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Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2021, Vol. 57 ›› Issue (12): 22-31.doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.20211203

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Structure Characteristics of Soil Microbial Community in Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata Forests at Different Altitudes in Qinling Mountains

Yi Li1,2,Xiuxiu Feng1,2,Fazhu Zhao1,2,Yaoxin Guo4,Jun Wang1,2,Chengjie Ren3,*   

  1. 1. Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity Xi'an 710127
    2. College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University Xi'an 710127
    3. College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University Yangling 712100
    4. College of Life Sciences, Northwest University Xi'an 710127
  • Received:2020-07-01 Online:2021-12-25 Published:2022-01-26
  • Contact: Chengjie Ren

Abstract:

Objective: This paper aims to study the dynamic changes and driving factors of soil microbial diversity and community composition in Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata forests at different altitudes in Qinling Mountains. Method: This experiment was conducted in Mount Taibai of Qinling Mountains with four elevations of 1 361.6, 1 524.2, 1 630.5 and 1 769.3 m, at which three standard plots (20 m ×20 m) were set in Q. aliena var. acuteserrata forests with good drainage, gentle slope and moderate growth. In August 2016, mixed sampling was carried out in 0-10 cm soil layers by the "S" type method, and then the diversity and composition of soil microbial community were determined by high-throughput sequencing technique. Result: 1) In Q. aliena var. acuteserrata forest, diversity (α diversity and β diversity) of soil bacteria had significant changes at different elevational gradients, but there was no significant change in diversity of soil fungi. 2) In the composition of bacterial community, the relative abundance of Actinobacteria decreased significantly with the increase of elevation, while that of Proteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia increased significantly. The relative abundance of Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadetes and Nitrospirae showed a trend of increasing first and then decreasing; and that of other bacterial taxa such as Acidobacteria and Planctomycetes showed a decreasing trend along the increase of elevation, but there was no significant difference between different elevations. In the composition of fungal community, the relative abundance of Basidiomycota and Ascomycota, two dominant phyla, did not change significantly with the increase of elevation. 3) Bacterial diversity was significantly positively correlated with soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), C∶P and N∶P, and the response of bacterial community composition to elevational gradient was mainly determined by soil bulk density, soil temperature, SOC, C∶P and TN. Fungal diversity was only significantly negatively correlated with soil moisture, and its community composition was significantly correlated with pH, SOC, TN and N∶P. Conclusion: This study indicates that the changes in soil bacterial and fungal diversity along the altitudinal gradient are influenced by different soil environmental factors, and provides a comprehensive insight into the changing characteristics and influencing factors of soil microbial community structure and composition in the warm temperate forest ecosystems of the Qinling Mountains, thus providing a scientific basis for an in-depth understanding of the microbial mechanisms of soil organic carbon decomposition in forest ecosystems.

Key words: forest ecosystem, elevational gradients, Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata forest, Illumina sequencing, soil microbial community, soil nutrients

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