Effects of Land Conversion on Soil Microbial Community Structure and Diversity in Songnen Plain, Northeast China
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Subject line is interesting and can be recommendable for publications after minor changes.
1) Typos and grammar must be rectify
2) Abstract is lack of major results.
3) Introduction section should be improved with recent relevant citations.
4) How authors have obtained the tables 1 and 2
5) Figures are blurry should be reconstruct.
6) Discussion is weak it should be with proper justification
7) Conclusion section with major contribution and future direction must be added.
Author Response
- Typos and grammar must be rectify
Reply：Article rechecked and typos and grammar corrected
- Abstract is lack of major results.
Reply：Modified as required
- Introduction section should be improved with recent relevant citations.
Reply：Recent related literature has been added to the Introduction section
- How authors have obtained the tables 1 and 2
Reply：Soil physicochemical parameters and microbial community taxa were compared using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test (p < 0.05) in SPSS 16.0 software. Tukey’s HSD was used to determine significant differences at p < 0.05.
- Figures are blurry should be reconstruct.
Reply：Figures has been partially reconstructed
- Discussion is weak it should be with proper justification
Reply：The discussion has been refined and relevant literature cited
- Conclusion section with major contribution and future direction must be added.
Reply：The summary has been rewritten, and future prospects and plans for the shortcomings of this experiment have been made
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear authors,
Your manuscript entitled " Effects of land conversion on soil microbial community structure and diversity songnen plain northeastern china " brings new data on difference of soil microbial community diversity and structure among three land use types in northeast China.
The study is well designed, and some details are presented. However, English should be improved to better understand some of the ideas presented through the text. Therefore, the manuscript is interesting for been published but before a minor revision should be taken into consideration.
Specific comments:
1) English should be improved, including modifying the title “Effects of land conversion on soil microbial community structure and diversity songnen plain northeastern china” to” Effects of land conversion on soil microbial community structure and diversity in Songnen Plain, Northeast China”.
lines 14-16: please, rephrase the sentence
lines 125-128: please, rephrase the sentence
Line225-128：The xx regions of the bacteria 16S rRNA gene were amplified with primers 338F(5'-ACTCCTACGGGAGGCAGCA-3')-806R(5'-GGACTACHVGGGTWTCTAAT-3') and the primers ITS1(5'-CTTGGTCATTTAGAGGAAGTAA-3')-ITS2(5'- GCTGCGTTCTTCATCATCGATGC-3') were used to amplify xx region of ITS gene.
Line164：“function” change to “function prediction”.
Line183：“micro”change to“microbial” .
2) One of land use types, arable land, should be named consistently in the text. However, in FIG. 6 it is referred to as “Plough”
3) Ace index is not listed in Table 2, please check it.
4) lines 30-32:There is only one sampling test in the full text. But “findings could contribute to understanding the differences in soil bacterial and fungal compositions and diversities between different land use types during seasonal changes”, why?
5) lines 327-329:Soil bacterial and fungal community diversity were not all differed significantly converting from the original grassland into forest and crop land.
6) It is suggested to add some details about the sample plot. For example, the difference in microbial diversity of different land use types may be caused by the use of agricultural fertilizer. Although the amount of fertilizer use is given in this paper, it can be supported by relevant literature. In addition, if it is caused by the increase of litter(Line 339), is there any corresponding data on the amount of litter in the sample plot? It is suggested to add corresponding data or corresponding literature.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
1) English should be improved, including modifying the title “Effects of land conversion on soil microbial community structure and diversity songnen plain northeastern china” to” Effects of land conversion on soil microbial community structure and diversity in Songnen Plain, Northeast China”.
lines 14-16: please, rephrase the sentence
lines 125-128: please, rephrase the sentence
Line225-128：The xx regions of the bacteria 16S rRNA gene were amplified with primers 338F(5'-ACTCCTACGGGAGGCAGCA-3')-806R(5'-GGACTACHVGGGTWTCTAAT-3') and the primers ITS1(5'-CTTGGTCATTTAGAGGAAGTAA-3')-ITS2(5'
GCTGCGTTCTTCATCATCGATGC-3') were used to amplify xx region of ITS gene.
Line164：“function” change to “function prediction”.
Line183：“micro”change to“microbial” .
Reply: Modified as required
2) One of land use types, arable land, should be named consistently in the text. However, in FIG. 6 it is referred to as “Plough”
Reply: All figures have been modified
3) Ace index is not listed in Table 2, please check it.
Reply: Table 2 have been modified
4) lines 30-32:There is only one sampling test in the full text. But “findings could contribute to understanding the differences in soil bacterial and fungal compositions and diversities between different land use types during seasonal changes”, why?
