Grazing and nitrogen addition restructure the spatial heterogeneity of soil microbial community structure and enzymatic activities

作者：Chengliang Wang, Rui Zhang, Leena Vilonen, Yanan Qu, Xiao Fu, Baoku Shi, Haiying Cui, Weifeng Gao, Huiying Cai, Wei Sun · 发表于：Functional Ecology · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1111/1365-2435.13926 · 被引用次数：38 · 研究领域：Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics、Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology、Gut microbiota and health

Abstract In grassland ecosystems, large herbivorous animal grazing activity and increasing nitrogen deposition strongly alter microbial community structure and function. Understanding the effects of grazing and nitrogen addition on the spatial heterogeneity in soil microbial community structure, enzymatic activities and the underlying mechanisms are crucial for making better predictions of soil organic matter dynamics and nutrient cycling. We examined the spatial heterogeneity of soil microbial community structure and enzymatic activity associated with changes in soil microclimate, soil characteristics, plant biomass and soil nutrient responses to grazing and nitrogen addition using a manipulative experiment with control (CK), grazing (G), nitrogen addition (N) and grazing plus nitrogen addition (NG) treatments in a Leymus chinensis meadow steppe, in north‐eastern China. The results demonstrated that soil microbial community structure and enzymatic activities showed a high level of spatial dependence [C/(C + C0) ≥ 0.9] in the CK plot. G, N and NG treatments not only reduced the spatial variability of soil microbial community structure and enzymatic activities but also reshaped the spatial links between enzyme activities and microbial community structure. Litter biomass, soil temperature and soil nutrients (soil dissolved inorganic nitrogen or soil dissolved organic carbon) explained 21%–27% of the spatial variability of soil microbial community structure in the CK treatment a...