Changes in Microbial Composition During the Succession of Biological Soil Crusts in Alpine Hulun Buir Sandy Land, China

Microb Ecol. 2024 Feb 16;87(1):43. doi: 10.1007/s00248-024-02359-2.ABSTRACTBiological soil crusts (biocrusts) are considered "desert ecosystem engineers" because they play a vital role in the restoration and stability maintenance of deserts, including those cold sandy land ecosystems at high latitudes, which are especially understudied. Microorganisms participate in the formation and succession of biocrusts, contributing to soil properties' improvement and the stability of soil aggregates, and thus vegetation development. Accordingly, understanding the composition and successional characteristics of microorganisms is a prerequisite for analyzing the ecological functions of biocrusts and related applications. Here, the Hulun Buir Sandy Land region in northeastern China-lying at the highest latitude of any sandy land in the country-was selected for study. Through a field investigation and next-generation sequencing (Illumina MiSeq PE300 Platform), our goal was to assess the shifts in diversity and community composition of soil bacteria and fungi across different stages during the succession of biocrusts in this region, and to uncover the main factors involved in shaping their soil microbial community. The results revealed that the nutrient enrichment capacity of biocrusts for available nitrogen, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total content of water-soluble salt, available potassium, soil organic matter, and available phosphorus was progressively enhanced by the succession of...
Source: Microbial Ecology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Source Type: research