Reply:This sentence is not rigorous enough and has been deleted
5) lines 327-329:Soil bacterial and fungal community diversity were not all differed significantly converting from the original grassland into forest and crop land.
Reply: Modified as required
6) It is suggested to add some details about the sample plot. For example, the difference in microbial diversity of different land use types may be caused by the use of agricultural fertilizer. Although the amount of fertilizer use is given in this paper, it can be supported by relevant literature. In addition, if it is caused by the increase of litter(Line 339), is there any corresponding data on the amount of litter in the sample plot? It is suggested to add corresponding data or corresponding literature.
Reply: After the grassland is converted into arable land, farmers will carry out normal cultivation. There is no special set of chemical fertilizer application amount, and only the normal amount of chemical fertilizer used by farmers is counted.
No litter was collected in this experiment. From some relevant research articles and combined with the soil microbial experimental data, it is known that litter may have some effects on soil microorganisms. References[48, 49]
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Effects of land conversion on soil microbial community structure and diversity songnen plain northeastern china
In the manuscript, the authors evaluated the impact of the changes in land use on the soil microbial structure, the land use changes from grasslands to arable and forest areas induce changes in the more representative bacterial and fungal phyla, regardless of the Shannon index was similar in the three kinds of soil. Physicochemical parameters such as pH, moisture, and the P and N availability were highly correlated with the observed changes in the bacterial and fungal communities. Minor corrections must be addressed before accepting for publishing.
Comments:
Manuscript title:
The words “songnen” and “china” must be “Songnen” and “China” in the title.
Abstract:
Line 22, the acronym “ECM” must be defined before, or use “Ectomycorrhizal” instead.
Line 25, with respect to “Shannon diversity,” must be “Shannon”
Introduction:
Line 44, in the reference “Jangid et al.,” please add the reference number as follows “Jangid et al. [6]”, make the same in all similar in the manuscript.
Lines 69-70, in the study aims description, some information is missing for clearer understanding, says “We aim to (i) how the natural grassland transform into forest and arable land affects soil physico-chemical properties and microbial community structure and diversity;”
I suggest restructuring the information as follows “We aim to (a) determine how the natural grassland transformation into forest and arable land affects soil physico-chemical properties and microbial community structure and diversity;”
Materials and methods:
Line 83, the name “Stipa Baicalensis” must be “Stipa baicalensis”
Line 85, “The main crops are corn,” change to verb form to “The main crop is corn”
Line 122, I suggest changing the word “per” for “according to”
Line 163, in Statistical analyses and subsequently use “p” instead “P” to avoid confusion with respect to phosphorous
Results:
Line 183, the is an extra period “The same below, MCt…”
Conclusions:
In the conclusions, please add information concerning how the results of the study provide a new perspective for natural grassland conservation and development, the utility of these kinds of studies, and the perspectives.
Authors’ contributions:
Line 514, the name Beat Frey is duplicated.
Acknowledgments:
In line 526, the word “Authoe” must be “Author.”
Author Response
Manuscript title:
The words “songnen” and “china” must be “Songnen” and “China” in the title.
Reply: Modified as required
Abstract:
Line 22, the acronym “ECM” must be defined before, or use “Ectomycorrhizal” instead.
Line 25, with respect to “Shannon diversity,” must be “Shannon”
Reply: Modified as required
Introduction:
Line 44, in the reference “Jangid et al.,” please add the reference number as follows “Jangid et al. [6]”, make the same in all similar in the manuscript.
Lines 69-70, in the study aims description, some information is missing for clearer understanding, says “We aim to (i) how the natural grassland transform into forest and arable land affects soil physico-chemical properties and microbial community structure and diversity;”
I suggest restructuring the information as follows “We aim to (a) determine how the natural grassland transformation into forest and arable land affects soil physico-chemical properties and microbial community structure and diversity;”
Reply: Modified as required
Materials and methods:
Line 83, the name “Stipa Baicalensis” must be “Stipa baicalensis”
Line 85, “The main crops are corn,” change to verb form to “The main crop is corn”
Line 122, I suggest changing the word “per” for “according to”
Line 163, in Statistical analyses and subsequently use “p” instead “P” to avoid confusion with respect to phosphorous
Reply: Modified as required
Results:
Line 183, the is an extra period “The same below, MCt…”
Reply: Modified as required
Conclusions:
In the conclusions, please add information concerning how the results of the study provide a new perspective for natural grassland conservation and development, the utility of these kinds of studies, and the perspectives.
Reply：The summary has been rewritten, and future prospects and plans for the shortcomings of this experiment have been made
Authors’ contributions:
Line 514, the name Beat Frey is duplicated.
Reply: Modified as required
Acknowledgments:
In line 526, the word “Authoe” must be “Author.”
Reply: Modified as required
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
The authors revised the paper carefully. I personally think that the requirements for publication have been met.
