Structures and determinants of soil microbiomes along a steep elevation gradient in Southwest China
Soil microbial communities play a vital role in accelerating nutrient cycling and stabilizing ecosystem functions in forests. However, the diversity of soil microbiome and the mechanisms driving their distribution patterns along elevational gradients in montane areas remain largely unknown. In this...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1504134/full |
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| author | Ting Li Ting Li Ting Li Ziyan Gao Ping Zhou Ping Zhou Mingmin Huang Gangzheng Wang Jianping Xu Wangqiu Deng Mu Wang Mu Wang |
| author_facet | Ting Li Ting Li Ting Li Ziyan Gao Ping Zhou Ping Zhou Mingmin Huang Gangzheng Wang Jianping Xu Wangqiu Deng Mu Wang Mu Wang |
| author_sort | Ting Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil microbial communities play a vital role in accelerating nutrient cycling and stabilizing ecosystem functions in forests. However, the diversity of soil microbiome and the mechanisms driving their distribution patterns along elevational gradients in montane areas remain largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the soil microbial diversity along an elevational gradient from 650 m to 3,800 m above sea level in southeast Tibet, China, through DNA metabarcode sequencing of both the bacterial and fungal communities. Our results showed that the dominant bacterial phyla across elevations were Proteobacteria, Acidobacteriota and Actinobacteriota, and the dominant fungal phyla were Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. The Simpson indices of both soil bacteria and fungi demonstrated a hollow trend along the elevational gradient, with an abrupt decrease in bacterial and fungal diversity at 2,600 m a.s.l. in coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests (CBM). Soil bacterial chemoheterotrophy was the dominant lifestyle and was predicted to decrease with increasing elevation. In terms of fungal lifestyles, saprophytic and symbiotic fungi were the dominant functional communities but their relative abundance was negatively correlated with increasing elevation. Environmental factors including vegetation type (VEG), altitude (ALT), soil pH, total phosphorus (TP), nitrate nitrogen (NO3−-N), and polyphenol oxidase (ppo) all exhibited significant influence on the bacterial community structure, whereas VEG, ALT, and the carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) were significantly associated with the fungal community structure. The VPA results indicated that edaphic factors explained 37% of the bacterial community variations, while C/N, ALT, and VEG explained 49% of the total fungal community variations. Our study contributes significantly to our understanding of forest ecosystems in mountainous regions with large elevation changes, highlighting the crucial role of soil environmental factors in shaping soil microbial communities and their variations in specific forest ecosystems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4d174d8e757e487fb543f55ca3c85a7f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-302X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj-art-4d174d8e757e487fb543f55ca3c85a7f2025-01-06T06:59:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2025-01-011510.3389/fmicb.2024.15041341504134Structures and determinants of soil microbiomes along a steep elevation gradient in Southwest ChinaTing Li0Ting Li1Ting Li2Ziyan Gao3Ping Zhou4Ping Zhou5Mingmin Huang6Gangzheng Wang7Jianping Xu8Wangqiu Deng9Mu Wang10Mu Wang11School of Ecology and Environment, Tibet University, Lhasa, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology in Southern China, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Culture Collection and Application, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, ChinaGuangdong Nanling Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Shaoguan, ChinaXizang Agricultural and Animal Husbandry University, Nyingchi, ChinaGuangdong Nanling Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Shaoguan, ChinaGuangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, ChinaGuangdong Nanling Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Shaoguan, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology in Southern China, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Culture Collection and Application, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, ChinaDepartment of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, CanadaState Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology in Southern China, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Culture Collection and Application, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, ChinaSchool of Ecology and Environment, Tibet University, Lhasa, ChinaXizang Agricultural and Animal Husbandry University, Nyingchi, ChinaSoil microbial communities play a vital role in accelerating nutrient cycling and stabilizing ecosystem functions in forests. However, the diversity of soil microbiome and the mechanisms driving their distribution patterns along elevational gradients in montane areas remain largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the soil microbial diversity along an elevational gradient from 650 m to 3,800 m above sea level in southeast Tibet, China, through DNA metabarcode sequencing of both the bacterial and fungal communities. Our results showed that the dominant bacterial phyla across elevations were Proteobacteria, Acidobacteriota and Actinobacteriota, and the dominant fungal phyla were Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. The Simpson indices of both soil bacteria and fungi demonstrated a hollow trend along the elevational gradient, with an abrupt decrease in bacterial and fungal diversity at 2,600 m a.s.l. in coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests (CBM). Soil bacterial chemoheterotrophy was the dominant lifestyle and was predicted to decrease with increasing elevation. In terms of fungal lifestyles, saprophytic and symbiotic fungi were the dominant functional communities but their relative abundance was negatively correlated with increasing elevation. Environmental factors including vegetation type (VEG), altitude (ALT), soil pH, total phosphorus (TP), nitrate nitrogen (NO3−-N), and polyphenol oxidase (ppo) all exhibited significant influence on the bacterial community structure, whereas VEG, ALT, and the carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) were significantly associated with the fungal community structure. The VPA results indicated that edaphic factors explained 37% of the bacterial community variations, while C/N, ALT, and VEG explained 49% of the total fungal community variations. Our study contributes significantly to our understanding of forest ecosystems in mountainous regions with large elevation changes, highlighting the crucial role of soil environmental factors in shaping soil microbial communities and their variations in specific forest ecosystems.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1504134/fullsubtropical forestssoil ecologyQinghai-Tibet Plateaualtitudinal gradientmicrobial communities |
| spellingShingle | Ting Li Ting Li Ting Li Ziyan Gao Ping Zhou Ping Zhou Mingmin Huang Gangzheng Wang Jianping Xu Wangqiu Deng Mu Wang Mu Wang Structures and determinants of soil microbiomes along a steep elevation gradient in Southwest China Frontiers in Microbiology subtropical forests soil ecology Qinghai-Tibet Plateau altitudinal gradient microbial communities |
| title | Structures and determinants of soil microbiomes along a steep elevation gradient in Southwest China |
| title_full | Structures and determinants of soil microbiomes along a steep elevation gradient in Southwest China |
| title_fullStr | Structures and determinants of soil microbiomes along a steep elevation gradient in Southwest China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Structures and determinants of soil microbiomes along a steep elevation gradient in Southwest China |
| title_short | Structures and determinants of soil microbiomes along a steep elevation gradient in Southwest China |
| title_sort | structures and determinants of soil microbiomes along a steep elevation gradient in southwest china |
| topic | subtropical forests soil ecology Qinghai-Tibet Plateau altitudinal gradient microbial communities |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1504134/full |
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