Consistent effects of vegetation patch type on soil microbial communities across three successional stages in a desert ecosystem

Abstract

Desertification is a worldwide problem caused by climate change and human activity in dryland regions. In China, approximately 27% of the land surface is desertified. In these desertified ecosystems, aboveground interactions are known to greatly affect ecological succession, but belowground soil microbial communities are relatively unstudied. It is not yet clear how these communities change with different vegetation patch types (e.g., shrub vs. grass) across successional stages in dryland ecosystems. In this study, we assessed the effects of shrub patches (dominated by Artemisia ordosica) and grass patches on soil microbial community diversity, soil environment, and soil substrates across three successional stages (mobile, semi‐mobile, and fixed dunes) in a sand dune ecosystem in the Kubuqi Desert, China. Microbial alpha diversity, as indicated by the Shannon index or operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness, was not affected by patch type but increased with successional stages. Patch type‐ or successional stage‐induced changes in soil bacterial and fungal alpha diversity were mainly associated with soil organic carbon. Unlike alpha diversity, soil microbial beta diversity was greatly affected by successional stage and patch type. The Mantel test revealed that changes in soil bacterial beta diversity were mainly associated with soil organic carbon, and changes in soil fungal beta diversity were mainly associated with soil organic carbon and soil pH. Microbial OTU richness responded more strongly to the successional stage than the microbial Shannon index, indicating that microbial OTU richness can be used as an indicator of successional status in desert ecosystems. The consistent differences in microbial beta diversity between shrub and grass patches across the three successional stages indicate that shrubs significantly influence soil microbial communities in desert ecosystems.

Microbial impact on initial soil formation in arid and semiarid environments under simulated climate change

“…The succession dynamic in PA is evident through the shift in taxonomic composition, initially dominated by Actinobacteriota and gradually replaced by Proteobacteria . Actinobacteriota thrive in oligotrophic environments, particularly during early soil succession, and can affect the soil organic matter formation and biogeochemical cycles ( Zhang et al, 2019 ; Yu et al, 2022 ). However, their abundance decreases with increasing water availability as the corresponding species are adapted to dry conditions ( Barnard et al, 2013 ; Maestre et al, 2015 ; Stovicek et al, 2017 ).…”

“…It involves interactions among physical, chemical, and biological processes, encompassing the weathering of parent rock materials and incorporating organic matter produced by biota ( Schulz et al, 2013 ). In the early stages of soil formation, well-adapted microorganisms colonize bare mineral substrates, establishing simple communities that undergo successional changes toward more complex species interactions closely linked to soil formation ( Bajerski and Wagner, 2013 ; Schulz et al, 2013 ; Liu et al, 2019 ; Li et al, 2021 ; Yu et al, 2022 ). Concurrently, the presence of lichens and bryophytes, along with the initial assembly of microbial communities (bacteria, fungi, and algae), leads to the formation of biological soil crusts (BSCs).…”

Development of Microbial Indicators in Ecological Systems

“…Yu et al analyzed the microbial diversity and richness under the succession of the Kubuqi desert ecosystem in three stages: Mobile, semi-mobile, and fixed dunes. The results show that microbial richness was altered among three successional stages and could be used as a bioindicator to assess the successional stages of the desert ecosystem [ 54 ]. In the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the microbial community of four desertification stages (i.e., potential desertification, light desertification, severe desertification, and very severe desertification stages) were investigated.…”

Changes in soil and litter properties differentially influence soil nematode communities across three successional stages in two contrasting forests

“…The main reason is that dominant plant species are replaced during the plant succession and therefore soil organisms may be influenced by changes in plant communities caused by succession because plants can provide the basic resources for the soil food web (i.e., rhizodeposits, shoot and root litter; Bardgett & Wardle, 2010; Coleman et al, 2004). However, most previous studies on the succession have focused on the aboveground community responses (Liu et al, 2019; Pastore & Scherer, 2016; Teixeira et al, 2020), with less attention to belowground community (Gundale & Kardol, 2021; Yu et al, 2022).…”