TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of Slope Aspects on Soil Bacterial and Arbuscular Fungal Communities in a Boreal Forest in China
AU - Chu, Haiyan
AU - Xiang, Xingjia
AU - Yang, Jian
AU - Adams, Jonathan M.
AU - Zhang, Kaoping
AU - Li, Yuntao
AU - Shi, Yu
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Soil Science Society of China.
PY - 2016/4/1
Y1 - 2016/4/1
N2 - The effects of slope aspects on soil biogeochemical properties and plant communities in forested environments have been studied extensively; however, slope aspect influence on soil microbial communities remains largely unexamined, despite the central role of soil biota in ecosystem functioning. In this study, the communities of both soil bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) were investigated using tagged pyrosequencing for three types of slope aspects (south-facing aspect, north-facing aspect and flat area) in a boreal forest of the Greater Khingan Mountains, China. The bacterial and AMF community composition differed with slope aspects. Bacterial diversity was the lowest on the north-facing aspect, and AMF diversity was the lowest on the flat area. Aspects also had a significant impact on soil pH and available phosphorus (P) and shrubby biomass. Soil pH and understory shrub biomass were significantly correlated with bacterial communities, and soil available P and shrub biomass showed significant correlations with AMF communities. Our results suggested that slope aspects affected bacterial and AMF communities, mediated by aspect-induced changes in plant community and soil chemical properties (e.g., pH and available P), which improved the knowledge on the effects of forest slope aspects on aboveground and belowground communities.
AB - The effects of slope aspects on soil biogeochemical properties and plant communities in forested environments have been studied extensively; however, slope aspect influence on soil microbial communities remains largely unexamined, despite the central role of soil biota in ecosystem functioning. In this study, the communities of both soil bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) were investigated using tagged pyrosequencing for three types of slope aspects (south-facing aspect, north-facing aspect and flat area) in a boreal forest of the Greater Khingan Mountains, China. The bacterial and AMF community composition differed with slope aspects. Bacterial diversity was the lowest on the north-facing aspect, and AMF diversity was the lowest on the flat area. Aspects also had a significant impact on soil pH and available phosphorus (P) and shrubby biomass. Soil pH and understory shrub biomass were significantly correlated with bacterial communities, and soil available P and shrub biomass showed significant correlations with AMF communities. Our results suggested that slope aspects affected bacterial and AMF communities, mediated by aspect-induced changes in plant community and soil chemical properties (e.g., pH and available P), which improved the knowledge on the effects of forest slope aspects on aboveground and belowground communities.
KW - Available P
KW - Plant communities
KW - Pyrosequencing
KW - Shrubby biomass
KW - Soil chemical properties
KW - Soil microbial communities
KW - Soil pH
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U2 - 10.1016/S1002-0160(15)60037-6
DO - 10.1016/S1002-0160(15)60037-6
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84958035248
SN - 1002-0160
VL - 26
SP - 226
EP - 234
JO - Pedosphere
JF - Pedosphere
IS - 2
ER -