Rhododendron aureum Georgi formed a special soil microbial community and competed with above‐ground plants on the tundra of the Changbai Mountain, China

Abstract

Rhododendron aureum Georgi is a perennial evergreen dwarf shrub that grows at all elevations within the alpine tundra of northern China. Previous research has investigated the plant communities of R. aureum; however, little information is available regarding interspecific competition and underground soil microbial community composition. The objective of our study was to determine whether the presence of R. aureum creates a unique soil microbiome and to investigate the relationship between R. aureum and other plant species. Our study site ranged from 1,800 to 2,600 m above sea level on the northern slope of the Changbai Mountain. The results show that the soil from sites with an R. aureum community had a higher abundance of nitrogen‐fixing bacteria and a higher resistance to pathogens than soils from sites without R. aureum. We emphasize that R. aureum promotes a unique soil microbial community structure that is distinct from those associated with other plants. Elevation and microbial biomass were the main influencing factors for plant community structure. Analysis of interspecific relationships reveals that R. aureum is negatively associated with most other dominant shrubs and herbs, suggesting interspecific competition. It is necessary to focus on other dominant species if protection and restoration of the R. aureum competition is to occur. In the future, more is needed to prove whether R. aureum decreases species diversity in the tundra ecosystems of Changbai Mountain.

Soil Microbial Legacy Overrides the Responses of a Dominant Grass and Nitrogen-Cycling Functional Microbes in Grassland Soil to Nitrogen Addition

“…Generally, this soil microbial legacy is created by the microbe-mediated N absorption of previous plants, especially in grasslands where soil N is limiting [ 59 , 60 ]. In detail, previous plants influence plant-microbial interactions to absorb more N nutrients, maintaining the stabilization of previous microbial communities (especially soil N-cycling functional microbes) in a changing soil environment [ 33 , 61 ], thus forming the soil microbial legacy [ 62 , 63 ]. Finally, the soil microbial legacy potentially impacts dominant plant performance through N-cycling functional microbes [ 13 , 15 ] and buffers the effects of N addition on NCFGs.…”

Analysis of Soil Fungal and Bacterial Communities in Tianchi Volcano Crater, Northeast China

“…on the northern alpine tundra belt of Changbai Mountain were analyzed using Illumina sequencing [ 26 , 27 ]. Other studies focused on specific soil microbial diversity associated with vegetation zones [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Zhao et al characterized microbes in rhizosphere soils of Cowskin Azalea ( Rhododendron aureum ) using culture-dependent methods [ 32 ].…”