40, and 20 a) on the progress of vegetation restoration and ecological conditions in artificial C. korshinskii forest. The results showed that the top three dominant plant species in seed rain were Echinops gmelinii Turcz., Eragrostis minor Host., and Agropyron mongolicum Keng., and the top three dominant plant species in soil seed bank were E. minor, Chloris virgata Sw., and E. gmelinii. As restoration period increased, the density of seed rain and soil seed bank increased first and then decreased. While for species richness, as restoration period increased, it gradually increased in seed rain but decreased in soil seed bank. There was a positive correlation between seed rain density and soil seed bank density among all the three restoration periods. The species similarity between seed rain or soil seed bank and aboveground vegetation decreased with the extension of restoration period. The shape of the seeds, specifically those with external appendages such as spines and crown hair, clearly had an effect on their dispersal, then resulting in lower seed density in soil seed bank. In addition, precipitation was a crucial factor in promoting rapid germination, also resulting in lower seed density in soil seed bank. Our findings provide valuable insights for guiding future interventions during the later periods of artificial C. korshinskii forest, such as sowing and restoration efforts using unmanned aerial vehicles.