The soil biota composition along a progressive succession of secondary vegetation in a karst area.
Karst ecosystems are fragile and are in many regions degraded by anthropogenic activities. Current management of degraded karst areas focuses on aboveground vegetation succession or recovery and aims at establishing a forest ecosystem. Whether progressive succession of vegetation in karst areas is accompanied by establishment of soil biota is poorly understood. In the present study, soil microbial and nematode communities, as well as soil physico-chemical properties were studied along a progressive succession of secondary vegetation (from grassland to shrubland to forest) in a karst area in southwest China. Microbial biomass, nematode density, ratio of fungal to bacterial biomass, nematode structure index, and nematode enrichment index decreased with the secondary succession in the plant community. Overall, the results indicated a pattern of declines in soil biota abundance and food web complexity that was associated with a decrease in soil pH and a decrease in soil organic carbon content with the progressive secondary succession of the plant community. Our findings suggest that soil biota amendment is necessary during karst ecosystem restoration and establishment and management of grasslands may be feasible in karst areas.
Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, Hunan, China; Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, Guangxi, China.
Jie
J
Zhao
Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, Hunan, China; Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, Guangxi, China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Shengping
S
Li
Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, Hunan, China; Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, Guangxi, China.
Xunyang
X
He
Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, Hunan, China; Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, Guangxi, China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Lu
L
Liu
Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, Hunan, China; Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, Guangxi, China.
Kelin
K
Wang
D000818:Animals; D018533:Biomass; D058448:Biota / Q000502:physiology*; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods; D017753:Ecosystem; D065928:Forests; D065948:Grassland; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D059013:Microbial Consortia; D009348:Nematoda / Q000254:growth & development*; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D014197:Trees / Q000254:growth & development*
D012987:Soil; D002244:Carbon