Microbial metabolic limitation response to experimental warming along an altitudinal gradient in alpine grasslands, eastern Tibetan Plateau

Yu, Jialuo; Bing, Haijian; Chang, Ruiying; Cui, Yongxing; Shen, Guoting; Wang, Xiangxiang; Zhang, Shangpeng; Fang, Linchuan

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2022.106243

Cited by 32 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…This T A B L E 1 Two-way analysis of variance results for the effects of moss crusts and shrub mortality on soil physicochemical properties and multifunctionality. step aimed to estimate the effect sizes of both direct and indirect pathways for each factor in order to identify the key factors influencing changes in soil nutrient multifunctionality and to elucidate their potential impact pathways (Yu et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moss crusts mitigate the negative impacts of shrub mortality on the nutrient multifunctionality of desert soils

Zhang,

Yin,

Zhang

et al. 2023

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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The distribution of biological soil crusts (BSCs) and shrubs in temperate deserts often forms a common landscape surface feature. As climate change continues, desert shrubs experience varying rates of mortality, which can have severe negative impacts on soil structure and functions. However, it remains uncertain whether moss crusts, prevalent beneath shrub canopies, can mitigate the effects of shrub mortality on soil nutrient environments. Therefore, this study focuses on the Gurbantunggut Desert, a typical temperate desert in northern China, with a primary focus on the dominant shrubs, Ephedra przewalskii, and the advanced stage of moss crust development within BSCs. We collected soil samples from bare sand and moss crusts under living shrubs and dead shrubs and analyzed them for their carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contents. Additionally, we calculated soil nutrient multifunctionality, which measures a soil's ability to sustain multiple ecosystem services simultaneously, to provide a comprehensive assessment of the effects of shrub mortality on soil nutrient function. Our results indicate that shrub mortality led to reductions in soil moisture, pH, electrical conductivity, and levels of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in exposed sand compared to the sand under living shrubs. However, the presence of moss crusts significantly alleviated the adverse effects of shrub mortality on soil carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium levels. The nutrient multifunctionality index of the moss crust only decreased by 4%, while bare sand experienced a 67% reduction following shrub mortality. Standard error of the mean analysis results revealed that when shrubs and crusts coexisted, the impact of shrubs on soil nutrient multifunctionality was much stronger than that of the moss crust. Specifically, total nutrient content was the most influential factor driving changes in soil nutrient multifunctionality. In conclusion, in desert ecosystems with declining shrubs, moss crusts can mitigate the reduction in soil nutrient contents caused by shrub degradation, thereby maintaining soil stability and nutrient multifunctionality as a viable substitute.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moss crusts mitigate the negative impacts of shrub mortality on the nutrient multifunctionality of desert soils

Zhang,

Yin,

Zhang

et al. 2023

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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“…The higher the vector length, the higher the C restriction. A vector angle >45 °indicates P restriction, while <45 °indicates N restriction; thus, as the vector angle increases, the P restriction increases while the N restriction decreases (Yu et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Rosinger et al, 2019;Xiao et al, 2020). For example, previous studies on soil metabolic activity found that Chinese forest soil microbial metabolism is mainly limited by P (Cui et al, 2022). Furthermore, Wu et al (2021a) revealed that an increase in secondary succession processes increases P limitation but decreases N limitation on soil microbial metabolism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elevation gradient shapes microbial carbon and phosphorous limitations in the Helan Mountains, Northwest China

Liu

Chen

Pang

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Soil extracellular ecoenzymatic activities (EEA) are major players in the biogeochemical cycles and are closely related to the metabolic demand and nutrient supply in microbes. However, their effects on biogeochemistry along the elevation gradient on mountain ecosystems in arid regions remain unclear. To address this, we investigated the variations of soil microbial resource limitation and the relative contributing factors along the elevation gradient of the Helan Mountains, northwest China. The results showed that the relative abundance of total microbial, bacterial, fungal, actinomycetes, and N-acquiring enzymatic activities (N-Acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase and Leucine- α-aminopeptidase, that are NAG and LAP, respectively) in the soil first increased and then decreased with an increase in elevation. This variation pattern could be due to the changes in soil temperature and moisture along the elevation gradient. Soil enzyme stoichiometry and resource allocation further revealed that the microbial metabolism activity in the Helan Mountains was limited by carbon (C) and phosphorus (P). Furthermore, the two limited elements were significantly higher at the mid and high altitudes (2,139–2,438 m) than at low altitudes (1,380–1,650 m). Additionally, redundancy analysis revealed that the soil water content and bulk density played a crucial role in microbial community structures, while the soil pH had the most influence on soil EEA and ecoenzymatic stoichiometry. Our findings revealed the patterns of soil microbial community structure, extracellular enzyme activities, and microbial metabolism at various elevations, which will help in understanding the microbial resource limitation and nutrient cycling in mountain ecosystems in arid regions.

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“…For example, previous studies showed that soil microbes experienced N limitation in Qinling Mountains, which significantly increased with elevation (Zhang et al, 2022). Furthermore, Yu et al (2022) observed that C and P significantly limited microbial metabolism with increasing elevation in the alpine grassland ecosystem, eastern Tibetan Plateau, under simulated warming. Moreover, EES and soil microbial metabolism are largely governed by temperature, precipitation, soil physiochemical parameters, and soil microbial properties (Burns et al, 2013;Zhang et al, 2019b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Features and driving factors of microbial metabolic limitation in mountain ecosystems in arid areas: A case study on the Helan Mountains, Northwest China

Pang

Liu²,

Li³

et al. 2022

Front. For. Glob. Change

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Insights into what limits the growth of soil microorganisms in mountain ecosystems increase our understanding of microbial functions and processes. Although the distribution pattern of soil microorganisms in mountain ecosystems has been widely studied, their role in biogeochemical cycles along elevation gradients of mountain ecosystems in arid regions is poorly understood. In this study we analyzed the soil physicochemical properties, soil microbial community structure, extracellular enzymatic activities, ecoenzymatic stoichiometry, microbial metabolism, and their relationships along the 1,300–2,500 m elevational gradient of the Helan Mountains, northwest China. The results showed that the total microbial biomass and its components did not significantly vary with elevation. The GP:GN (gram-positive: gram-negative bacteria) ratios at low elevations were higher than those at the mid and high elevations, indicating enrichment of oligotrophic bacteria at low elevations. The five extracellular enzymes significantly differed with elevation gradient, while the levels of carbon (C)- and nitrogen (N)- acquiring enzymes first increased and then decreased with increasing elevations. Ecoenzymatic stoichiometry indicated that significant limitation of microbial growth by carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) levels occurred at high and medium elevations. Soil physicochemical characteristics, microbial community composition, and ecoenzymatic activities accounted for 43.94 and 22.21% of the microbial C and P restriction, respectively. Our study suggests that mountain ecosystems with high organic C storage possess abundant microbial populations limited by relative C and P. The study also provides important insights linking microbial metabolisms to the environmental gradients in arid mountain ecosystems.

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Microbial metabolic limitation response to experimental warming along an altitudinal gradient in alpine grasslands, eastern Tibetan Plateau

Cited by 32 publications

References 59 publications

Moss crusts mitigate the negative impacts of shrub mortality on the nutrient multifunctionality of desert soils

Moss crusts mitigate the negative impacts of shrub mortality on the nutrient multifunctionality of desert soils

Elevation gradient shapes microbial carbon and phosphorous limitations in the Helan Mountains, Northwest China

Features and driving factors of microbial metabolic limitation in mountain ecosystems in arid areas: A case study on the Helan Mountains, Northwest China

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