Nutrient availability is a dominant predictor of soil bacterial and fungal community composition after nitrogen addition in subtropical acidic forests

Nutrient addition to forest ecosystems significantly influences belowground microbial diversity, community structure, and ecosystem functioning. Nitrogen (N) addition in forests is common in China, especially in the southeast region. However, the influence of N addition on belowground soil microbial...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PloS one Vol. 16; no. 2; p. e0246263
Main Authors:	Cui, Juyan, Yuan, Xiaochun, Zhang, Qiufang, Zhou, Jiacong, Lin, Kaimiao, Xu, Jianguo, Zeng, Yaozhong, Wu, Yue, Cheng, Lei, Zeng, Quanxin, Mei, Kongcan, Chen, Yuehmin
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Public Library of Science 23-02-2021 Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects:	Abundance Acidic soils Acidification Bacteria Biology and Life Sciences Biomass Carbon cycle Climatic zones Community composition Composition Computer programs Earth sciences Ecological research Ecology Ecology and Environmental Sciences Ecosystems Editing Environmental aspects Forest ecology Forests Fungi Geography Humid climates Laboratories Methodology Microbial activity Microbial colonies Microorganisms Mountains Nature reserves Nitrogen Nitrogen content Nitrogen enrichment Nutrient availability Phosphorus Physical sciences Plant diversity Productivity Software Soil acidification Soil bacteria Soil microbiology Soil microorganisms Soils Species richness Terrestrial ecosystems Terrestrial environments Tourism Understory Urbanization Visualization China
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Summary:	Nutrient addition to forest ecosystems significantly influences belowground microbial diversity, community structure, and ecosystem functioning. Nitrogen (N) addition in forests is common in China, especially in the southeast region. However, the influence of N addition on belowground soil microbial community diversity in subtropical forests remains unclear. In May 2018, we randomly selected 12 experimental plots in a Pinus taiwanensis forest within the Daiyun Mountain Nature Reserve, Fujian Province, China, and subjected them to N addition treatments for one year. We investigated the responses of the soil microbial communities and identified the major elements that influenced microbial community composition in the experimental plots. The present study included three N treatments, i.e., the control (CT), low N addition (LN, 40 kg N ha-1 yr-1), and high N addition (HN, 80 kg N ha-1 yr-1), and two depths, 0-10 cm (topsoil) and 10-20 cm (subsoil), which were all sampled in the growing season (May) of 2019. Soil microbial diversity and community composition in the topsoil and subsoil were investigated using high-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rDNA genes and fungal internal transcribed spacer sequences. According to our results, 1) soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) significantly decreased after HN addition, and available nitrogen (AN) significantly declined after LN addition, 2) bacterial α-diversity in the subsoil significantly decreased with HN addition, which was affected significantly by the interaction between N addition and soil layer, and 3) soil DOC, rather than pH, was the dominant environmental factor influencing soil bacterial community composition, while AN and MBN were the best predictors of soil fungal community structure dynamics. Moreover, N addition influence both diversity and community composition of soil bacteria more than those of fungi in the subtropical forests. The results of the present study provide further evidence to support shifts in soil microbial community structure in acidic subtropical forests in response to increasing N deposition.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pone.0246263