Soil microbial community shifts explain habitat heterogeneity in two Haloxylon species from a nutrient perspective

作者：Chenhua Li, Yan Li, Lisong Tang, Makoto Ikenaga, Ran Liu, Gui‐Qing Xu · 发表于：Ecology and Evolution · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1002/ece3.9727 · 被引用次数：26 · 研究领域：Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics、Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology、Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions

Abstract Haloxylon ammodendron and Haloxylon persicum (as sister taxa) are dominant shrubs in the Gurbantunggut Desert. The former grows in inter‐dune lowlands while the latter in sand dunes. However, little information is available regarding the possible role of soil microorganisms in the habitat heterogeneity in the two Haloxylon species from a nutrient perspective. Rhizosphere is the interface of plant–microbe–soil interactions and fertile islands usually occur around the roots of desert shrubs. Given this, we applied quantitative real‐time PCR combined with MiSeq amplicon sequencing to compare their rhizosphere effects on microbial abundance and community structures at three soil depths (0–20, 20–40, and 40–60 cm). The rhizosphere effects on microbial activity (respiration) and soil properties had also been estimated. The rhizospheres of both shrubs exerted significant positive effects on microbial activity and abundance (e.g., eukarya, bacteria, and nitrogen‐fixing microbes). The rhizosphere effect of H. ammodendron on microbial activity and abundance of bacteria and nitrogen‐fixing microbes was greater than that of H. persicum . However, the fertile island effect of H. ammodendron was weaker than that of H. persicum . Moreover, there existed distinct differences in microbial community structure between the two rhizosphere soils. Soil available nitrogen, especially nitrate nitrogen, was shown to be a driver of microbial community differentiation among rhizosphere and non...