Microbial respiration and functional diversity of soil microbial community under treeline shifts in the Northwestern Caucasus

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Abstract

In mountain areas, one of the noticeable results of modern climate change is rapid shift of treelines to subalpine and alpine meadows. Such vegetation shifts is associated with a change in quality of the plant residues entering the soils, which in turn can affect the mineralization activity (basal respiration) and functional diversity of the soil microbial community. Therefore, the study was aimed at assessing the soil microbial (basal respiration and functional diversity) and chemical (C, N, C/N, pH) properties (0-10 cm) along the reserved and grazed forest-meadow transects of the Northwestern Caucasus (Karachay-Cherkess Republic), as well as evaluating an effect of vegetation type and land use on variation of these soil properties. It was found that the C and N contents (for both land usees), pH and basal respiration (reserved slope) significantly increase from forest to meadow soils. In contrary, the microbial functional diversity decreased from forest to meadow soils, which might be due to less diverse organic compounds entering the soil only with grass residues than their combination with forest litter. Two-way ANOVA showed that soil microbial functional diversity, pH, C and N along the studied forest-meadow transects was mostly associated with vegetation type (14…39 % of the explained variation), and C/N and basal respiration - with land use (33…36 % of the explained variation). Thus, a land use change will have a more significant effect on the mineralization activity of soil microbial community than a treeline shifts.

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Table 1. Soil сhemical properties (0–10 cm, mean ± SE, values with different letters differ significantly at P < 0.05)

Sites

pH

C,%

N,%

C/N

Reserve side

Meadow

4.78 ± 0.08 a

11.52 ± 0.61 a

0.92 ± 0.04 a

12.50 ± 0.20 a

Treeline

4.63 ± 0.07 ab

10.92 ± 0.48 ab

0.88 ± 0.04 a

12.46 ± 0.26 a

Forest

4.48 ± 0.06 b

8.95± 0.73 b

0.70 ± 0.04 b

12.56 ± 0.43 a

Pasture side

Meadow

4.69 ± 0.06 a

10.58 ± 0.52 a

0.94 ± 0.05 a

11.25 ± 0.10 a

Treeline

4.58 ± 0.06 a

9.88 ± 0.56 a

0.88 ± 0.05 a

11.21 ± 0.12 a

Forest

4.49 ± 0.07 a

7.37 ± 0.28 b

0.64 ± 0.03 b

11.51 ± 0.25 a

 

Fig. 1. Basal respiration of the microbial community (A) and respiration activity per carbon unit (B) of soil of the meadow, treeline, forest on reserved and pasture mountain slopes

Fig. 2. Respiratory responses of soil microbial community (0–10 cm) to the group of organic substrates (carboxylic acids, amino acids, carbohydrates, phenolic acids) in the total substrateinduced respiration (A) and the average value of the Shannon Diversity Index (Б) for meadow (M), Treeline (T, upper border of the forest) and forest (F) on reserve and pasture mountain slopes

Fig. 3. The proportion of the explained variation (change) of chemical and microbial parameters of soil under the influence of the studied (land use regime: reserve and pasture, ecosystem: meadow, treeline and forest) and other factors. * P < 0.05 Н — functional diversity index; BR — basal respiration

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About the authors

Aleksandra E. Selezneva

Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science, Russian Academy of Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: alexandra_seleznyova@mail.ru

PhD student, junior researcher

2 Institutskaya st., Pushchino, Moscow region, 142290, Russian Federation

Kristina V. Ivashchenko

Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science, Russian Academy of Sciences; Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia

Email: ivashchenko.kv@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8397-158X

Candidate of Biological Sciences, Senior Researcher

2 Institutskaya st., Pushchino, Moscow region, 142290, Russian Federation; 8/2 Miklukho-Maklaya st., Moscow, 117198, Russian Federation

Sofia V. Sushko

Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science, Russian Academy of Sciences; Agrophysical Research Institute

Email: rogovaja7@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0664-7641

Candidate of Biological Sciences, Researcher

2 Institutskaya st., Pushchino, Moscow region, 142290, Russian Federation; 14 Grazhdansky avenue, St. Petersburg, 195220, Russian Federation

Anna I. Zhuravleva

Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science, Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: zhuravlevaai@rambler.ru

Junior Researcher

2 Institutskaya st., Pushchino, Moscow region, 142290, Russian Federation

Nadezhda D. Ananyeva

Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science, Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: ananyeva@rambler.ru

Doctor of Biological Sciences, Chief Researcher

2 Institutskaya st., Pushchino, Moscow region, 142290, Russian Federation

Sergey A. Blagodatsky

Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science, Russian Academy of Sciences; University of Hohenheim

Email: Sergey.Blagodatskiy@uni-hohenheim.de
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1428-6014

Doctor of Biological Sciences, Leading Researcher

2 Institutskaya st., Pushchino, Moscow region, 142290, Russian Federation; 13 Garbe st., Stuttgart, 70599, Germany

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1. Fig. 1. Basal respiration of the microbial community (A) and respiration activity per carbon unit (B) of soil of the meadow, treeline, forest on reserved and pasture mountain slopes

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2. Fig. 2. Respiratory responses of soil microbial community (0–10 cm) to the group of organic substrates (carboxylic acids, amino acids, carbohydrates, phenolic acids) in the total substrateinduced respiration (A) and the average value of the Shannon Diversity Index (Б) for meadow (M), Treeline (T, upper border of the forest) and forest (F) on reserve and pasture mountain slopes

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3. Fig. 3. The proportion of the explained variation (change) of chemical and microbial parameters of soil under the influence of the studied (land use regime: reserve and pasture, ecosystem: meadow, treeline and forest) and other factors. * P < 0.05 Н — functional diversity index; BR — basal respiration

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Copyright (c) 2021 Selezneva A.E., Ivashchenko K.V., Sushko S.V., Zhuravleva A.I., Ananyeva N.D., Blagodatsky S.A.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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