Loss of plant functional group mediates microbial community assembly in litter decomposition of alpine fir forest
Global climate warming poses a threat to alpine biodiversity, potentially altering plant functional group composition and diversity in litter mixtures, which may affect decomposition processes. This raises the question: does loss of single plant functional group change the composition and the decomp...
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Elsevier
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425001027 |
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| author | Qianwei Li Yamei Chen Lin Xu Xinglei Cui Hongwei Xu Lixia Wang Chengming You Xingjun Tian Xinhua He Yang Liu |
| author_facet | Qianwei Li Yamei Chen Lin Xu Xinglei Cui Hongwei Xu Lixia Wang Chengming You Xingjun Tian Xinhua He Yang Liu |
| author_sort | Qianwei Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Global climate warming poses a threat to alpine biodiversity, potentially altering plant functional group composition and diversity in litter mixtures, which may affect decomposition processes. This raises the question: does loss of single plant functional group change the composition and the decomposition capacity of microbial communities? Current research lacks consensus, and the decomposition effects of different microbial taxa remain unpredictable. To address this, we conducted a two-year in situ litter decomposition experiment in alpine fir forest using mesh bags, manipulating leaf litter composition to assess how loss of single plant functional group influences microbial community assembly (fungi and bacteria, abundant and rare taxa). We found that bacterial communities were more sensitive than fungal communities to loss of single plant functional group, with significant changes in the abundance of Alphaproteobacteria. Rare taxa exhibited greater biodiversity shifts than abundant taxa. Litter with higher labile materials content supported greater biodiversity of abundant bacterial community. Our results showed that loss of single plant functional group changes the content of metallic elements (i.e., K and Mn) related to litter degradability, influencing bacterial diversity and driving mixture decomposition. Abundant fungi dominated the microbial decomposition pathway. However, in the later stages of decomposition, litter chemistry and fungal communities converged, resulting in similar mass loss among all litter combinations. In conclusion, abundant fungal communities, particularly stable abundant taxa like Sordariomycetes, play a crucial role in maintaining material cycling stability in alpine ecosystem following loss of plant functional groups during decomposition. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4bc58df046804c35801e9cf562445a71 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj-art-4bc58df046804c35801e9cf562445a712025-08-20T02:47:09ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942025-04-0158e0350110.1016/j.gecco.2025.e03501Loss of plant functional group mediates microbial community assembly in litter decomposition of alpine fir forestQianwei Li0Yamei Chen1Lin Xu2Xinglei Cui3Hongwei Xu4Lixia Wang5Chengming You6Xingjun Tian7Xinhua He8Yang Liu9National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China; State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, ChinaKey Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, Sichuan 637009, ChinaNational Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaNational Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaNational Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaNational Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaNational Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, ChinaNational Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China; School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia; Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Corresponding author at: National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China.National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China; Corresponding author.Global climate warming poses a threat to alpine biodiversity, potentially altering plant functional group composition and diversity in litter mixtures, which may affect decomposition processes. This raises the question: does loss of single plant functional group change the composition and the decomposition capacity of microbial communities? Current research lacks consensus, and the decomposition effects of different microbial taxa remain unpredictable. To address this, we conducted a two-year in situ litter decomposition experiment in alpine fir forest using mesh bags, manipulating leaf litter composition to assess how loss of single plant functional group influences microbial community assembly (fungi and bacteria, abundant and rare taxa). We found that bacterial communities were more sensitive than fungal communities to loss of single plant functional group, with significant changes in the abundance of Alphaproteobacteria. Rare taxa exhibited greater biodiversity shifts than abundant taxa. Litter with higher labile materials content supported greater biodiversity of abundant bacterial community. Our results showed that loss of single plant functional group changes the content of metallic elements (i.e., K and Mn) related to litter degradability, influencing bacterial diversity and driving mixture decomposition. Abundant fungi dominated the microbial decomposition pathway. However, in the later stages of decomposition, litter chemistry and fungal communities converged, resulting in similar mass loss among all litter combinations. In conclusion, abundant fungal communities, particularly stable abundant taxa like Sordariomycetes, play a crucial role in maintaining material cycling stability in alpine ecosystem following loss of plant functional groups during decomposition.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425001027Litter decompositionBiodiversity lossMicrobial diversityAbundant microbial taxaRare microbial taxa |
| spellingShingle | Qianwei Li Yamei Chen Lin Xu Xinglei Cui Hongwei Xu Lixia Wang Chengming You Xingjun Tian Xinhua He Yang Liu Loss of plant functional group mediates microbial community assembly in litter decomposition of alpine fir forest Global Ecology and Conservation Litter decomposition Biodiversity loss Microbial diversity Abundant microbial taxa Rare microbial taxa |
| title | Loss of plant functional group mediates microbial community assembly in litter decomposition of alpine fir forest |
| title_full | Loss of plant functional group mediates microbial community assembly in litter decomposition of alpine fir forest |
| title_fullStr | Loss of plant functional group mediates microbial community assembly in litter decomposition of alpine fir forest |
| title_full_unstemmed | Loss of plant functional group mediates microbial community assembly in litter decomposition of alpine fir forest |
| title_short | Loss of plant functional group mediates microbial community assembly in litter decomposition of alpine fir forest |
| title_sort | loss of plant functional group mediates microbial community assembly in litter decomposition of alpine fir forest |
| topic | Litter decomposition Biodiversity loss Microbial diversity Abundant microbial taxa Rare microbial taxa |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425001027 |
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