Soil microbial biomass and functional diversity in urban forest parks and suburban forests of various biomes in European Russia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadezhda Ananyeva ◽  
Ruslan Khatit ◽  
Sofia Sushko ◽  
Anna Buyvolova ◽  
Andrey Dolgikh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
European Russia ◽  
Deciduous Forests ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Explained Variance ◽  
Bioclimatic Conditions ◽  
Forest Parks ◽  
Suburban Forests

<p>Forest parks play an important role in the sustainable functioning of urban ecosystems. In contrast to natural forests, urban forests are under continuous anthropogenic pressure, affecting the soil microbial community functioning and its capacity to provide many ecosystem services. Moreover, another significant factor determining such functioning is bioclimatic conditions, i.e., city geographic location. Our study aims to examine the effect of urbanization on soil microbial biomass and functional diversity along a latitudinal gradient of European Russia. Urban forest parks (UFP) were chosen in Moscow, Tula, and Belgorod cities located in mixed coniferous-broadleaved forests, deciduous forests, and forest-steppe biomes of European Russia, respectively (17 sites). Outside of the cities the reference suburban forests (SUF) were selected (12 sites). When selecting sites, we considered the following criteria: i) same soil reference group within the biome (Retisols, Luvisols, Phaeozems in mixed coniferous-broadleaved forests, deciduous forests, and forest-steppe, respectively), ii) loam parent materials, and iii) forest aged ≥60 years. In each UFP and SUF, five spatially distributed plots were chosen, in which soil samples were taken from the upper 10 cm layer without litter (totally 85 and 60 for UFP and SUF). For freshly collected soil samples, microbial biomass carbon content (MBC, substrate-induced respiration method) and basal respiration (BR; rate of CO<sub>2</sub> release) were measured, then the ratio BR / MBC = <em>q</em>CO<sub>2</sub> was calculated. The community level physiological profile of soil microorganisms (CLPP, MicroResp<sup>TM</sup> technique) indicating the microbial ability to utilize different organic substrates (carbohydrates, acids: amino, carboxylic, phenolic, 14 totally) was tested. CLPP data were used to calculate the Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H<sub>CLPP</sub>).</p><p>It was found that soil BR decreased on average from SUF to USP in all studied biomes, while the MBC content did not change significantly. A significant increase of MBC in USP and SUF soils was observed from north to south (from mixed coniferous-broadleaved forests to forest-steppe), and for <em>q</em>CO<sub>2</sub> – decreasing. The CLPP of the studied soils were dominated by microorganisms consuming carboxylic acids (ascorbic and citric) and carbohydrates (glucose, fructose, galactose). Cluster analysis identified two groups that differed by soil CLPP: i) mixed coniferous-broadleaved forests and deciduous forests (Moscow, Tula) and ii) forest-steppe (Belgorod). Soil H<sub>CLPP</sub> index didn’t significantly differ between SUF and UFP in all studied biomes. Two-way ANOVA showed that soil MBC, <em>q</em>CO<sub>2</sub>, and H<sub>CLPP</sub> changes were more associated with bioclimatic conditions (18-47% of explained variance, P <0.05) than urbanization (P> 0.05). On contrary, soil BR was more sensitive to urbanization (4% of explained variance, P <0.05) than to the change of bioclimatic conditions (P> 0.05). Notably, driving factors of spatial variation for the studied soil microbial properties within each city (53-92% unexplained variance) have yet to be identified.</p><p> </p><p>This study was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project No. 20-04-00148.</p>

scholarly journals Belowground carbon pools and dynamics in China's warm temperate and sub-tropical deciduous forests

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 6339-6369
Author(s):  
C. W. Xiao ◽  
I. A. Janssens ◽  
W. G. Sang ◽  
R. Z. Wang ◽  
Z. Q. Xie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Deciduous Forests ◽  
Turnover Rates ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Degradation Rates ◽  
Soil Carbon Stocks ◽  
Belowground Carbon ◽  
Warm Temperate

