Effects of land use change type on soil microbial attributes and their controls: Data synthesis

Abstract

Land use change (LUC) significantly affects climatic, edaphic conditions and soil microbial attributes in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the overall impacts of LUC type on soil microbial attributes remain limited. Here we synthesized data of soil microbial attributes under different types (i.e. type Ⅰ: conversions from other lands to cropland, with human disturbance land degradation; type Ⅱ: conversions from forestland to grassland, shrubland to grassland, and forestland to shrubland, with natural land degradation) of land use from 90 published studies to quantify the effects of LUC types on soil microbial attributes and their controls. Total phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs), fungi, bacteria and Actinobacteria (ACT) biomass were largely decreased under the type Ⅰ of LUC, whereas these attributes were generally increased under the type Ⅱ of LUC. The soil organic C (SOC), total N, and C:N ratio were the predominant controllers under the type Ⅰ, and the total N, phosphorus and C:N ratio were the main controllers under the type Ⅱ over soil microbial attributes. Additionally, the basal microbial respiration was decreased under the type Ⅰ due to lower SOC content, but the microbial metabolic quotient was increased under the type Ⅱ due to higher C:N ratio. Overall, our results revealed that the microbial attributes and their controls were highly dependent on the type of LUC, which could provide new insight for land use management under expanded LUC worldwide.