Soil fungal networks are more sensitive to grazing exclusion than bacterial networks

PeerJ

article

Lingling Chen¹  Jiajia Shi¹  Zhihua Bao¹  Taogetao Baoyin¹ 

[1] Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia, Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University

关键词: Stipa glareosa;    Desert steppe;    Grazing exclusion;    Microbial communities;    Co-occurrence networks;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.9986

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Soil microbial communities play a crucial role in ecological restoration, but it is unknown how co-occurrence networks within these communities respond to grazing exclusion. This lack of information was addressed by investigating the effects of eight years of grazing exclusion on microbial networks in an area of Stipa glareosa P. Smirn desert steppe in northern China. Here, we show that fungal networks were more sensitive to grazing exclusion than bacterial networks. Eight years of grazing exclusion decreased the soil fungal community stability via changes in plant composition and reductions in soil total organic carbon, in this case triggering negative effects on the S. glareosa desert steppe. The results provide new insights into the response mechanisms of soil microbes to grazing exclusion and offer possible solutions for management issues in the restoration of degraded desert steppe.

【 授权许可】

CC BY