Shrubs alter microbial community dynamics across various soil depths in alpine grassland ecosystems on the eastern Tibetan Plateau
Shrub encroachment in alpine grassland ecosystems is intensifying because of climate change and human disturbance. While the effects of shrub encroachment on aboveground communities are well-documented, its impact on soil microbial community dynamics—especially in relation to soil depth—remains unce...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X2401505X |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832576578290188288 |
|---|---|
| author | Jingwei Chen Qi Feng Xiangtai Wang Hang An Jiahao Cao |
| author_facet | Jingwei Chen Qi Feng Xiangtai Wang Hang An Jiahao Cao |
| author_sort | Jingwei Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Shrub encroachment in alpine grassland ecosystems is intensifying because of climate change and human disturbance. While the effects of shrub encroachment on aboveground communities are well-documented, its impact on soil microbial community dynamics—especially in relation to soil depth—remains uncertain. Herein, we explored the impact of dominant shrubs on the diversity, composition, microbial networks, and community assembly of soil bacteria and fungi on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, examining the variations among different soil depths. We found that shrubs significantly increased bacterial and fungal diversity and altered their community composition. Notably, only the diversity of fungi in the topsoil was higher compared to the control grassland. Additionally, shrubs significantly enhanced the complexity of soil microbial networks. However, the complexity of microbial networks among different soil depths under shrubs did not significantly differ, unlike in the control grassland. This suggests that shrubs have a stronger ability to stabilize interspecific relationships among soil microorganisms. The normalized stochasticity ratio and neutral community models indicated that stochastic processes dominated the community assembly of bacteria and fungi, with the influence of these processes diminishing with increasing soil depth. Furthermore, the null model analysis showed that dispersal limitation and homogeneous selection dominated the bacterial assembly, while dispersal limitation dominated the fungal assembly. Our research has significantly advanced the understanding of how shrub encroachment influences soil microbial community interactions and ecological patterns in alpine grassland ecosystems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d26bfb310e9b47d1ab4fd4704a906f93 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj-art-d26bfb310e9b47d1ab4fd4704a906f932025-01-31T05:10:40ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-01-01170113048Shrubs alter microbial community dynamics across various soil depths in alpine grassland ecosystems on the eastern Tibetan PlateauJingwei Chen0Qi Feng1Xiangtai Wang2Hang An3Jiahao Cao4Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 Gansu, PR ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 Gansu, PR China; Corresponding author at: Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, PR China.State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 Gansu, PR ChinaState Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 Gansu, PR ChinaCollege of Forestry, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730000 Gansu, PR ChinaShrub encroachment in alpine grassland ecosystems is intensifying because of climate change and human disturbance. While the effects of shrub encroachment on aboveground communities are well-documented, its impact on soil microbial community dynamics—especially in relation to soil depth—remains uncertain. Herein, we explored the impact of dominant shrubs on the diversity, composition, microbial networks, and community assembly of soil bacteria and fungi on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, examining the variations among different soil depths. We found that shrubs significantly increased bacterial and fungal diversity and altered their community composition. Notably, only the diversity of fungi in the topsoil was higher compared to the control grassland. Additionally, shrubs significantly enhanced the complexity of soil microbial networks. However, the complexity of microbial networks among different soil depths under shrubs did not significantly differ, unlike in the control grassland. This suggests that shrubs have a stronger ability to stabilize interspecific relationships among soil microorganisms. The normalized stochasticity ratio and neutral community models indicated that stochastic processes dominated the community assembly of bacteria and fungi, with the influence of these processes diminishing with increasing soil depth. Furthermore, the null model analysis showed that dispersal limitation and homogeneous selection dominated the bacterial assembly, while dispersal limitation dominated the fungal assembly. Our research has significantly advanced the understanding of how shrub encroachment influences soil microbial community interactions and ecological patterns in alpine grassland ecosystems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X2401505XShrub encroachmentMicrobial diversityCommunity compositionNetworkStochastic processes |
| spellingShingle | Jingwei Chen Qi Feng Xiangtai Wang Hang An Jiahao Cao Shrubs alter microbial community dynamics across various soil depths in alpine grassland ecosystems on the eastern Tibetan Plateau Ecological Indicators Shrub encroachment Microbial diversity Community composition Network Stochastic processes |
| title | Shrubs alter microbial community dynamics across various soil depths in alpine grassland ecosystems on the eastern Tibetan Plateau |
| title_full | Shrubs alter microbial community dynamics across various soil depths in alpine grassland ecosystems on the eastern Tibetan Plateau |
| title_fullStr | Shrubs alter microbial community dynamics across various soil depths in alpine grassland ecosystems on the eastern Tibetan Plateau |
| title_full_unstemmed | Shrubs alter microbial community dynamics across various soil depths in alpine grassland ecosystems on the eastern Tibetan Plateau |
| title_short | Shrubs alter microbial community dynamics across various soil depths in alpine grassland ecosystems on the eastern Tibetan Plateau |
| title_sort | shrubs alter microbial community dynamics across various soil depths in alpine grassland ecosystems on the eastern tibetan plateau |
| topic | Shrub encroachment Microbial diversity Community composition Network Stochastic processes |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X2401505X |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jingweichen shrubsaltermicrobialcommunitydynamicsacrossvarioussoildepthsinalpinegrasslandecosystemsontheeasterntibetanplateau AT qifeng shrubsaltermicrobialcommunitydynamicsacrossvarioussoildepthsinalpinegrasslandecosystemsontheeasterntibetanplateau AT xiangtaiwang shrubsaltermicrobialcommunitydynamicsacrossvarioussoildepthsinalpinegrasslandecosystemsontheeasterntibetanplateau AT hangan shrubsaltermicrobialcommunitydynamicsacrossvarioussoildepthsinalpinegrasslandecosystemsontheeasterntibetanplateau AT jiahaocao shrubsaltermicrobialcommunitydynamicsacrossvarioussoildepthsinalpinegrasslandecosystemsontheeasterntibetanplateau |