Effects of stand age and soil organic matter quality on soil bacterial
and fungal community composition in Larix gmelinii plantations,
Northeast China
Abstract
It is of great interest to elucidate the biogeographic patterns of soil
microorganisms and their driving forces, which is fundamental to
predicting alterations in microbial-mediated functions arising from
environment changes. Although the vertical movement of dissolved organic
matter (DOM) drives the cycle of nutrients such as soil carbon but, in
the restored ecosystem, the relationship between DOM and soil microbial
nutrient utilization remains to be determined. Here, we investigated the
changes of soil microbial community at 0-40 cm depth profile in three
stages (10-, 30-, 50-years) of succession in Larix olgensis
plantations and the fluorescence spectrum composition of DOM. With the
increase of soil depth, the signal source of microorganisms increases.
In a coniferous forest soil environment, the possible main source of DOM
in deep soil is the production of microbial metabolism. Difficulty in
the decomposition of organic matter determines the distribution and
composition of microorganisms. Increasing forest age makes bacteria and
fungi more specific and bacterial-fungal associations greater. Overall,
our work contributes to the understanding of factors underlying
microbial community distribution in plantation forests and the
importance of DOM quality in building microbial communities.