| Title: |
Changes in microbial community structure and functioning with elevation are linked to local soil characteristics as well as climatic variables |
| Authors: |
Lux, Johannes; Xie, Zhijing; Sun, Xin; Wu, Donghui; Scheu, Stefan; 1 J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany; 4 Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences Xiamen China; 2 Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun China |
| Contributors: |
Lux, Johannes; Xie, Zhijing; Sun, Xin; Wu, Donghui; Scheu, Stefan; 1 J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany; 4 Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences Xiamen China; 2 Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun China |
| Publication Year: |
2022 |
| Collection: |
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen: GoeScholar |
| Description: |
Mountain forests are important carbon stocks and biodiversity hotspots but are threatened by increased insect outbreaks and climate‐driven forest conversion. Soil microorganisms play an eminent role in nutrient cycling in forest habitats and form the basis of soil food webs. Uncovering the driving factors shaping microbial communities and functioning at mountainsides across the world is of eminent importance to better understand their dynamics at local and global scales. We investigated microbial communities and their climatic and local soil‐related drivers along an elevational gradient (800–1700 m asl) of primary forests at Changbai Mountain, China. We analyzed substrate‐induced respiration and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) in litter and two soil layers at seven sites. Microbial biomass (Cmic) peaked in the litter layer and increased towards higher elevations. In the litter layer, the increase in Cmic and in stress indicator ratios was negatively correlated with Ca concentrations indicating increased nutritional stress in high microbial biomass communities at sites with lower Ca availability. PLFA profiles in the litter layer separated low and high elevations, but this was less pronounced in soil, suggesting that the litter layer functions as a buffer for soil microbial communities. Annual variations in temperature correlated with PLFA profiles in all three layers, while annual variations in precipitation correlated with PLFA profiles in upper soil only. Furthermore, the availability of resources, soil moisture, Ca concentrations, and pH structured the microbial communities. Pronounced changes in Cmic and stress indicator ratios in the litter layer between pine‐dominated (800–1100 m) and spruce‐dominated (1250–1700 m) forests indicated a shift in the structure and functioning of microbial communities between forest types along the elevational gradient. The study highlights strong changes in microbial community structure and functioning along elevational gradients, but also shows that these changes ... |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| DOI: |
10.1002/ece3.9632 |
| Availability: |
https://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gro-2/125069; https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9632 |
| Rights: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess ; CC BY 4.0 ; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.364A6AF5 |
| Database: |
BASE |