Vertical distribution patterns and drivers of soil bacterial communities across the continuous permafrost region of northeastern China

Background Soil microorganisms in the thawing permafrost play key roles in the maintenance of ecosystem function and regulation of biogeochemical cycles. However, our knowledge of patterns and drivers of permafrost microbial communities is limited in northeastern China. Therefore, we investigated the community structure of soil bacteria in the active, transition and permafrost layers based on 90 soil samples collected from 10 sites across the continuous permafrost region using high-throughput Illumina sequencing. Results Proteobacteria (31.59%), Acidobacteria (18.63%), Bacteroidetes (9.74%), Chloroflexi (7.01%) and Actinobacteria (6.92%) were the predominant phyla of the bacterial community in all soil layers; however, the relative abundances of the dominant bacterial taxa varied with soil depth. The bacterial community alpha-diversity based on the Shannon index and the phylogenetic diversity index both decreased significantly with depth across the transition from active layer to permafrost layer. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis and permutation multivariate analysis of variance revealed that microbial community structures were significantly different among layers. Redundancy analysis and Spearman’s correlation analysis showed that soil properties differed between layers such as soil nutrient content, temperature and moisture mainly drove the differentiation of bacterial communities. Conclusions Our results revealed significant differences in bacterial composition and diversity among soil layers. Our findings suggest that the heterogeneous environmental conditions between the three soil horizons had strong influences on microbial niche differentiation and further explained the variability of soil bacterial community structures. This effort to profile the vertical distribution of bacterial communities may enable better evaluations of changes in microbial dynamics in response to permafrost thaw, which would be beneficial to ecological conservation of permafrost ecosystems.

Vertical Distribution and Controlling Factors of Soil Inorganic Carbon in Poplar Plantations of Coastal Eastern China

Afforestation is a strategy to protect croplands and to sequestrate carbon in coastal areas. In addition, inorganic carbon is a considerable constitute of the coastal soil carbon pool. However, the vertical distribution and controlling factors of soil inorganic carbon (SIC) in plantations of coastal areas have been rarely studied. We analyzed the SIC content as well as physiochemical properties along soil profiles (0–100 cm) in young (YP) and mature (MP) poplar plantations in coastal eastern China. The soil profile was divided into six layers (0–10, 11–20, 21–40, 41–60, 61–80 and 81–100 cm) and a total of 36 soil samples were formed. The SIC content first increased from 0–10 cm (0.74%) to 11–20 cm (0.92%) and then fluctuated in the YP. In contrast, the SIC content increased with increasing soil depth until 40 cm and then leveled off, and the minimum and maximum appeared at 0–10 cm (0.54%) and 81–100 cm (0.98%) respectively in the MP. The soil inorganic carbon density was 12.05 and 12.93 kg m−2 within 0–100 cm in the YP and MP, respectively. Contrary to SIC, soil organic carbon (SOC) first decreased then levelled off within the soil profiles. Compared with the YP, the SIC content decreased 27.8% at 0–10 cm but increased 13.2% at 21–40 cm, meanwhile the SOC content in MP decreased 70.6% and 46.7% at 21–40 cm and 61–80 cm, respectively. The water-soluble Ca2+ and Mg2+ gradually decreased and increased, respectively within the soil profiles. The soil water-soluble Ca2+ increased 18.3% within 41–100 cm; however, the soil water-soluble Mg2+ decreased 32.7% within 21–100 cm in the MP when compared to the YP. Correlation analysis showed that SIC was negatively correlated with SOC, but positively correlated with soil pH and water-soluble Mg2+. Furthermore, structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that SOC was the most important factor influencing the SIC content in the studied poplar plantations, indicating SOC sequestration promoted the dissolution of SIC. Therefore, our study highlights the trade-off between SIC and SOC in poplar plantations of coastal Eastern China.

