Alterations in soil microbial community composition and biomass following agricultural land use change.
The effect of agricultural land use change on soil microbial community composition and biomass remains a widely debated topic. Here, we investigated soil microbial community composition and biomass [e.g., bacteria (B), fungi (F), Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Actinomycete (ACT)] using phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) analysis, and basal microbial respiration in afforested, cropland and adjacent uncultivated soils in central China. We also investigated soil organic carbon and nitrogen (SOC and SON), labile carbon and nitrogen (LC and LN), recalcitrant carbon and nitrogen (RC and RN), pH, moisture, and temperature. Afforestation averaged higher microbial PLFA biomass compared with cropland and uncultivated soils with higher values in top soils than deep soils. The microbial PLFA biomass was strongly correlated with SON and LC. Higher SOC, SON, LC, LN, moisture and lower pH in afforested soils could be explained approximately 87.3% of total variation of higher total PLFAs. Afforestation also enhanced the F: B ratios compared with cropland. The basal microbial respiration was higher while the basal microbial respiration on a per-unit-PLFA basis was lower in afforested land than adjacent cropland and uncultivated land, suggesting afforestation may increase soil C utilization efficiency and decrease respiration loss in afforested soils.
Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China.|Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 10039, China.
Qian
Q
Zhang
Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China.|Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 10039, China.
Junjun
J
Wu
Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China.|Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 10039, China.
Fan
F
Yang
Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China.
Yao
Y
Lei
Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China.
Quanfa
Q
Zhang
Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China.
Xiaoli
X
Cheng
D039903:Actinobacteria / Q000254:growth & development; D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development; D018533:Biomass; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D002681:China; D017753:Ecosystem; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D016468:Forestry; D005658:Fungi / Q000254:growth & development; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000254:growth & development; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000737:chemistry; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012988:Soil Microbiology
D005227:Fatty Acids; D010743:Phospholipids; D012987:Soil; D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen