Soil physicochemical properties drive the variation in soil microbial
communities along a forest successional series in a degraded wetland in
northeastern China
Abstract
The Sanjiang Plain is the biggest freshwater wetland locating within
northeastern China. Due to climate change and human activities, that
wetland has degraded to a successional gradient from the original
flooded wetland to dry shrub vegetation and a forest area with lower
ground water level, resulting in changes in soil microbiologic structure
and functions. The present study investigated the microbial diversity
and community structure in relation to soil properties along this
gradient. The soil physic-chemical properties changed significantly with
degradation. The Shannon variety of soil fungi as well as bacteria
varied significantly with successional stage (both P < 0.05).
The community structures of soil bacteria and fungi in the early
successional stages (i.e., the wetland) were significantly structured
via total phosphorus, available nitrogen and total nitrogen
concentrations in soils, while those in the later successional stages
(i.e., forests) were significantly structured by soil organic carbon,
soil pH and available phosphorus concentrations. Our results indicated
that variations in the soil environment affected soil microbial
communities along a successional gradient from wetland to forests are
mainly. These outcomes indicate that above ground plant composition is a
forceful determinant of the structure as well as functions of bacterial
and fungal communities, might finally causing substantial alterations in
ecosystem activity.