Plant Soil Environ., 2015, 61(10):438-443 | DOI: 10.17221/94/2015-PSE

Tree species composition influenced microbial diversity and nitrogen availability in rhizosphere soilOriginal Paper

D. Liu1,2,3, Y. Liu1,2, S. Fang1,2, Y. Tian1,2
1 Collaborative Innovation Center of Modern Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, P.R. China
2 College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, P.R. China
3 Nanjing Forest Police College, Nanjing, P.R. China

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate effects of monoculture and mixed planting of three tree species on microbial diversity and nitrogen (N) availability in rhizosphere and bulk soils. Six treatments with poplar, willow, and alder mono- or mixed seedlings were grown in the rhizoboxes and both rhizosphere and bulk soils were sampled and analysed after eight-month growth. Microbial diversity in rhizosphere soil was significantly higher than in bulk soils based on denatured gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting of 16S- or 18S-rRNA gene fragments of soil microbial community. Tree species composition significantly influenced microbial diversity index and nitrogen contents in the rhizosphere soil, with the highest values of genotypic richness, Shannon diversity index and inorganic nitrogen contents were observed in rhizosphere soils of poplar-alder mixture. Shannon diversity indices of bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere soils were positively and significantly correlated with nitrogen contents. Alder addition significantly improved genotypic richness, microbial diversity index and nitrogen availability in the rhizosphere soils, suggesting that adding N-fixing alder into poplar plantations is a good option in the practice.

Keywords: ecosystem; nutrient cycling; Populus; Salix; Alnus

Published: October 31, 2015  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Liu D, Liu Y, Fang S, Tian Y. Tree species composition influenced microbial diversity and nitrogen availability in rhizosphere soil. Plant Soil Environ. 2015;61(10):438-443. doi: 10.17221/94/2015-PSE.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Blumfield T.J., Xu Z.H., Prasolova N.V., Mathers N.J. (2006): Effect of overlying windrowed harvest residues on soil carbon and nitrogen in hoop pine plantations of subtropical Australia. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 6: 243-248. Go to original source...
    2. Bremner J.M., Mulvaney C.S. (1982): Nitrogen - Total. In: Page A.L., Miller R.H., Keeney D.R. (eds.): Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2, Chemical and Microbial Properties: Agronomy Society of America, Agronomy Monograph 9. Madison, 595-624. Go to original source...
    3. Cabrera M.L., Beare M.H. (1993): Alkaline persulfate oxidation for determining total nitrogen in microbial biomass extracts. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 57: 1007-1012. Go to original source...
    4. Chen C.R., Xu Z.H. (2008): Analysis and behavior of soluble organic nitrogen in forest soils. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 8: 363-378. Go to original source...
    5. Fang S.Z., Liu D., Tian Y., Deng S.P., Shang X.L. (2013): Tree species composition influences enzyme activities and microbial biomass in the rhizosphere: A rhizobox approach. PLoSOne, 8: e61461. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    6. Liang B., Yang X.Y., He X.H., Zhou J.B. (2011): Effects of 17-year fertilization on soil microbial biomass C and N and soluble organic C and N in loessial soil during maize growth. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 47: 121-128. Go to original source...
    7. Liu D., Fang S.Z., Tian Y., Dun X.J. (2012): Variation in rhizosphere soil microbial index of tree species on seasonal flooding land: An in situ rhizobox approach. Applied Soil Ecology, 59: 1-11. Go to original source...
    8. Liu D., Fang S.Z., Tian Y., Dun X. (2014): Seasonal and clonal variations of microbial biomass and processes in the rhizosphere of poplar plantations. Applied Soil Ecology, 78: 65-72. Ladygina N., Hedlund K. (2010): Plant species influence microbial diversity and carbon allocation in the rhizosphere. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 42: 162-168. Go to original source...
    9. Mao R., Zeng D.-H., Ai G.-Y., Yang D., Li L.-J., Liu Y.-X. (2010): Soil microbiological and chemical effects of a nitrogen-fixing shrub in poplar plantations in semi-arid region of Northeast China. European Journal of Soil Biology, 46: 325-329. Go to original source...
    10. Marzorati M., Wittebolle L., Boon N., Daffonchio D., Verstraete W. (2008): How to get more out of molecular fingerprints: Practical tools for microbial ecology. Environmental Microbiology, 10: 1571-1581. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    11. Muyzer G., Brinkhoff T., Nubel U., Santegoeds C., Schafer H., Wawer C. (1998): Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) in Microbial Ecology. Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1-27.
    12. Nguyen C. (2003): Rhizodeposition of organic C by plants: Mechanisms and controls. Agronomie, 23: 375-396. Go to original source...
    13. Schulten H.-R., Schnitzer M. (1998): The chemistry of soil organic nitrogen: A review. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 26: 1-15. Go to original source...
    14. Sinha S., Masto R.E., Ram L.C., Selvi V.A., Srivastava N.K., Tripathi R.C., George J. (2009): Rhizosphere soil microbial index of tree species in a coal mining ecosystem. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 41: 1824-1832. Go to original source...
    15. Solaiman Z., Marschner P. (2007): Advanced Techniques in Soil Microbiology: DGGE and RISA Protocols for Microbial Community Analysis in Soil. Berlin, Springer-Verlag.
    16. Stephan A., Meyer A.H., Schmid B. (2000): Plant diversity affects culturable soil bacteria in experimental grassland communities. Journal of Ecology, 88: 988-998. Go to original source...
    17. Ushio M., Kitayama K., Balser T.C. (2010): Tree species effects on soil enzyme activities through effects on soil physicochemical and microbial properties in a tropical montane forest on Mt. Kinabalu, Borneo. Pedobiologia, 53: 227-233. Go to original source...
    18. Wenzel W.W. (2009): Rhizosphere processes and management in plant-assisted bioremediation (phytoremediation) of soils. Plant and Soil, 321: 385-408. Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content