Composition and diversity of soil bacterial communities under identical vegetation along an elevational gradient in Changbai Mountains, China

Abstract

Soil bacteria play important roles in biogeochemical cycling and biodiversity in mountain ecosystems. Past studies have investigated the bacterial community composition and diversity in elevation gradations covered by different vegetation types, but for a better assessment of elevation effects, here we studied bacterial communities in soil under identical vegetation cover. High-throughput amplicon sequencing of the V3-V4 region of bacterial 16S rDNA was used to investigate the diversity and composition bacterial communities in soil from 700 to 1,000 m above sea level collected on the north slope of Changbai Mountains, Northeast China. Obviously differences (p < 0.05) in soil physicochemical parameters (i.e., total nitrogen, nitrate and ammonium nitrogen, soil moisture content, available potassium, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen) were observed at different elevations. Soil bacterial abundance indices (Richness, Chao1, ACE) differed significantly along the elevation gradient, whereas the Shannon index remained unchanged. Principal Coordinates Analysis indicated separated soil bacterial communities of the different elevations. The dominant phyla in all soil samples were Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, and Bacteroidetes, which in combination reached 80%–85%. Soil pH to some extend related to soil bacterial community along altitude gradations. The relative abundance of a multiple phyla was negatively affected by the soil nutrients, such as ammonium and nitrate nitrogen, available potassium, soil moisture content, available phosphorus, microbial biomass nitrogen and soil organic C. The strongest effects were seen for Proteobacteria. The pH either positively or negatively correlated with specific genera. The soil bacterial function differed significantly among four elevations. The chemoheterotrophy, aerobic chemoheterotrophy and nitrification were the most dominant functions of soil bacteria among four elevations. Overall, the changes in soil physicochemical properties with elevation are important in shaping the bacterial diversity, composition and function in soil with the same above-ground vegetation of Changbai Mountains.

Predicting Carbon Storage Jointly by Foliage and Soil Parameters in Pinus pumila Stands along an Elevation Gradient in Great Khingan

“…Needle GS activity increased with elevation, agreeing with a rule that the activity of this enzyme gets upregulated when it needs to strengthen the N uptake and utilization for new production [41,42]. Although soil AN was the only parameter that showed an increasing trend along the elevational gradient, it increased in plots at the elevation of 910-930 m compared to that at the lowest elevation of 870-880 m and remained unchanged with elevation from 910 m. This growing pattern was in agreement with those found along elevational gradients on Ailao mountain [43] and in the Changbai Mountains [44]. Soil NN content was higher at the elevation of 920-930 m than at 870-880 m, which impeded the general change as an increasing trend.…”

Divergent effects of single and combined stress of drought and salinity on the physiological traits and soil properties of Platycladus orientalis saplings

“…Our results showed that drought and salt stress have different effects on the rhizobacteria alpha diversity. Soil bacterial abundance and diversity are important indicators of soil health and function, and they are influenced by various environmental factors, such as soil pH, moisture, nutrients, and salinity ( Lelana et al., 2022 ; Li et al., 2022a ). In this study, drought significantly decreased the ACE, Chao1 and Simpson indices ( Table 6 ), indicating that drought reduced the abundance and diversity of rhizobacteria community.…”

Effects of Four-Year Oilseed Flax Rotations on the Soil Bacterial Community in a Semi-Arid Agroecosystem

“…Studies in the past have confirmed that soil bacteria not only play an essential role in organic matter transformation, nutrient cycling, energy flow, etc., but also have significant impacts on soil sustainability [3]. Soil bacterial communities, as essential components of the soil microbial community, affect biogeochemical cycles and biodiversity in ecosystems [4]. Some bacteria in the soil (such as rhizobia) can form symbiotic relationships with plant roots, helping plants absorb nutrients, promoting plant growth, and enhancing plant resistance to pathogens and adversity [5,6].…”