Ecophysiology and Diversity of Soil Microbial Communities in Terrestrial Ecosystems

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Soil".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 September 2022) | Viewed by 4848

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Interests: microscopy; soil science; soil ecology

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Guest Editor
Department of Soil Science of Temperate Ecosystems, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Interests: ecology; climate change; environmental science; soil fertility

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Guest Editor
Department of Soil Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Interests: soil science; biogeochemistry; nutrient cycling; soil ecology

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Guest Editor
Federal State Institution; Federal Research Centre Fundamentals of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Interests: microorganisms survival and stabilization; anabiotic forms; buried and arctic soils

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil is considered from modern positions as the main natural bank of microorganisms with properties necessary for humans. The phenomenon of uncultivated microorganisms suggests that the true diversity of the soil biota significantly exceeds the currently existing estimates. The elucidation of the properties of soils that contribute to the formation and preservation of biodiversity, obtaining cultures of microorganisms with biotechnological potential (the ability of nitrogen fixation, hydrolytic activity of natural polymers and xenobiotics, synthesis of secondary metabolites, antagonist substances) is the most important scientific problem of modern biology and soil science. Soils and soil-related substrates are an inexhaustible source of strains with useful properties for biotechnology; a source for the discovery and description of many unknown life forms. For the conservation of biodiversity, the protective function of the soil is of great importance—the conservation of a viable state of various surviving stages of organisms. An important problem facing soil microbiologists is the study and preservation of the uncultivated part of the microbial community of extreme and anthropogenically undisturbed (territory of nature reserves, forest areas and sanctuaries) soil habitats. The problem is of both practical (identification of BAS producers) and theoretical interest (study of new previously unexplored taxa).

The scope of the Special Issue is the assessment of the phylogenetic and functional features of soil microbial communities under forests, and the survival of prokaryotic and fungal microbial soil components under the influence of anthropogenic (hydrocarbons, heavy metals, polymers) and abiogenic (temperature, humidity, salinity, pH) factors.

Prof. Dr. Natalia Manucharova
Dr. Evgenia Blagodatskaya
Dr. Lev Pozdnyakov
Dr. Elena V. Demkina
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • microbiology
  • soil science
  • ecology
  • metagenomics
  • molecular biology
  • terrestrial ecosystems
  • soils under forest
  • ecophysiology of microbes

