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Soil microbial community composition rather than litter quality is linked with soil organic carbon chemical composition in plantations in subtropical China

  • Soils, Sec 2 • Global Change, Environ Risk Assess, Sustainable Land Use • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Native broadleaf plantations are increasingly being developed as an alternative to coniferous plantations. This study examined the relationships among litter carbon (C) quality, soil microbial community composition, and soil organic C (SOC) chemical properties in plantations and how they were affected by tree species.

Materials and methods

The solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) technique was used to examine SOC chemical composition, and litter and fine root C quality in four plantations of native tree species (Pinus massoniana, Castanopsis hystrix, Michelia macclurei, and Mytilaria laosensis) in Pingxiang, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in subtropical China. Soil microbial biomass C and nitrogen (N) were determined by the chloroform fumigation-extraction method and soil bacterial and fungal biomass were measured with the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) technique.

Results and discussion

The proportions of O-alkyl C, alkyl C, aromatic C, and carbonyl C in SOC and the alkyl/O-alkyl C ratio (A/O-A) in litter and fine root samples, soil microbial C and N, microbial C/N ratios, and the amount of PLFAs were significantly different among the four plantations of different species. SOC in the 0–10-cm layer had 43–49 % O-alkyl C, 24–34 % alkyl C, 14–17 % aromatic C, and 9–11 % carbonyl C in SOC. The microbial C/N ratio, the amount of total PLFAs, and bacterial and Gram-positive bacterial population sizes were linked to the proportion of alkyl C in SOC and the A/O-A ratio in soil. The proportion of alkyl C in SOC was not related to the proportion of alkyl C in litter or fine root samples.

Conclusions

The microbial community composition rather than plant litter or fine root quality was linked to chemical composition of SOC in the studied subtropical plantations. Future research should place more emphasis on the processes involved in the formation of SOC and their association with the microbial community.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Guangxi Youyiguan Forest Ecosystem Research Station for assisting with research permits and providing logistical support; Jia Xu, Pizheng Hong, Jian Hao, Haolong Yu, Da Luo, Yi Wang, Riming He, Hai Chen, Angang Ming, Zhongguo Li, Lu Zheng, and Chaoying Li for assistance with field work and laboratory analysis; and Jiangming Mo and Yunting Fang for reviewing drafts of this manuscript. Grants from the Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAFRIFEEP201104), the China National Natural Science Foundation (31100380, 31290223), the Ministry of Science and Technology (2012BAD22B01, 2015DFA31440), the Lecture and Study Program for Outstanding Scholars from Home and Abroad (CAFYBB2011007), and CFERN & GENE Award Funds on Ecological Paper supported this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, China’s State Forestry Administration, Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, No. 2 Dongxiaofu, Haidian District, Beijing, 100091, China

    Hui Wang, Shirong Liu, Zuomin Shi & Xueman Huang

  2. Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 442 Earth Sciences Building, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E3, Canada

    Scott X. Chang

  3. Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6215, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6125, USA

    Jingxin Wang

  4. Centre for Landscape Ecology and Sustainability Science, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing, 100875, China

    Yuan Wen

  5. Experimental Center of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Pingxiang, Guangxi, 532600, China

    Lihua Lu & Daoxiong Cai

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  1. Hui Wang
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  2. Shirong Liu
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Correspondence to Shirong Liu.

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Wang, H., Liu, S., Chang, S.X. et al. Soil microbial community composition rather than litter quality is linked with soil organic carbon chemical composition in plantations in subtropical China. J Soils Sediments 15, 1094–1103 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-015-1118-2

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