Vertical Stratification Reduces Microbial Network Complexity and Disrupts Nitrogen Balance in Seasonally Frozen Ground at Qinghai Lake in Tibet
Global climate change has accelerated the reduction of permafrost regions across different altitude gradients, shortening the duration of the freezing period to varying extents. However, the response of the soil microorganisms of frozen soils along altitude gradients remains unclear. In this study,...
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2025-02-01
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| author | Ni Zhang Zhiyun Zhou Yijun Wang Shijia Zhou Jing Ma Jianqing Sun Kelong Chen |
| author_facet | Ni Zhang Zhiyun Zhou Yijun Wang Shijia Zhou Jing Ma Jianqing Sun Kelong Chen |
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| description | Global climate change has accelerated the reduction of permafrost regions across different altitude gradients, shortening the duration of the freezing period to varying extents. However, the response of the soil microorganisms of frozen soils along altitude gradients remains unclear. In this study, we employed 16S rRNA sequencing and LC-MS metabolomics to investigate the response of soil microbial communities and soil metabolites to vertical stratification in the permafrost soils of the Qinghai Lake region. The results indicated that Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria were key soil bacterial phyla in the permafrost soils of Qinghai Lake during the freezing period, with Proteobacteria and Firmicutes showing significant sensitivity to vertical stratification (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The majority of the physicochemical factors exhibited a trend of initially increasing and then decreasing with increasing altitude, whereas pH showed the opposite trend. pH and moisture content were identified as the most important environmental factors influencing soil bacterial community structure. Deterministic processes dominated the assembly of bacterial communities of frozen soils in the Qinghai Lake basin. Co-occurrence network analysis showed that increasing altitude gradients led to a higher average degree of the bacterial network, while reducing network complexity and inter-species connectivity. Soil metabolomics analysis revealed that vertical stratification altered the metabolic profiles of 27 metabolites, with the significantly changed metabolites primarily associated with carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism. In conclusion, the characteristics of the Qinghai Lake permafrost were regulated by regional vertical stratification, which further influenced microbial community structure and soil metabolic characteristics, thereby altering carbon and nitrogen stocks. Specifically, higher altitudes were more favorable for the retention of the carbon and nitrogen stocks of frozen soils in the Qinghai Lake basin. |
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| spelling | doaj-art-0df7f7aff0c844c3b00d38fc7bc90ec52025-08-20T03:12:01ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-02-0113245910.3390/microorganisms13020459Vertical Stratification Reduces Microbial Network Complexity and Disrupts Nitrogen Balance in Seasonally Frozen Ground at Qinghai Lake in TibetNi Zhang0Zhiyun Zhou1Yijun Wang2Shijia Zhou3Jing Ma4Jianqing Sun5Kelong Chen6Qinghai Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process, College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, ChinaKey Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation, Ministry of Education, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, ChinaQinghai Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process, College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, ChinaQinghai Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process, College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, ChinaQinghai Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process, College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, ChinaQinghai Lake National Nature Reserve Administration, Xining 810008, ChinaQinghai Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process, College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, ChinaGlobal climate change has accelerated the reduction of permafrost regions across different altitude gradients, shortening the duration of the freezing period to varying extents. However, the response of the soil microorganisms of frozen soils along altitude gradients remains unclear. In this study, we employed 16S rRNA sequencing and LC-MS metabolomics to investigate the response of soil microbial communities and soil metabolites to vertical stratification in the permafrost soils of the Qinghai Lake region. The results indicated that Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria were key soil bacterial phyla in the permafrost soils of Qinghai Lake during the freezing period, with Proteobacteria and Firmicutes showing significant sensitivity to vertical stratification (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The majority of the physicochemical factors exhibited a trend of initially increasing and then decreasing with increasing altitude, whereas pH showed the opposite trend. pH and moisture content were identified as the most important environmental factors influencing soil bacterial community structure. Deterministic processes dominated the assembly of bacterial communities of frozen soils in the Qinghai Lake basin. Co-occurrence network analysis showed that increasing altitude gradients led to a higher average degree of the bacterial network, while reducing network complexity and inter-species connectivity. Soil metabolomics analysis revealed that vertical stratification altered the metabolic profiles of 27 metabolites, with the significantly changed metabolites primarily associated with carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism. In conclusion, the characteristics of the Qinghai Lake permafrost were regulated by regional vertical stratification, which further influenced microbial community structure and soil metabolic characteristics, thereby altering carbon and nitrogen stocks. Specifically, higher altitudes were more favorable for the retention of the carbon and nitrogen stocks of frozen soils in the Qinghai Lake basin.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/2/459carbon and nitrogen cycleclimate changeelevation gradientLC-MSQinghai–Tibet Plateauseasonal frozen soil |
| spellingShingle | Ni Zhang Zhiyun Zhou Yijun Wang Shijia Zhou Jing Ma Jianqing Sun Kelong Chen Vertical Stratification Reduces Microbial Network Complexity and Disrupts Nitrogen Balance in Seasonally Frozen Ground at Qinghai Lake in Tibet Microorganisms carbon and nitrogen cycle climate change elevation gradient LC-MS Qinghai–Tibet Plateau seasonal frozen soil |
| title | Vertical Stratification Reduces Microbial Network Complexity and Disrupts Nitrogen Balance in Seasonally Frozen Ground at Qinghai Lake in Tibet |
| title_full | Vertical Stratification Reduces Microbial Network Complexity and Disrupts Nitrogen Balance in Seasonally Frozen Ground at Qinghai Lake in Tibet |
| title_fullStr | Vertical Stratification Reduces Microbial Network Complexity and Disrupts Nitrogen Balance in Seasonally Frozen Ground at Qinghai Lake in Tibet |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vertical Stratification Reduces Microbial Network Complexity and Disrupts Nitrogen Balance in Seasonally Frozen Ground at Qinghai Lake in Tibet |
| title_short | Vertical Stratification Reduces Microbial Network Complexity and Disrupts Nitrogen Balance in Seasonally Frozen Ground at Qinghai Lake in Tibet |
| title_sort | vertical stratification reduces microbial network complexity and disrupts nitrogen balance in seasonally frozen ground at qinghai lake in tibet |
| topic | carbon and nitrogen cycle climate change elevation gradient LC-MS Qinghai–Tibet Plateau seasonal frozen soil |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/2/459 |
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