Effects of Elevation and Distance from Highway on the Abundance and Community Structure of Bacteria in Soil along Qinghai-Tibet Highway

Zhuocheng Liu, Yangang Yang, Shuangxuan Ji, Di Dong, Yinruizhi Li, Mengdi Wang, Liebao Han and Xueping Chen
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Zhuocheng Liu: School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Yangang Yang: Environmental Protection and Soil and Water Conservation Research Center, China Academy of Transportation Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
Shuangxuan Ji: School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Di Dong: School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Yinruizhi Li: School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Mengdi Wang: School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Liebao Han: School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Xueping Chen: Environmental Protection and Soil and Water Conservation Research Center, China Academy of Transportation Sciences, Beijing 100029, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-30

Abstract: In recent years, highway construction in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has developed rapidly. When the highway passes through grassland, the soil, vegetation, and ecological environment along the line are disturbed. However, the impact on soil bacteria is still unclear. Soil bacteria play an important role in the ecological environment. The Qinghai-Tibet Highway (QTH) was selected as the research object to explore the changes in bacterial community structure, vegetation, soil, and other indicators. The results showed that the highway-related activities increased the degradation of vegetation along the road, significantly changed the physical and chemical properties of soil, and caused heavy metal pollution. These environmental factors affected the diversity and community structure of soil bacteria. This kind of disturbance shows a trend of gradually increasing from near to far from the highway. Gemmatimonas , Terrimonas , Nitrospira and Bacillus are more tolerant to environmental changes along the highway, while Barnesiella , and Blastococcus are more sensitive. The content of nitrate decreased and the content of ammonium nitrogen increased in the disturbed area, increasing the abundance of nitrifying bacteria. Therefore, the main factor of the disturbance of the QTH on the grassland is the decline of soil nutrient content, and the supplement of soil nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen should be taken into account in the process of ecological restoration of grassland along the line.

Keywords: Qinghai-Tibet Plateau; plant community structure; bacterial community structure; heavy metals; Tibet Highway (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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