Uncoupling of microbial community structure and function in decomposing litter across beech forest ecosystems in Central Europe

Purahong, Witoon; Schloter, Michael; Pecyna, Marek J.; Kapturska, Danuta; Däumlich, Veronika; Mital, Sanchit; Buscot, François; Hofrichter, Martin; Gutknecht, Jessica; Krüger, Dirk

doi:10.1038/srep07014

Cited by 68 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In this study, however, non-additive effects were not apparent when green leaves were mixed with partially decomposed leaf litter at both forest sites, implicating a complex interplay between the effects of litter chemical quality and interactions with decomposers (Pandey et al 2007;Purahong et al 2014). Although green leaves are generally rich in N, they also contain secondary chemical compounds such as phenols that can inhibit soil microbial activities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

A comparison of decomposition dynamics among green tree leaves, partially decomposed tree leaf litter and their mixture in a warm temperate forest ecosystem

et al. 2016

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Decomposition dynamics were compared among green tree leaves, partially decomposed tree leaf litter (i.e., decayed tree leaf litter on forest floor) and a mixture of the two in a warm temperate forest ecosystem in central China to test the influence of litter chemical quality on the degree of decomposition. The study was conducted in situ at two contrasting forest sites, an oak forest dominated by Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata Maxim., and a mixed pine and oak forest dominated by Pinus armandii Franch. and Q. aliena var. acuteserrata. We found marked differences in the rate of decomposition among litter types at both forest sites; the litter decomposition constant, k, was about 39 % greater at the oak forest site and more than 70 % greater at the pine-oak forest site, for green leaves than for partially decomposed leaf litter. The decomposition dynamics and temporal changes in litter chemistry of the three litter types also greatly differed between the two forest sites. At both forest sites, the higher rate of decomposition for the green leaves was associated with a higher nitrogen (N) content and lower carbon to N ratio (C/N) and acid-unhydrolyzable residue to N ratio (AUR/N). We did not find any nonadditive effects when mixing green leaves and partially decomposed leaf litter. Our findings support the contention that litter chemical quality is one of the most important determinants of litter decomposition in forest ecosystems at the local or regional scale, but the effect of litter chemical quality on decomposition differs between the contrasting forest types and may vary with the stage of decomposition.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

A comparison of decomposition dynamics among green tree leaves, partially decomposed tree leaf litter and their mixture in a warm temperate forest ecosystem

et al. 2016

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“…Measuring enzyme activities in the soil remains the most direct way to investigate soil ecosystem functions910, and soil enzyme activities are often used as indicators of soil health and stability111213. In soils, microorganisms produce various enzymes that decompose plant litter and organic compounds; however changes in the structure of the microbial community are not always linked with changes in enzyme activities and the associated ecosystem functions10.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In soils, microorganisms produce various enzymes that decompose plant litter and organic compounds; however changes in the structure of the microbial community are not always linked with changes in enzyme activities and the associated ecosystem functions10. This uncoupling between structure and function can be explained by both functional redundancies within microbial communities and the absence of any quantitative link between microbial growth and functions910.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Research has generally focused on enzymes important for the acquisition of macronutrients such as carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)9101633. In this study we used β-glucosidase and xylosidase to represent enzymes of C acquisition10.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In this study we used β-glucosidase and xylosidase to represent enzymes of C acquisition10. β-glucosidase catalyzes the hydrolysis of glycosidic bonds in β-D-glucosides and oligosaccharides, whereas xylosidase is important for the degradation of xylooligomers into xylose27.…”

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Tree species, tree genotypes and tree genotypic diversity levels affect microbe-mediated soil ecosystem functions in a subtropical forest

Purahong

Durka

Fischer

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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Tree species identity and tree genotypes contribute to the shaping of soil microbial communities. However, knowledge about how these two factors influence soil ecosystem functions is still lacking. Furthermore, in forest ecosystems tree genotypes co-occur and interact with each other, thus the effects of tree genotypic diversity on soil ecosystem functions merit attention. Here we investigated the effects of tree species, tree genotypes and genotypic diversity levels, alongside soil physicochemical properties, on the overall and specific soil enzyme activity patterns. Our results indicate that tree species identity, tree genotypes and genotypic diversity level have significant influences on overall and specific soil enzyme activity patterns. These three factors influence soil enzyme patterns partly through effects on soil physicochemical properties and substrate quality. Variance partitioning showed that tree species identity, genotypic diversity level, pH and water content all together explained ~30% variations in the overall patterns of soil enzymes. However, we also found that the responses of soil ecosystem functions to tree genotypes and genotypic diversity are complex, being dependent on tree species identity and controlled by multiple factors. Our study highlights the important of inter- and intra-specific variations in tree species in shaping soil ecosystem functions in a subtropical forest.

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Bacterial community dissimilarity in soils is driven by long‐term land‐use practices

Sengupta

Hariharan

Grewal

et al. 2020

Agrosystems Geosci & Env

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Land‐use practices impact soil microbial functionality and biodiversity, with reports suggesting that anthropogenic activities potentially result in reduced microbial functions and loss of species. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of long‐term (>50 yr) land use (natural forest and grassland, and agricultural land) on soil bacterial community structure. A high‐throughput sequencing‐by‐synthesis approach of the 16S rRNA gene was used to study bacterial community and predicted functional profiles of Alfisols, as affected by variables including land‐use (forest, grass, agricultural) and soil/crop management (rotation and tillage) in long‐term experimental plots in Hoytville, OH. The distribution of the abundant phyla was different across samples. No‐till soils showed higher diversity indices than the plow‐till (PT) soils. Ordinations across locations suggested that no‐till soils had distinctly different community structure compared with plow‐till soils, while crop rotation within the no‐till plot had highest number of taxa. Overall land use (forest, grass, agronomic treatment) and tillage (within agricultural soils) were found to be significant when evaluating bacterial community dissimilarity. Predictive functional profiles showed that the forest soil had greatest proportion of PICRUSt‐assignable gene functions followed by the no‐till and grassland soils whereas plow‐till soils had the lowest predicted gene abundances across all samples. The results provide a view of soil bacterial diversity and predictive functional capacity in long‐term land‐use and soil/crop management practices, with a potential to inform future experiments to increase our understanding of long‐term impacts of land use on microbial community structure and function.

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Uncoupling of microbial community structure and function in decomposing litter across beech forest ecosystems in Central Europe

Cited by 68 publications

References 39 publications

A comparison of decomposition dynamics among green tree leaves, partially decomposed tree leaf litter and their mixture in a warm temperate forest ecosystem

A comparison of decomposition dynamics among green tree leaves, partially decomposed tree leaf litter and their mixture in a warm temperate forest ecosystem

Tree species, tree genotypes and tree genotypic diversity levels affect microbe-mediated soil ecosystem functions in a subtropical forest

Bacterial community dissimilarity in soils is driven by long‐term land‐use practices

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