Response of Soil Microbial Communities to Warming and Clipping in Alpine Meadows in Northern Tibet

Haorui Zhang, Shaowei Li, Guangyu Zhang and Gang Fu
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Haorui Zhang: Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Shaowei Li: Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Guangyu Zhang: Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Gang Fu: Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 14, 1-16

Abstract: In order to explore responses of soil microbial communities among different alpine meadows under warming and clipping, soil microorganisms of three alpine meadow sites (low altitude: 4313 m, alpine steppe meadow, 30°30′ N, 91°04′ E; mid-altitude: 4513 m, alpine steppe meadow, 30°31′ N, 91°04′ E; and high altitude: 4693, alpine Kobresia meadow, 30°32′ N, 91°03′ E) were measured using the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) method. Both warming and clipping significantly reduced PLFA content and changed the community composition of soil microbial taxa, which belong to bacterial and fungal communities in the alpine Kobresia meadow. Warming significantly reduced the soil total PLFA content by 36.1% and the content of soil fungi by 37.0%; the clipping significantly reduced the soil total PLFA content by 57.4%, the content of soil fungi by 49.9%, and the content of soil bacteria by 60.5% in the alpine Kobresia meadow. Only clipping changed the total fungal community composition at a low altitude. Neither clipping nor warming changed the microbial community composition at a moderate altitude. Soil temperature, soil moisture, and pH were the main factors affecting soil microbial communities. Therefore, the effects of warming and clipping on soil microbial communities in alpine meadows were related to grassland types and soil environmental conditions.

Keywords: soil microbes; alpine meadow; warming; clipping; phospholipid fatty acid method (PLFA); community composition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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