title: Comparison of seasonal soil microbial process in snow-covered temperate ecosystems of northern China.
abstract: More than half of the earth's terrestrial surface currently experiences seasonal snow cover and soil frost. Winter compositional and functional investigations in soil microbial community are frequently conducted in alpine tundra and boreal forest ecosystems. However, little information on winter microbial biogeochemistry is known from seasonally snow-covered temperate ecosystems. As decomposer microbes may differ in their ability/strategy to efficiently use soil organic carbon (SOC) within different phases of the year, understanding seasonal microbial process will increase our knowledge of biogeochemical cycling from the aspect of decomposition rates and corresponding nutrient dynamics. In this study, we measured soil microbial biomass, community composition and potential SOC mineralization rates in winter and summer, from six temperate ecosystems in northern China. Our results showed a clear pattern of increased microbial biomass C to nitrogen (N) ratio in most winter soils. Concurrently, a shift in soil microbial community composition occurred with higher fungal to bacterial biomass ratio and gram negative (G-) to gram positive (G+) bacterial biomass ratio in winter than in summer. Furthermore, potential SOC mineralization rate was higher in winter than in summer. Our study demonstrated a distinct transition of microbial community structure and function from winter to summer in temperate snow-covered ecosystems. Microbial N immobilization in winter may not be the major contributor for plant growth in the following spring.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences and the Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory for Cyclic Economy, School of Urban Planning and Design, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Xinyue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences and the Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences and the Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Weile
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Naili
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Cyclic Economy, School of Urban Planning and Design, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zeng
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D018533:Biomass; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism; D002681:China; D017753:Ecosystem; D005658:Fungi / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D044643:Glucan 1,4-beta-Glucosidase / Q000378:metabolism; D008903:Minerals / Q000378:metabolism; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000378:metabolism; D055585:Physical Phenomena; D012621:Seasons; D012914:Snow; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D008903:Minerals; D010743:Phospholipids; D012987:Soil; D002244:Carbon; D044643:Glucan 1,4-beta-Glucosidase; D009584:Nitrogen