Explaining the variation in the soil microbial community: do vegetation composition and soil chemistry explain the same or different parts of the microbial variation?

Abstract

Aim To assess whether vegetation composition

Effects of tree identity dominate over tree diversity on the soil microbial community structure

“…This indicates that soil-related parameters have much stronger direct effects on the formation of the microbial community structure than direct effects of plant-related parameters. In contrast to our results, Mitchell et al (2012b) observed that variation in plant community composition explained nearly the same or even higher amounts of the variability in the microbial community as did variation in soil chemistry when comparing contrasting moorland and deciduous woodland ecosystems in Northern Scotland. Nevertheless, Mitchell et al (2012b) and our study agree in that changes in the soil microbial communities in certain parts are related to changes in both abiotic and biotic variables, although the part directly related to changes in plant attributes was in our study very small.…”

“…Therefore, results from pure stands cannot simply be transferred to mixed stands. However, to which extent the microbial communities depend on the different environmental parameters (biotic and abiotic), is still under discussion (Meril€ a et al, 2010;Mitchell et al, 2012b).…”

Soil microbial properties under different vegetation types on Mountain Han

“…Zak et al [15] indicated that microbial biomass and labile organic matter pools changed predictably across broad gradients of aboveground net primary production (NPP), supporting the idea that microbial growth in soil was constrained by C availability. Vegetation community composition, which is influenced by environmental forces, influence soil organisms in underground communities through litterfall and exudates [16]. Furthermore, biotic and environmental forces, which drive the activity, structure, and diversity of soil microbial communities, are controlled by many factors including plant species [17] and edaphic conditions [18,19].…”

Non-linear impacts of Eucalyptus plantation stand age on soil microbial metabolic diversity

“…Although carbon metabolic diversity decreased in G1 and G2 Eucalyptus plantations due to site preparation and fertilization, the transport of fixed carbon in Eucalyptus to soil through litter fall and root exudates increased soil organic matter with plantation age (Lima et al 2006;Ma et al 2010). Correspondingly, the size of soil microbial communities tends to be directly proportional to total C input, which is the primary energy source maintaining soil microbial communities (Mitchell et al 2012). Also, the utilization of ten carbon sources increased in G3 and G4 Eucalyptus plantations (see Table 2).…”

“…Site preparation can not only reduce understory plant diversity (see Fig. 3), which can release diverse carbon compounds in litter and root exudates (Langley and Hungate 2003;Nilsson and Wardle, 2005;Sauheitl et al 2010;Mitchell et al 2012) but also disturb the soil carbon pool by reducing the physical protection of soil organic carbon (Zheng et al 2005;Xu et al 2008). The decreased soil organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon (see Table 1) may contribute to the decrease of soil microbial metabolic activity in G1 and G2 Eucalyptus plantations (see Fig.…”