Stochastic processes dominate bacterial and fungal community assembly in ultra-high-altitude areas of southeast Tibet

Microbial community assembly processes have gained increasing attention for addressing global biodiversity loss in recent years, especially their relations to different plant habitats succession. However, it remains scarce in the ultra-high-altitude regions of the plateau. This study explored the co...

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Main Authors: Wenzu Liu, Zhuonan Hou, Xinjun Zhang, Ruihong Wang, Mengyao Dong, Daqing Luo, Yuquan Wei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-04-01
Series:Ecological Indicators
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25003243
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author Wenzu Liu
Zhuonan Hou
Xinjun Zhang
Ruihong Wang
Mengyao Dong
Daqing Luo
Yuquan Wei
author_facet Wenzu Liu
Zhuonan Hou
Xinjun Zhang
Ruihong Wang
Mengyao Dong
Daqing Luo
Yuquan Wei
author_sort Wenzu Liu
collection DOAJ
description Microbial community assembly processes have gained increasing attention for addressing global biodiversity loss in recent years, especially their relations to different plant habitats succession. However, it remains scarce in the ultra-high-altitude regions of the plateau. This study explored the contribution of deterministic and stochastic processes in shaping bacterial and fungal communities as well as key factors influencing these processes across five habitats in the southeastern ultra-high-altitude area of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The results indicated that stochastic processes, particularly dispersal limitation and drift, dominated microbial community assembly across all five successive habitats (talus slope, alpine meadow, alpine shrubland, deciduous broadleaf forest, and mixed needle-broadleaf forest) in this study. Their relative importance varied, with drift increasing (bacterial from 31.03% to 47.13% while fungal from 38.07% to 58.88%) and dispersal limitation decreasing (bacterial from 47.29% to 22.91% while fungal from 48.69% to 33.53%), as habitat succession progresses. Bacterial community exhibited wider niche width and higher phenotypic plasticity, making homogeneous selection more significant in bacterial community compared to fungal community. Core genera made more contributions to microbial community assembly, with bacterial core genera having a greater influence than fungal core genera. Our findings firstly provide insights into the distinctive interaction of microbial community assembly with plant habitats heterogeneity in the ultra-high-altitude mountainous ecosystems.
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spelling doaj-art-d3a0a0ee444c4ac18161fbcc37b94f7b2025-08-20T02:26:50ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-04-0117311339410.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113394Stochastic processes dominate bacterial and fungal community assembly in ultra-high-altitude areas of southeast TibetWenzu Liu0Zhuonan Hou1Xinjun Zhang2Ruihong Wang3Mengyao Dong4Daqing Luo5Yuquan Wei6College of Resources and Environmental Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Biodiversity and Organic Farming, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology in Tibet Plateau (Institute of Tibet Plateau Ecology, Tibet Agricultural & Animal Husbandry University), Ministry of Education, Nyingchi, Tibet, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environmental Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Biodiversity and Organic Farming, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology in Tibet Plateau (Institute of Tibet Plateau Ecology, Tibet Agricultural & Animal Husbandry University), Ministry of Education, Nyingchi, Tibet, China; State Key Laboratory for Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loes Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Science and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Forest Ecology in Tibet Plateau (Institute of Tibet Plateau Ecology, Tibet Agricultural & Animal Husbandry University), Ministry of Education, Nyingchi, Tibet, ChinaKey Laboratory of Forest Ecology in Tibet Plateau (Institute of Tibet Plateau Ecology, Tibet Agricultural & Animal Husbandry University), Ministry of Education, Nyingchi, Tibet, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environmental Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Biodiversity and Organic Farming, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology in Tibet Plateau (Institute of Tibet Plateau Ecology, Tibet Agricultural & Animal Husbandry University), Ministry of Education, Nyingchi, Tibet, ChinaKey Laboratory of Forest Ecology in Tibet Plateau (Institute of Tibet Plateau Ecology, Tibet Agricultural & Animal Husbandry University), Ministry of Education, Nyingchi, Tibet, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environmental Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Biodiversity and Organic Farming, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology in Tibet Plateau (Institute of Tibet Plateau Ecology, Tibet Agricultural & Animal Husbandry University), Ministry of Education, Nyingchi, Tibet, China; Corresponding author at: College of Resources and Environmental Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Biodiversity and Organic Farming, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.Microbial community assembly processes have gained increasing attention for addressing global biodiversity loss in recent years, especially their relations to different plant habitats succession. However, it remains scarce in the ultra-high-altitude regions of the plateau. This study explored the contribution of deterministic and stochastic processes in shaping bacterial and fungal communities as well as key factors influencing these processes across five habitats in the southeastern ultra-high-altitude area of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The results indicated that stochastic processes, particularly dispersal limitation and drift, dominated microbial community assembly across all five successive habitats (talus slope, alpine meadow, alpine shrubland, deciduous broadleaf forest, and mixed needle-broadleaf forest) in this study. Their relative importance varied, with drift increasing (bacterial from 31.03% to 47.13% while fungal from 38.07% to 58.88%) and dispersal limitation decreasing (bacterial from 47.29% to 22.91% while fungal from 48.69% to 33.53%), as habitat succession progresses. Bacterial community exhibited wider niche width and higher phenotypic plasticity, making homogeneous selection more significant in bacterial community compared to fungal community. Core genera made more contributions to microbial community assembly, with bacterial core genera having a greater influence than fungal core genera. Our findings firstly provide insights into the distinctive interaction of microbial community assembly with plant habitats heterogeneity in the ultra-high-altitude mountainous ecosystems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25003243Tibetan PlateauUltra-high altitudeMicrobial community assemblyHabitat heterogeneityFloristic richness
spellingShingle Wenzu Liu
Zhuonan Hou
Xinjun Zhang
Ruihong Wang
Mengyao Dong
Daqing Luo
Yuquan Wei
Stochastic processes dominate bacterial and fungal community assembly in ultra-high-altitude areas of southeast Tibet
Ecological Indicators
Tibetan Plateau
Ultra-high altitude
Microbial community assembly
Habitat heterogeneity
Floristic richness
title Stochastic processes dominate bacterial and fungal community assembly in ultra-high-altitude areas of southeast Tibet
title_full Stochastic processes dominate bacterial and fungal community assembly in ultra-high-altitude areas of southeast Tibet
title_fullStr Stochastic processes dominate bacterial and fungal community assembly in ultra-high-altitude areas of southeast Tibet
title_full_unstemmed Stochastic processes dominate bacterial and fungal community assembly in ultra-high-altitude areas of southeast Tibet
title_short Stochastic processes dominate bacterial and fungal community assembly in ultra-high-altitude areas of southeast Tibet
title_sort stochastic processes dominate bacterial and fungal community assembly in ultra high altitude areas of southeast tibet
topic Tibetan Plateau
Ultra-high altitude
Microbial community assembly
Habitat heterogeneity
Floristic richness
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25003243
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