Asynchronous responses of soil microbial community and understory plant community to simulated nitrogen deposition in a subtropical forest

Ecology and Evolution

Jianping Wu³  Wenfei Liu³  Houbao Fan³  Guomin Huang¹  Songze Wan²  Yinghong Yuan³ 

[1] Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Richmond, NSW, Australia;Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration & Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China;Institute of Ecology & Environmental Science, Nanchang Institute of Technology, Nanchang, China

关键词: Chinese fir;    nitrogen deposition;    plant diversity;    PLFAs;    soil microorganisms;    South China;   

DOI  :  10.1002/ece3.750

来源: Wiley

【 摘 要 】

Abstract

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition greatly affects ecosystem processes and properties. However, few studies have simultaneously examined the responses of both the above- and belowground communities to N deposition. Here, we investigated the effects of 8 years of simulated N deposition on soil microbial communities and plant diversity in a subtropical forest. The quantities of experimental N added (g of N m⁻² year⁻¹) and treatment codes were 0 (N0, control), 6 (N1), 12 (N2), and 24 (N3). Phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) analysis was used to characterize the soil microbial community while plant diversity and coverage were determined in the permanent field plots. Microbial abundance was reduced by the N3 treatment, and plant species richness and coverage were reduced by both N2 and N3 treatments. Declines in plant species richness were associated with decreased abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, increased bacterial stress index, and reduced soil pH. The plasticity of soil microbial community would be more related to the different responses among treatments when compared with plant community. These results indicate that long-term N deposition has greater effects on the understory plant community than on the soil microbial community and different conservation strategies should be considered.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.