Peatland Degradation Reduces Microbial Richness and Alters Microbial Functions in an Australian Peatland

Abstract Peatland ecosystems cover only 3 % of the world’s land area, however they store one-third of the global soil carbon (C). Peatlands play a central role in global C cycling as they contain more organic C than any other terrestrial ecosystem. Microbial communities are the main drivers of C decomposition in peatlands, yet we have limited knowledge of their structure and function. We investigated the vertical stratification of prokaryote and fungal communities from Wellington Plains peatland in the Australian Alps. Within the peatland complex, bog peat was sampled from the intact peatland and dried peat from the degraded peatland along a vertical soil depth gradient (i.e., acrotelm, mesotelm and catotelm). We analysed the prokaryote and fungal community structure, predicted functional profiles of prokaryotes using PICRUSt and assigned soil fungal guilds using FUNGuild. We found that the structure and the function of prokaryotes was vertically stratified in the intact bog. Carbon, manganese, nitrogen, lead and sodium best explained the prokaryote composition. Prokaryote richness was significantly higher in the intact bog acrotelm compared to degraded bog acrotelm. Fungal composition remained similar across the soil depth gradient, however there was a considerable increase in saprotroph abundance and decrease in endophyte abundance along the vertical soil depth gradient. The abundance of saprotrophs and plant pathogens was two-fold higher in the degraded bog acrotelm. Manganese, nitrogen, electrical conductivity and water table level (cm) best explained the fungal composition. Our results demonstrate that both fungal and prokaryote communities are shaped by soil abiotic factors and peatland degradation reduces microbial richness and alters microbial functions. Thus, current and future changes to the environmental conditions in these peatlands may lead to altered microbial community structure and associated functions which may have implications for broader ecosystem function changes in peatlands.

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Effects of Short-term Application of Moutai Lees Biochar on Nutrients and Fungal Community Structure in Yellow Soil of Guizhou

10.21203/rs.3.rs-219489/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Meng Zhang ◽

Yanling Liu ◽

Quanquan Wei ◽

Jiulan Gou

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Microbial Biomass ◽

Relative Abundance ◽

Fungal Community ◽

Pathogenic Bacteria ◽

Plant Pathogens ◽

Community Diversity ◽

Microbial Biomass N ◽

Short Term ◽

Fungal Community Structure

Abstract In order to realize the resource utilization of Guizhou sauce-flavor distiller's grains and the improvement of yellow soil fertility, a field experiment was carried out to study the effects of short-term application of vinasse biochar on soil nutrients and the diversity of fungal community structure by setting five biochar dosages of 0% (MB0), 0.5% (MB0.5), 1.0% (MB1.0), 2.0% (MB2.0), and 4.0% (MB4.0). The results showed that the application of lees biochar increased the pH, soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), ammonium N (AN), nitrate N (NN), available phosphorus and available potassium of the yellow soil to varying degrees, but decreased the microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass N (MBN) by 12.36%-26.49% and 34.10%-59.95% respectively. The application of lees biochar significantly reduced the number of fungal OTUs and community diversity. Compared with MB0 treatment, the application of lees biochar significantly changed the structure of the fungal community. The relative abundances of Mortierellomycota, Basidiomycota, Glomeromycota, and Chlorophyta were all increased in varying degrees, but the relative abundance of Ascomycota was significantly reduced by 23.86%-29.06%. At the same time, the application of lees biochar also increased the relative abundance of some functional bacteria, such as Mortierella and Chaetomium, and reduced the relative abundance of some pathogenic bacteria, such as Aspergillus and Fusarium. In addition, the results of redundant analysis showed that SOM, AN and NN were the main environmental factors that affect the change of yellow soil fungal community structure. In summary, the short-term application of lees biochar can increase the nutrient content of soil, change the structure and diversity of soil fungal communities, and also can reduce the relative abundance of some pathogenic bacteria, which can inhibit the growth and reproduction of harmful plant pathogens.

