Arid Zone Research ›› 2023, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (6): 905-915.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2023.06.06

• Land and Water Resources • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Soil bacterial networks in Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantations of the Hulunbuir Desert

ZHANG Songan1(),LIU Xuan1,ZHAO Peishan1,GAO Guanglei1,2,3(),ZHANG Ying1,3,DING Guodong1,2,3,LIU Ye1,REN Yue1   

  1. 1. School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Engineering Research Center of Forestry Ecological Engineering, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100083, China
    2. Yanchi Ecology Research Station of the Mu Us Desert, Yanchi 751500, Ningxia, China
    3. Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing 100083, China
  • Received:2022-09-21 Revised:2022-12-07 Online:2023-06-15 Published:2023-06-21

Abstract:

To elucidate soil bacterial network interactions within Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantations in the Hulunbuir Desert. P. sylvestris plantations representing three different age groups (25 a, 34 a, and 43 a) and two soil layers (0-10 and 10-20 cm) were selected to assess their soil bacterial networks using molecular ecological network analysis and data from a referenced grassland. The numbers of network edges increased, the average path length reduced from 25 a to 43 a. While the number of network edges reduced and the average path length increased with soil layers from 0-10 cm to 10-20 cm. Compared with the grassland, the P. sylvestris plantations had a lower network edge, and the soil bacterial network was less complicated. The soil bacteria were found to belong to the Acidimicrobiales, RB41, and MB-A2-108 in the 25 a plantation, Gaiellales in the 34 a plantation, and Gaiellales, RB41, Subgroup_7, Subgroup_6, and DA101_soil_group in the 43 a plantation, Latescibacteria in the grassland. The soil bacterial network was significantly positively correlated with ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen, microbial carbon content, and urease activities and significantly negatively correlated with invertase and catalase activities, soil water content and available phosphorus (P < 0.05). The soil organic matter had both positive and negative effects (P < 0.05). The soil bacterial network complexity and compactness increased from 25 a to 43 a. The opposite was found for the soil layers from 0-10 cm to 10-20 cm. Compared with the grassland, the soil bacterial network of the P. sylvestris plantation was less complicated. The keystone soil bacteria species were different among the three stand ages, and were greatest in stand 43 a. There were more keystone species in the plantation than the grassland. Soil physicochemical properties and enzymatic activity derived the soil bacterial network, and soil organic matter was the major influencing factor. This improved information contributed to a deep understanding of the soil bacterial community and provided a scientific and technological basis for the sustainable management of P. sylvestris plantations in the Hulunbuir Desert.

Key words: soil microbes, molecular ecological network, stand age, soil depth, Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica, the Hulunbuir Desert