Variations in the physicochemical properties of soil, enzyme activities, and the characteristics of bacterial communities within algal biocrusts and subsoils across different plant communities
Algal biological soil crusts (ABSCs) as ecological engineers inhabiting the soil-atmosphere boundary in dryland. Bacteria living at this boundary drive the diversity of ecosystem functions and services. However, it is still unknown whether differences in vegetation communities drive differences in s...
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Elsevier
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425000563 |
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| author | Haonian Li Zhongju Meng Xiaomen Ren Yanlong Han |
| author_facet | Haonian Li Zhongju Meng Xiaomen Ren Yanlong Han |
| author_sort | Haonian Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Algal biological soil crusts (ABSCs) as ecological engineers inhabiting the soil-atmosphere boundary in dryland. Bacteria living at this boundary drive the diversity of ecosystem functions and services. However, it is still unknown whether differences in vegetation communities drive differences in soil bacterial communities, soil physicochemical properties, and enzyme activities in ABSCs and subsoils. Soil samples were collected from sites with and without algal crusts in the vicinity of shrub canopies within two representative plant communities (i.e., Salix psammophila and Hedysarum scoparium), in the Hobq Desert, as well as from mobile sandy lands. We collected soil from the 0–2 cm (including the crust layer), 2–5 cm, and 5–10 cm soil layers, and measured and analyzed the soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activity and soil bacterial community characteristics. Our results showed that there were significant differences in soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activities, and bacterial community diversity in the 0–2 cm soil layer among ABSCs plots with different plant communities. Compared with mobile sandy land, the ABSCs in different vegetation communities significantly increased soil nutrient levels, enzyme activities, and diversity of soil bacterial communities. It is noteworthy that ABSCs exerted a beneficial influence on the soil quality of the 0–2 cm layer, yet simultaneously reduced the relative abundance and diversity index of the soil bacterial community, in comparison to plots devoid of ABSCs within the same plant community. In addition, the ABSCs differed in the network topological characteristics of soil bacterial communities in different plant communities. Specifically, the ABSCs positively promote relationships between soil bacterial genera yet reduce the complexity of bacterial communities. Among them, the ABSCs in the community of H. scoparium are not conducive to forming bacterial network modularity (Modularity= 0.336 < 0.4). Our results highlight that the ABSCs in different plant communities have an impact on the variation in soil bacterial community structure factors. These insights are pivotal for understanding the impacts of plant community-driven ABSCs on soil bacterial communities, particularly in the context of global climate change and persistent drought conditions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6cd0c8d03a594ad99b8aa42d593b6087 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj-art-6cd0c8d03a594ad99b8aa42d593b60872025-02-07T04:47:43ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942025-04-0158e03455Variations in the physicochemical properties of soil, enzyme activities, and the characteristics of bacterial communities within algal biocrusts and subsoils across different plant communitiesHaonian Li0Zhongju Meng1Xiaomen Ren2Yanlong Han3College of Desert Control Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, ChinaCollege of Desert Control Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China; Corresponding author.Inner Mongolia Institute of Meteorological Sciences, Hohhot, ChinaCollege of Desert Control Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China; National Desert Ecosystem Positioning Observation and Research Station in Hangjin, Inner Mongolia, ChinaAlgal biological soil crusts (ABSCs) as ecological engineers inhabiting the soil-atmosphere boundary in dryland. Bacteria living at this boundary drive the diversity of ecosystem functions and services. However, it is still unknown whether differences in vegetation communities drive differences in soil bacterial communities, soil physicochemical properties, and enzyme activities in ABSCs and subsoils. Soil samples were collected from sites with and without algal crusts in the vicinity of shrub canopies within two representative plant communities (i.e., Salix psammophila and Hedysarum scoparium), in the Hobq Desert, as well as from mobile sandy lands. We collected soil from the 0–2 cm (including the crust layer), 2–5 cm, and 5–10 cm soil layers, and measured and analyzed the soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activity and soil bacterial community characteristics. Our results showed that there were significant differences in soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activities, and bacterial community diversity in the 0–2 cm soil layer among ABSCs plots with different plant communities. Compared with mobile sandy land, the ABSCs in different vegetation communities significantly increased soil nutrient levels, enzyme activities, and diversity of soil bacterial communities. It is noteworthy that ABSCs exerted a beneficial influence on the soil quality of the 0–2 cm layer, yet simultaneously reduced the relative abundance and diversity index of the soil bacterial community, in comparison to plots devoid of ABSCs within the same plant community. In addition, the ABSCs differed in the network topological characteristics of soil bacterial communities in different plant communities. Specifically, the ABSCs positively promote relationships between soil bacterial genera yet reduce the complexity of bacterial communities. Among them, the ABSCs in the community of H. scoparium are not conducive to forming bacterial network modularity (Modularity= 0.336 < 0.4). Our results highlight that the ABSCs in different plant communities have an impact on the variation in soil bacterial community structure factors. These insights are pivotal for understanding the impacts of plant community-driven ABSCs on soil bacterial communities, particularly in the context of global climate change and persistent drought conditions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425000563Algae biological soil crusts (ABSCs)Different plant communitiesSoil bacterial diversity and community compositionCooccurrence networkDesert |
| spellingShingle | Haonian Li Zhongju Meng Xiaomen Ren Yanlong Han Variations in the physicochemical properties of soil, enzyme activities, and the characteristics of bacterial communities within algal biocrusts and subsoils across different plant communities Global Ecology and Conservation Algae biological soil crusts (ABSCs) Different plant communities Soil bacterial diversity and community composition Cooccurrence network Desert |
| title | Variations in the physicochemical properties of soil, enzyme activities, and the characteristics of bacterial communities within algal biocrusts and subsoils across different plant communities |
| title_full | Variations in the physicochemical properties of soil, enzyme activities, and the characteristics of bacterial communities within algal biocrusts and subsoils across different plant communities |
| title_fullStr | Variations in the physicochemical properties of soil, enzyme activities, and the characteristics of bacterial communities within algal biocrusts and subsoils across different plant communities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Variations in the physicochemical properties of soil, enzyme activities, and the characteristics of bacterial communities within algal biocrusts and subsoils across different plant communities |
| title_short | Variations in the physicochemical properties of soil, enzyme activities, and the characteristics of bacterial communities within algal biocrusts and subsoils across different plant communities |
| title_sort | variations in the physicochemical properties of soil enzyme activities and the characteristics of bacterial communities within algal biocrusts and subsoils across different plant communities |
| topic | Algae biological soil crusts (ABSCs) Different plant communities Soil bacterial diversity and community composition Cooccurrence network Desert |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425000563 |
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