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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community structure and diversity are affected by host plant species and soil depth in the Mu Us Desert, northwest China

Arid Land Research and Management ◽

10.1080/15324982.2018.1425771 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 198-211 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Kun Wang ◽

Xueli He ◽

Linlin Xie ◽

Lili Zhao

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Host Plant ◽

Plant Species ◽

Fungal Community ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽

Northwest China ◽

Mu Us Desert ◽

Fungal Community Structure ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal

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Changes of soil bacterial and fungal community structure along a natural aridity gradient in desert grassland ecosystems, Inner Mongolia

CATENA ◽

10.1016/j.catena.2021.105470 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 205 ◽

pp. 105470

Author(s):

Shaokun Wang ◽

Xiaoan Zuo ◽

Tala Awada ◽

Eduardo Medima-Roldán ◽

Keting Feng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Fungal Community ◽

Inner Mongolia ◽

Desert Grassland ◽

Aridity Gradient ◽

Fungal Community Structure ◽

Grassland Ecosystems ◽

Soil Bacterial

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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community structure following different grazing intensities in alpine grassland

Soil Science Society of America Journal ◽

10.1002/saj2.20218 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Qian Li ◽

Xingjia Xiang ◽

Yangong Du ◽

Yikang Li ◽

Li Lin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Fungal Community ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽

Alpine Grassland ◽

Fungal Community Structure ◽

Grazing Intensities ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal

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Micro-Landscape Dependent Changes in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Community Structure

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11115297 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 5297

Author(s):

Stavros D. Veresoglou ◽

Leonie Grünfeld ◽

Magkdi Mola

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Root Colonization ◽

Environmental Parameters ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽

Fungal Community Structure ◽

High Connectivity ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal ◽

Colonization Rates

The roots of most plants host diverse assemblages of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which benefit the plant hosts in diverse ways. Even though we understand that such AMF assemblages are non-random, we do not fully appreciate whether and how environmental settings can make them more or less predictable in time and space. Here we present results from three controlled experiments, where we manipulated two environmental parameters, habitat connectance and habitat quality, to address the degree to which plant roots in archipelagos of high connectivity and invariable habitats are colonized with (i) less diverse and (ii) easier to predict AMF assemblages. We observed no differences in diversity across our manipulations. We show, however, that mixing habitats and varying connectivity render AMF assemblages less predictable, which we could only detect within and not between our experimental units. We also demonstrate that none of our manipulations favoured any specific AMF taxa. We present here evidence that the community structure of AMF is less responsive to spatio-temporal manipulations than root colonization rates which is a facet of the symbiosis which we currently poorly understand.

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Characterization of Soil Carbon Stocks in the City of Johannesburg

Land ◽

10.3390/land10010083 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 83

Author(s):

Kelebohile Rose Seboko ◽

Elmarie Kotze ◽

Johan van Tol ◽

George van Zijl

Keyword(s):

Bulk Density ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Soil Productivity ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Organic C ◽

C Stocks ◽

Shallow Soils ◽

Deep Soils ◽

Soc Stocks ◽

Soil Groups

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a crucial indicator of soil health and soil productivity. The long-term implications of rapid urbanization on sustainability have, in recent years, raised concern. This study aimed to characterize the SOC stocks in the Johannesburg Granite Dome, a highly urbanized and contaminated area. Six soil hydropedological groups; (recharge (deep), recharge (shallow), responsive (shallow), responsive (saturated), interflow (A/B), and interflow (soil/bedrock)) were identified to determine the vertical distribution of the SOC stocks and assess the variation among the soil groups. The carbon (C) content, bulk density, and soil depth were determined for all soil groups, and thereafter the SOC stocks were calculated. Organic C stocks in the A horizon ranged, on average, from 33.55 ± 21.73 t C ha−1 for recharge (deep) soils to 17.11 ± 7.62 t C ha−1 for responsive (shallow) soils. Higher C contents in some soils did not necessarily indicate higher SOC stocks due to the combined influence of soil depth and bulk density. Additionally, the total SOC stocks ranged from 92.82 ± 39.2 t C ha−1 for recharge (deep) soils to 22.81 ± 16.84 t C ha−1 for responsive (shallow) soils. Future studies should determine the SOC stocks in urban areas, taking diverse land-uses and the presence of iron (Fe) oxides into consideration. This is crucial for understanding urban ecosystem functions.