Abstract. We report the first estimates of pools and dynamics of microbes, roots, plant litter and soil organic carbon (SOC) in three dominant types of China's vast deciduous forest area: Betula platyphylla, Quercus liaotungensis, and Quercus aliena varacuteserrata. Organic matter degradation rates overshadowed litter inputs as the main determinant of the soil carbon stocks. Across the three forests, rates of litter decomposition were also indicative for turnover rates of SOC. Litter and SOC decay was faster in the sub-tropical than in the warm-temperate forests. Among the latter, SOC turnover was highest in the forest producing the higher-quality litter. Microbial biomass was, as expected, correlated with SOC content. Microbial activity, in contrast, was highest at the sub-tropical forest, despite the lower SOC availability, lower fraction of labile SOC, and lower soil microbial biomass. These results may contribute to increased understanding of controls over belowground carbon cycling in deciduous forests.

scholarly journals Belowground carbon pools and dynamics in China's warm temperate and sub-tropical deciduous forests

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 275-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. W. Xiao ◽  
I. A. Janssens ◽  
W. G. Sang ◽  
R. Z. Wang ◽  
Z. Q. Xie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Deciduous Forests ◽  
Turnover Rates ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Degradation Rates ◽  
Soil Carbon Stocks ◽  
Belowground Carbon ◽  
Warm Temperate

Abstract. We report the first estimates of pools and dynamics of microbes, roots, plant litter and soil organic carbon (SOC) in three dominant types of China's vast deciduous forest area: Betula platyphylla, Quercus liaotungensis, and Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata. Organic matter degradation rates overshadowed litter inputs as the main determinant of the soil carbon stocks. Across the three forests, rates of litter decomposition were also indicative for turnover rates of SOC. Litter and SOC decay was faster in the sub-tropical than in the warm-temperate forests. Among the latter, SOC turnover was highest in the forest producing the higher-quality litter. Microbial biomass was, as expected, correlated with SOC content. Microbial activity, in contrast, was highest at the sub-tropical forest, despite the lower SOC availability, lower fraction of labile SOC, and lower soil microbial biomass. These results may contribute to increased understanding of controls over belowground carbon cycling in deciduous forests.

scholarly journals Land-Use/-Cover Changes and Their Effect on Soil Erosion and River Suspended Sediment Load in Different Landscape Zones of European Russia during 1970–2017

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 1631
Author(s):  
Artyom V. Gusarov
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Sediment Load ◽  
Gully Erosion ◽  
European Russia ◽  
Relative Reduction ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Suspended Sediment Load ◽  
Cultivated Land ◽  
Study Region

Contemporary trends in cultivated land and their influence on soil/gully erosion and river suspended sediment load were analyzed by various landscape zones within the most populated and agriculturally developed part of European Russia, covering 2,222,390 km2. Based on official statistics from the Russian Federation and the former Soviet Union, this study showed that after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, there was a steady downward trend in cultivated land throughout the study region. From 1970–1987 to 2005–2017, the region lost about 39% of its croplands. Moreover, the most significant relative reduction in cultivated land was noted in the forest zone (south taiga, mixed and broadleaf forests) and the dry steppes and the semi-desert of the Caspian Lowland—about 53% and 65%, respectively. These territories are with climatically risky agriculture and less fertile soils. There was also a widespread reduction in agricultural machinery on croplands and livestock on pastures of the region. A decrease in soil/gully erosion rates over the past decades was also revealed based on state hydrological monitoring data on river suspended sediment load as one of the indicators of the temporal variability of erosion intensity in river basins and the published results of some field research in various parts of the studied landscape zones. The most significant reduction in the intensity of erosion and the load of river suspended sediment was found in European Russia’s forest-steppe zone. This was presumably due to a favorable combination of the above changes in land cover/use and climate change.

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