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2757 KiB  
Article
Functional Diversity of Soil Microorganisms and Influencing Factors in Three Typical Water-Conservation Forests in Danjiangkou Reservoir Area
by Zengwang Yao, Xudong Zhang, Xu Wang, Qi Shu, Xinmiao Liu, Hailong Wu and Shenghua Gao
Forests 2023, 14(1), 67; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f14010067 - 29 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1212
Abstract
As a key part of the forest ecosystem, soil microorganisms play extremely important roles in maintaining the ecological environment and the security of water quality in reservoir areas. However, it is not clear whether there are differences in the functional diversity of soil [...] Read more.
As a key part of the forest ecosystem, soil microorganisms play extremely important roles in maintaining the ecological environment and the security of water quality in reservoir areas. However, it is not clear whether there are differences in the functional diversity of soil microorganisms in different types of water-conservation forests in reservoir areas, and which factors affect the functional diversity of soil microorganisms. In our study, the Biolog-Eco microplate technique was used to analyze the carbon source metabolic characteristics of soil microbial communities in three typical water-conservation forests and a non-forest land: Pinus massoniana-Quercus variabilis mixed forest (MF), Pinus massoniana forest (PF), Quercus variabilis forest (QF) and non-forest land (CK). The results showed that the average well color development (AWCD), the Shannon diversity index (SDI) and the richness index (S) of the three forest lands was significantly greater than that of the non-forest land (p < 0.05). The mean values of AWCD, SDI and S of the three forests had the same order (QF > PF > MF), but there was no significant difference among different types of forests. The microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) of QF and PF were higher than those of MF and CK, but the microbial biomass C/N ratio (MBC/MBN) was lower. The variance partitioning analysis (VPA) showed that 86.4% of the variation was explained by plant (community) diversity, soil physical and chemical properties and soil microbial biomass, which independently explained 10.0%, 28.9%, and 14.9% of the variation, respectively. The redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that total phosphorus (TP), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), total nitrogen (TN), number of plant species (Num) and alkali-hydro nitrogen (Wn) were the key factors affecting the functional diversity of soil microorganisms. This study confirmed that forest ecosystem is better than non-forest land in maintaining soil microbial function diversity. Moreover, Quercus variabilis forest may be a better stand type in maintaining the diversity of soil microbial functions in the study area. Full article
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19 pages, 5750 KiB  
Article
The Prokaryotic Complex of Modern and Buried Soils on the Kamchatka Peninsula
by Natalia A. Manucharova, Timur D. Karimov, Maria M. Pevzner, Roman I. Nechushkin, Lev A. Pozdnyakov, Pavel Y. Stepanov and Alexey L. Stepanov
Forests 2022, 13(7), 1066; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f13071066 - 06 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1474
Abstract
A prokaryotic heterotrophic mesophilic community was studied in volcanic soil samples from Kamchatka. A phylogenetic and physiological characterization of the prokaryotic complex of modern and buried soils of the Kamchatka Peninsula is given. Volcanic Paleolithic soils (2500 and 11,300 years old) and their [...] Read more.
A prokaryotic heterotrophic mesophilic community was studied in volcanic soil samples from Kamchatka. A phylogenetic and physiological characterization of the prokaryotic complex of modern and buried soils of the Kamchatka Peninsula is given. Volcanic Paleolithic soils (2500 and 11,300 years old) and their modern equivalents were investigated. It was found that the biomass of metabolically active prokaryotes in modern volcanic and Paleolithic soils reached 50 and 40 µg/g, respectively. The proportion of archaea in the metabolically active prokaryotic complex varied from 20% to 30% and increased in variants with the application of the nitrogen-containing biopolymer chitin. The application of the additional resource to paleovolcanic soils led to an incremental increase in the proportion of metabolically active prokaryotes, which reached 50% of the total prokaryotic biomass detected, indicating the high metabolic potential of the considered soils. Phylogenetic structure characteristics of the prokaryotic metabolically active component of modern and buried volcanic soil were established by molecular biology methods (metagenomic analysis, FISH method). The phylum Proteobacteria (74%), Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria (14% combined) were dominant in modern soils; phylum Acidobacteria (51.8%) was dominant in paleosoils, whereas Chloroflexi (21%) and Proteobacteria (9%) were subdominant. It was determined that the potential activity of the microbial hydrolytic community, as measured by the relative response to the added resource (chitin), was found to increase in a series from modern to paleovolcanic soil. It was demonstrated that several key genes of the nitrogen cycle responsible for the processes of molecular nitrogen fixation, nitrification, and denitrification (nifH, amoA, nirK) were present in both modern and buried horizons. Full article
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14 pages, 2029 KiB  
Article
Changes in the Microbiological Properties of Soils along the Gradient of the Altitude Zone of Mount Kivaka in Eastern Fennoscandia, Russia
by Maria V. Medvedeva and Olga N. Bakhmet
Forests 2022, 13(6), 849; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f13060849 - 29 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1503
Abstract
This study was conducted on the territory of the national park Paanayarvi, located in the taiga zone of the European north. The altitude zone common in the territory of the national park is up to 350 m above sea level. The purpose of [...] Read more.
This study was conducted on the territory of the national park Paanayarvi, located in the taiga zone of the European north. The altitude zone common in the territory of the national park is up to 350 m above sea level. The purpose of this work is to study the microbiological and biochemical properties of soils formed under conditions of a gradient of altitude zonation. This work was performed for the first time in this territory. Based on the fatty acid composition of the cell walls of microorganisms, the composition and structure of the microbial community were determined by chemato-mass spectrometry. The dominant microbocenosis of soils of undisturbed territories was revealed. Changes in prokaryotes and microscopic fungi in the gradient of the altitude zone occur in different directions, which is consistent with the work of other researchers. The results suggest that the formation of microbocenosis of soils located in different conditions of the phytocenotic environment depends on the location of the site relative to the height. The latter determines the flow of solar energy into the ecosystem and the hydrothermal regime of soils. The data obtained can be used in monitoring global climate changes, will become the basis for the formation of a general conceptual basis for the functioning of microbial communities of soils of low-mountain landscapes. Full article
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