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Long-term effects of fertilisers and organic sources on soil organic carbon fractions under a rice–wheat system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of north-west India

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr16097 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 55 (3) ◽

pp. 296 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

D. Das ◽

B. S. Dwivedi ◽

V. K. Singh ◽

S. P. Datta ◽

M. C. Meena ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Farmyard Manure ◽

Microbial Biomass C ◽

Gangetic Plain ◽

Organic C ◽

Labile C ◽

Labile C Fractions

Decline in soil organic carbon (SOC) content is considered a key constraint for sustenance of rice–wheat system (RWS) productivity in the Indo-Gangetic Plain region. We, therefore, studied the effects of fertilisers and manures on SOC pools, and their relationships with crop yields after 18 years of continuous RWS. Total organic C increased significantly with the integrated use of fertilisers and organic sources (from 13 to 16.03gkg–1) compared with unfertilised control (11.5gkg–1) or sole fertiliser (NPKZn; 12.17gkg–1) treatment at 0–7.5cm soil depth. Averaged across soil depths, labile fractions like microbial biomass C (MBC) and permanganate-oxidisable C (PmOC) were generally higher in treatments that received farmyard manure (FYM), sulfitation pressmud (SPM) or green gram residue (GR) along with NPK fertiliser, ranging from 192 to 276mgkg–1 and from 0.60 to 0.75gkg–1 respectively compared with NPKZn and NPK+cereal residue (CR) treatments, in which MBC and PmOC ranged from 118 to 170mgkg–1 and from 0.43 to 0.57gkg–1 respectively. Oxidisable organic C fractions revealed that very labile C and labile C fractions were much larger in the NPK+FYM or NPK+GR+FYM treatments, whereas the less-labile C and non-labile C fractions were larger under control and NPK+CR treatments. On average, Walkley–Black C, PmOC and MBC contributed 29–46%, 4.7–6.6% and 1.16–2.40% towards TOC respectively. Integrated plant nutrient supply options, except NPK+CR, also produced sustainable high yields of RWS.

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Perennial herbaceous legumes as live soil mulches and their effects on C, N and P of the microbial biomass

Scientia Agricola ◽

10.1590/s0103-90162003000100021 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 60 (1) ◽

pp. 139-147 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Gustavo Pereira Duda ◽

José Guilherme Marinho Guerra ◽

Marcela Teixeira Monteiro ◽

Helvécio De-Polli ◽

Marcelo Grandi Teixeira

Keyword(s):

Microbial Biomass ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Vegetation Management ◽

Pueraria Phaseoloides ◽

Organic C ◽

Arachis Pintoi ◽

Factorial Combination ◽

C And N ◽

Microbial C ◽

Macroptilium Atropurpureum

The use of living mulch with legumes is increasing but the impact of this management technique on the soil microbial pool is not well known. In this work, the effect of different live mulches was evaluated in relation to the C, N and P pools of the microbial biomass, in a Typic Alfisol of Seropédica, RJ, Brazil. The field experiment was divided in two parts: the first, consisted of treatments set in a 2 x 2 x 4 factorial combination of the following factors: live mulch species (Arachis pintoi and Macroptilium atropurpureum), vegetation management after cutting (leaving residue as a mulch or residue remotion from the plots) and four soil depths. The second part had treatments set in a 4 x 2 x 2 factorial combination of the following factors: absence of live mulch, A. pintoi, Pueraria phaseoloides, and M. atropurpureum, P levels (0 and 88 kg ha-1) and vegetation management after cutting. Variation of microbial C was not observed in relation to soil depth. However, the amount of microbial P and N, water soluble C, available C, and mineralizable C decreased with soil depth. Among the tested legumes, Arachis pintoi promoted an increase of microbial C and available C content of the soil, when compared to the other legume species (Pueraria phaseoloides and Macroptilium atropurpureum). Keeping the shoot as a mulch promoted an increase on soil content of microbial C and N, total organic C and N, and organic C fractions, indicating the importance of this practice to improve soil fertility.

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