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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2025, Vol. 24 Issue (3): 827-844    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2024.07.018
Section 1: Dynamics of grassland ecosystems Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Land use shapes the microbial community structure by altering soil aggregates and dissolved organic matter components

Zongpeng Zhang1, Lijuan Hu1, Yating Liu1, Yixuan Guo3, Shiming Tang2#, Jie Ren1#

1 Collaborative Innovation Center for Grassland Ecological Security (jointly supported by the Ministry of Education of China and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region), School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
2 Hohhot Environmental Protection Investment Co., Ltd., Hohhot 010010, China
3 Key Laboratory of Model Innovation in Forage Production Efficiency, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Institute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot 010010, China
 Highlights 
●   Shrubland had the highest MWD and MAOC compared to grassland and farmland soils.
●   Grassland had low DOM aromaticity, and C accumulated mainly in small molecules.
●   Efficient decomposition of SOM in farmland caused loss of the active soil C pool. 
●   Dissolved organic carbon components dominated the contribution to microbial community composition.
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摘要  

农牧交错带典型的半干旱生态脆弱区土壤微生物在调节其多功能性方面发挥着关键作用。然而,不同土地利用方式下土壤结构和有机质组的变化是否以及如何影响微生物群落结构,目前仍不清楚。本文选择农牧交错带中的灌木林地(BF)、人工草地(ArG)、撂荒草地(AbG)和玉米农田(MA四种土地利用方式,探讨土壤微生物群落与土壤团聚体和溶解有机质(DOM)组之间的响应关系。结果表明,与MA相比,BFAbGArG中的大团聚体分别增加了123.0%92.79%63.71%,而MA土壤中小于100 μm的颗粒含量最高。BF土壤DOM中芳香族碳含量高、分子量大,因而矿物结合有机碳含量最高(12.61 g kg-1),而MA土壤有机碳由于脂肪族碳和羧基碳含量高,分解效率高,容易从活性碳池中流失。土地利用从灌木林向草地和农田的转变促进了稳定芳香碳向不稳定羧基碳的转化。进一步的分类分析表明,四种土地利用下的土壤细菌和真菌群落以变形菌、放线菌、绿菌和子囊菌为主BF土壤中,从门类到科类都富集了更多的分类群。DOM分和有机碳是影响土壤细菌群落组成的关键变量,共同解释了61.66%的方差,而团聚体是解释真菌群落组成的重要变量,解释20.49%。研究结果揭示了DOM组分和团聚体对土壤微生物结构有影响;农牧交错带土地利用方式从农向草地和灌木的过渡增强了团聚体的稳定性、固碳潜力和微生物多样性。



Abstract  


The agro-pastoral ecotone epitomizes the ecologically fragile semi-arid zone, where the soil microbiomes play a pivotal role in regulating its multifunctionality.  However, whether and how changes in soil structure and organic matter composition under different land uses affect microbial community structure remain unclear.  Here, land-use types in the agro-pastoral ecotone, including shrubland (BF), artificial grassland (ArG), abandoned grassland (AbG), and maize farmland (MA), were chosen to explore the response relationships between soil microbial communities and the aggregates and dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition.  The results showed that compared to MA, the macroaggregates in BF, AbG, and ArG were increased by 123.0, 92.79, and 63.71%, respectively, while MA soil had the greatest abundance of <100 μm particles.  The higher aromatic carbon with high aromaticity and molecular weight in BF soil DOM contributed to its highest mineral-associated organic carbon level (12.61 g kg–1), while MA soil organic carbon had highly efficient decomposition due to its high content of aliphatic and carboxy carbon, so it is prone to loss from the active carbon pools.  The transition in land use from shrubland to grassland and farmland has facilitated the conversion of stable aromatic carbon to unstable carboxy carbon.  The taxonomic analysis revealed that soil bacterial and fungal communities in the four land uses were dominated by Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, Chloroflexi, and Ascomycota.  More taxonomic groups from phylum to family were enriched in BF soil.  The DOM components and organic carbon are crucial variables shaping the composition of soil bacterial communities, jointly explaining 61.66% of the variance, while aggregates are important variables driving the composition of fungal communities, with an explanation rate of 20.49%.  Our results suggest that DOM components and aggregates impact the soil microbial structure; and the transition in land use from agricultural land to grassland and shrubland in the agro-pastoral ecotone enhances aggregate stability, carbon sequestration potential, and microbial diversity.


Keywords:  organic components       microbial community        aggregate stability        land-use type        agro-pastoral ecotone  
Received: 19 February 2024   Accepted: 10 June 2024
Fund: This study was funded by the Inner Mongolia Local Science and Technology Development Fund Projects, China (2021GG0393).  
About author:  Zongpeng Zhang, E-mail: Z2018300056@163.com; #Correspondence Jie Ren, Tel: +86-471-4991436, E-mail: renie@mail.bnu.edu.cn; Shiming Tang, E-mail: tangsm001@126.com

Cite this article: 

Zongpeng Zhang, Lijuan Hu, Yating Liu, Yixuan Guo, Shiming Tang, Jie Ren. 2025. Land use shapes the microbial community structure by altering soil aggregates and dissolved organic matter components. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 24(3): 827-844.

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