Soil microbial communities and the associated effect on soil organic carbon in response to plateau pika bioturbation in alpine grasslands

作者：Yu Qin, Xinyu Liu, Bo Huang, Hongyan Yu, Shuhua Yi · 发表于：Global Ecology and Conservation · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02561 · 被引用次数：25 · 研究领域：Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies、Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics

Alpine grasslands are vital in regulating carbon balance on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) because of the large soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, while persistent disturbance from the endemic small semifossorial herbivore, plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae, hereafter pika), may break this balance. Pika affect the soil microclimate by creating a heterogeneous underlying surface, which is expected to alter soil microbial communities and eventually SOC stocks. However, our knowledge regarding the potential influence mechanism is still limited. Here, we investigated vegetation biomass, soil properties and soil microbes among 4 different surfaces (i.e., original vegetation, new pika pile, old pika pile and bare patch) of typical alpine grasslands to reveal soil microbial communities and the associated effect on SOC in response to pika bioturbation. Our results showed that pika bioturbation increased both bacterial and fungal diversity and their phyla abundance for SOC decomposition. Vegetation biomass, electrical conductivity and NH4+-N accounted for the variation in both bacterial and fungal community compositions and diversity. SOC stocks were 15-30% lower in pika piles and bare patches than in the original vegetation, which was mainly attributed to the reduced soil organic matter input from vegetation and the enhanced SOC consumption by soil microbial communities. Overall, we conclude that pika bioturbation altered the diversity and composition of soil microbial communities, ...