Measurement report: Vehicle-based multi-lidar observational study of the effect of meteorological elements on the three-dimensional distribution of particles in the western Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area

The distribution of meteorological elements has always been an important factor in determining the horizontal and vertical distribution of particles in the atmosphere. To study the effect of meteorological elements on the three-dimensional distribution structure of particles, mobile vehicle lidar and fixed-location observations were collected in the western Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area of China during September and October in 2019 and 2020. Vertical aerosol extinction coefficient, depolarization ratio, and wind and temperature profiles were measured using a micro pulse lidar, a Raman scattering lidar, and a Doppler wind profile lidar installed on a mobile monitoring vehicle. The mechanism of how wind and temperature in the boundary layer affects the horizontal and vertical distribution of particles was analysed. The results show that particles were mostly distributed in downstream areas on days with moderate wind speed in the boundary layer, whereas they were distributed homogeneously on days with weaker wind. There are three typical types of vertical distribution of particles in the western Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA): surface single layer, elevated single layer, and double layer. Analysis of wind profiles and Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model (HYSPLIT) backward trajectory reveals different sources of particles for the three types. Particles concentrating near the temperature inversion and multiple inversions could cause more than one peak in the extinction coefficient profile. There were two mechanisms affecting the distribution of particulate matter in the upper and lower boundary layers. Based on this observational study, a general model of meteorological elements affecting the vertical distribution of urban particulate matter is proposed.

Contrasting vertical distributions of recent planktic foraminifera off Indonesia during the southeast monsoon: implications for paleoceanographic reconstructions

Planktic foraminifera are widely used in palaeoceanographic and paleoclimatic studies. The accuracy of such reconstructions depends on our understanding of the organisms’ ecology. Here we report on field observations of planktic foraminiferal abundances (>150 µm) from 5 depth intervals between 0–500 m water depth at 37 sites in the eastern tropical Indian Ocean. The total planktic foraminiferal assemblage comprises 29 morphospecies; with 11 morphospecies accounting for ~90 % of the total assemblage. Both species composition and dominance in the net samples are broadly consistent with the published data from the corresponding surface sediments. The abundance and vertical distribution of planktic foraminifera are low offshore west Sumatra, and increase towards offshore south Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands (LSI). Average living depth of Trilobatus trilobus, Globigerinoides ruber, and Globigerina bulloides increases eastward, while that of Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, Pulleniatina obliquiloculata, and Globorotalia menardii remains constant. We interpret the overall zonal and vertical distribution patterns in planktic foraminiferal abundances as a response to the contrasting upper water column conditions during the southeast monsoon, i.e., oligotrophic and stratified offshore Sumatra (non-upwelling) vs. eutrophic and well-mixed offshore Java-LSI (upwelling). Overall, the inferred habitat depths of selected planktic foraminifera species show a good agreement with those from sediment trap samples and from surface sedimentss off Sumatra, but not with those from surface sediments off Java-LSI. The discrepancy might stem from the different temporal coverage of these sample types. Our findings highlight the need to consider how foraminiferal assemblages and ecology vary on shorter timescales, i.e., from “snapshots” of the water column captured by plankton net to seasonal and interannual variability as recorded in sediment traps and how these changes are transferred and preserved in deep-sea sediments.

Population attributes of Littoraria angulifera (Gastropoda: Littorinidae) in mangroves in Bahia State, northeastern Brazil

Littoraria angulifera (Lamarck, 1822) is an estuarine gastropod of tropical occurrence, which lives mainly on trunks of mangrove tree species. This study aimed to evaluate the population attributes of this species, such as abundance, space-time distribution, sex ratio and recruitment in mangroves in Bahia State, northeastern Brazil. The specimens were collected monthly throughout 2018, on trunks of the red mangrove Rhizophora mangle L. at two heights and on two horizontal levels. Specimens that were on the marine grass Spartina alterniflora Loisel were also collected. After counting, biometrics and sexing, the specimens were returned alive to the environment. The average size and weight of L. angulifera was higher (p<0.05) in places with taller and less sparse trees and the vertical distribution on the trunks showed a preference for strata close to the soil. Both results are related to shading and protection against desiccation. Females were more abundant than males, at an approximate sex ratio F: M of 1.4: 1. Recruits were observed throughout the period, showing continuous reproduction of the species with a recruitment peak in spring (September to November). The study revealed the importance of keep the mangroves intact to allow the maintenance of the natural stocks of the species.