Effects of the successive planting of Eucalyptus urophylla on soil bacterial and fungal community structure, diversity, microbial biomass, and enzyme activity

Abstract

Eucalyptus are a widely used short‐rotation species for timber production in South China. There are growing concerns regarding the influences of successive planting of Eucalyptus urophylla on microorganisms and soil. The aim of this work was to determine the effects of the successive planting of E. urophylla on soil characteristics. Five different stands, including 5‐, 10‐, 15‐, and 18‐year‐old E. urophylla plantations (abbreviated as 5yr, 10yr, 15yr, and 18yr, respectively) and one native evergreen broadleaf forest as a 0‐year‐old E. urophylla plantation (abbreviated as CK) were used. All of measured chemical indicators, microbial biomass, and enzyme activities were significantly lower in E. urophylla plantations compared with CK stand. The microbial biomass and enzyme activities significantly decreased in 5yr stand, significantly increased in 10yr stand, and subsequently declined in 15yr and 18yr stands. The relative abundance of Ascomycota in 15yr (77.10%) and 18yr (72.71%) plantations was significantly higher than in other stands. Basidiomycota relative abundance in the E. urophylla plantations was significantly lower than in the CK stand. In addition, the bacterial diversity was significantly decreased in 15yr and 18yr stands, whereas the fungal diversity was the lowest in 5yr stand and significantly increased in 10yr, 15yr, and 18yr stands. Furthermore, structural equation modelling showed that successive planting of E. urophylla decreased the soil bacterial community diversity, microbial biomass, and enzyme activity but increased the fungal community diversity. Thus, successive planting of E. urophylla negatively influenced the soil bacterial diversity, microbial biomass, and enzyme activity and positively influenced soil fungal diversity.

Dominant Tree Species Shape Soil Microbial Community via Regulating Assembly Processes in Planted Subtropical Forests

“…A previous study showed no difference in soil bacterial Shannon diversity between Rubber and Eucalypts plantations either in dry season or in wet seasons [37], which was partly in disagreement with our results. Perhaps the difference in plantation age between the previous and this study contribute to this controversial result, since the diversity of soil microbial communities varied substantially with the succession of Eucalypts plantations [36]. The fungal Shannon diversity, however, was significantly lower in EP than in RP, regardless of plantation age.…”

“…According to Li et al [35], soil pH and P are also important in driving soil bacterial composition changes after conversion of forest to Eucalypt plantations. Another study evidenced that soil microbial variation along with the succession of Eucalypt plantations was shaped by the combination of various soil properties (e.g., pH, organic mature, nitrogen, P and potassium) [36]. Recent studies from Lan et al [37,38] suggested that the effects of seasonal changes on soil microbial community overwhelmed the effects of forest conversions, which could explain a large part (31.9%) of the total bacterial composition variance in both plantations and natural forests.…”

Passive and active ecological restoration strategies for abandoned farmland leads to shifts in potential soil nitrogen loss by denitrification and soil denitrifying microbes

“…Abandoned farmland can sustain secondary succession (passive restoration) or afforestation (active restoration), leading to a mosaic of reconstructed vegetation and artificial forests (Nadal‐Romero et al, ). The passive and active restoration strategies could reshape the function of an ecosystem and its edaphic properties but also drive variations in soil microorganisms (Glenn, Jordan, & Waugh, ; Jiao et al, ; Lozano et al, ; Zhu, Wang, Chen, Li, & Wu, ). Denitrifying microorganisms are extensive in soil, accounting for approximately 0.5–5% of the total microorganisms (Levy‐Booth, Prescott, & Grayston, ).…”

Effect of selective logging on soil microbial communities in a Pinus yunnanensis forest

“…The diversity and composition of the bacterial and fungal communities were determined using DNA extraction and Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA and ITS genes (Yang et al, 2018;Zhu et al, 2019). Soil DNA from the samples wes extracted using MoBio PowerSoilTM DNA Isolation Kits (MoBio Laboratories, Carlsbad, CA, USA) following the manufacturer's instructions and were then stored at −80 C for further process.…”

“…The diversity and composition of soil microbial communities vary widely across temporal and spatial scales in terrestrial ecosystems. Many biotic and abiotic factors affect the soil microbial community, including soil pH (Cui, Wang, Xu, Xu, & Xu, 2017;Delgado-Baquerizo, Oliverio, et al, 2018;Lauber, Hamady, Knight, & Fierer, 2009;Lucas-Borja et al, 2012;Tripathi et al, 2013), soil organic carbon (Li et al, 2018), soil nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (Liu, Jin, et al, 2019;Zhu, Wang, Chen, Li, & Wu, 2019), the soil C:N ratio (Nakayama et al, 2019;Wang et al, 2015), soil moisture (Xue, Ren, Li, Leng, & Yao, 2017), climate (Delgado-Baquerizo et al, 2016;Jing et al, 2015), and aboveground vegetation traits (e.g., plant cover and diversity) (Delgado-Baquerizo et al, 2019;Guo et al, 2019).…”