Soil properties and root traits jointly shape fine-scale spatial patterns of bacterial community and metabolic functions within a Korean pine forest

Spatial heterogeneity of soil bacterial community depends on scales. The fine-scale spatial heterogeneity of bacterial community composition and functions remains unknown. We analyzed the main driving factors of fine-scale spatial patterns of soil bacterial community composition and carbon metabolic functions across a 30 m × 40 m plot within a Korean pine forest by combining Illumina 16S rRNA sequencing with Biolog Ecoplates based on 53 soil samples. Clear spatial patterns in bacterial community composition and metabolic functions were observed in the forest soil. The bacterial community composition and metabolic functions both showed distance-decay of similarity within a distance of meters. Structural equation model analysis revealed that environmental variables and geographic distance together explained 37.9% and 63.1% of community and metabolic functions, respectively. Among all environmental factors, soil organic carbon (SOC) and root biomass emerged as the most important drivers of the bacterial community structure. In contrast, soil pH explained the largest variance in metabolic functions. Root biomass explained the second-largest variance in soil bacterial community composition, but root traits made no difference in metabolic functions variance. These results allow us to better understand the mechanisms controlling belowground diversity and plant-microbe interactions in forest ecosystems.

Effects of Korean Pine Basal Area in Mixed Broadleaved–Korean Pine Forest Stands on Its Natural Regeneration in Northeast China

Understanding the natural regeneration of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc.) in mixed broadleaved–Korean pine (MBK) forests is crucial for MBK forest conservation and secondary deciduous broadleaved forest restoration. We hypothesized the ratio of Korean pine basal area (RKp) in MBK stands affected its natural regeneration. Regeneration censuses, including the height, root collar diameter, age, and growth stages (younger seedling, older seedling, smaller sapling, and taller sapling) of Korean pine, were conducted in northeast China. Results indicated the stem density and age composition of younger seedlings were positively correlated with RKp, whereas those of the saplings were negatively correlated with RKp. In the stands with lower RKp (<80% in Lesser Khingan Mountains [LKM]; <40% in Lushuihe Forestry Bureau [LFB]), individuals in all growth stages regenerated well with an age span of 65 yr. However, the regeneration of taller saplings was severely inhibited with increasing RKp (LKM: RKp ≥ 80%; LFB: RKp ≥ 40%). In summary, RKp significantly affected the natural regeneration of Korean pine in MBK forests. The basal-area thresholds limiting regeneration were found to be 80% in LKM stands and 40% in LFB stands. These basal-area thresholds provided evidence of why the zonal climax was MBK forests rather than pure Korean pine forests.

Differences in Microbial Community and Metabolites in Litter Layer of Plantation and Original Korean Pine Forests in North Temperate Zone

In order to explore the relationship between microbial diversity and metabolites in the litter layer of northern temperate forests, the microbial community structure and metabolite species in the litter layer of an original Korean pine forest and Korean pine plantation of northern temperate climate were determined on the basis of high-throughput sequencing and metabonomic techniques. The results showed that there were 698 bacterial genera and 363 fungal genera in the litter samples in the original Korean pine forest. Linear discriminant effect size (LEfSe) analysis showed that there were 35 indicator bacterial species and 19 indicator fungal species. In the litter samples of the Korean pine plantation, there were 622 bacterial genera and 343 fungal genera. Additionally, LEfSe analysis showed that there were 18 indicator bacterial species and 5 indicator fungal species. The litter of the two forest types contained 285 kinds of organic compounds, among which 16 different metabolites were screened, including 6 kinds of organic acids, 5 kinds of amino acids, 2 kinds of sugars, 2 kinds of sugar alcohols, and 1 kind of lipid. Latescibacteria, Rokubacteria, and Olpidiomycota are unique to the original Korean pine forest. They can catalyze the degradation rate of litter and decompose cellulose and chitin, respectively. Subgroup 6 was abundant in the lower litter layer. Subgroup 6 can grow with carbon compounds as substrate. It was clear that the microbial diversity of the litter layer in the original Korean pine forest was higher than that of the Korean pine plantation. Moreover, whether original forest or plantation forest, the lower-litter layer microbial diversity was higher than that in the middle-litter layer. CCA showed that the main metabolites were related to Chitinophagaceae_uncultured were saccharopine. The main metabolites associated with Mortierella and Polyscytalum were myo-inositol. At the same time, analysis of the difference between the litter layer of the original Korean pine forest and the Korean pine plantation also provides a theoretical basis for their participation in the element cycles of forest ecosystems.

Fungi community structure associated with Korean pine forests and the varying tendency with four forest land age

We used a space-for-time substitution as an alternative to investigate the variation in root fungal communities from four Korean pine forest lands with different ages. An analysis of the community in the root revealed that the fungal community composition differed, and it was affected by a combination of host age, climate factors and soil factors which including the soil fungi and soil physical and chemical properties. We assembled 464,490 seq uences into 2,066 fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs), of these, 1,955 OTUs were classified as 5 phyla, 20 classes, 69 orders, 131 families, 330 genera. More than 75% root fungi overlap with the fungi of the habit soil. The fungal communities both from the root and soil bulk showed the highest species diversity in the >150 years old forest compared with 50–100 years old forests and five years old seedlings. With advancing forest age, in the root there were not only the unique dominant genera, but showed uniqueness both in the totally fungal community and functional fungi community succession took place in these sample plots. In 5 years old land, the relative abundance of pathotrophic fungi and symbiotrophic fungi were higher than saprotrophic fungi, in the mature forests, pathotrophic fungi and symbiotrophic fungi showed stabilized and a little lower than saprotrophic fungi in richness. These changes in the fungal community, respectively, were influenced significantly by pH, rainfall, and the mean air temperature (P < 0.05). This study findings focused on the dynamics of changes within the taxonomy of the root fungal community as a response to the age of the host tree (Korean pine), may be used for forest management and as the reference for evaluation the stability of forest ecosystem.