Xiao Yao, Bao Fang, Xu Xiaotian, Yu Ke, Wu Bo, Gao Ying, Zhang Junzhong
Key Laboratory of Forest Disaster Warning and Control in Yunnan Province, Faculty of Biodiversity Conservation, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, China.
Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China.
Front Microbiol. 2023 Sep 7;14:1249036. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1249036. eCollection 2023.
Global climate change may lead to changes in precipitation patterns. This may have a significant impact on the microbial communities present in the soil. However, the way these communities respond to seasonal variations in precipitation, particularly in the context of increased precipitation amounts, is not yet well understood.
To explore this issue, a five-year (2012-2016) field study was conducted at the northeast boundary of the Ulan Buh Desert, examining the effects of increased precipitation during different periods of the growing season on both bacterial and fungal communities. The study included five precipitation pattern treatments: a control group (C), as well as groups receiving 50 and 100% of the local mean annual precipitation amount (145 mm) during either the early growing season (E50 and E100) or the late growing season (L50 and L100). The taxonomic composition of the soil bacterial and fungal communities was analyzed using Illumina sequencing.
After 5 years, the bacterial community composition had significantly changed in all treatment groups, with soil bacteria proving to be more sensitive to changes in precipitation timing than to increased precipitation amounts within the desert ecosystem. Specifically, the alpha diversity of bacterial communities in the late growing season plots (L50 and L100) decreased significantly, while no significant changes were observed in the early growing season plots (E50 and E100). In contrast, fungal community composition remained relatively stable in response to changes in precipitation patterns. Predictions of bacterial community function suggested that the potential functional taxa in the bacterial community associated with the cycling of carbon and nitrogen were significantly altered in the late growing season (L50 and L100).
These findings emphasize the importance of precipitation timing in regulating microbial communities and ecosystem functions in arid regions experiencing increased precipitation amounts.
全球气候变化可能导致降水模式发生变化。这可能会对土壤中的微生物群落产生重大影响。然而，这些群落如何应对降水的季节性变化，特别是在降水量增加的情况下，目前还没有得到很好的理解。
为了探讨这个问题，在乌兰布和沙漠东北边界进行了一项为期五年（2012 - 2016年）的田间研究，考察生长季节不同时期降水量增加对细菌和真菌群落的影响。该研究包括五种降水模式处理：一个对照组（C），以及在生长季早期（E50和E100）或生长季后期（L50和L100）接受当地年平均降水量（145毫米）50%和100%的组。使用Illumina测序分析土壤细菌和真菌群落的分类组成。
五年后，所有处理组的细菌群落组成都发生了显著变化，在沙漠生态系统中，土壤细菌对降水时间变化的敏感度高于降水量增加。具体而言，生长季后期地块（L50和L100）中细菌群落的α多样性显著下降，而生长季早期地块（E50和E100）未观察到显著变化。相比之下，真菌群落组成对降水模式变化的反应相对稳定。细菌群落功能预测表明，与碳氮循环相关的细菌群落潜在功能类群在生长季后期（L50和L100）发生了显著改变。
这些发现强调了降水时间在调节降水量增加的干旱地区微生物群落和生态系统功能方面的重要性。
