Abstract
Sediment microorganisms help create and maintain mangrove ecosystems. Although the changes in vegetation during mangrove forest succession have been well studied, the changes in the sediment microbial community during mangrove succession are poorly understood. To investigate the changes in the sediment microbial community during succession of mangroves at Zhanjiang, South China, we used phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and the following chronosequence from primary to climax community: unvegetated shoal; Avicennia marina community; Aegiceras corniculatum community; and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza + Rhizophora stylosa community. The PLFA concentrations of all sediment microbial groups (total microorganisms, fungi, gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, and actinomycetes) increased significantly with each stage of mangrove succession. Microbial PLFA concentrations in the sediment were significantly lower in the wet season than in the dry season. Regression and ordination analyses indicated that the changes in the microbial community with mangrove succession were mainly associated with properties of the aboveground vegetation (mainly plant height) and the sediment (mainly sediment organic matter and total nitrogen). The changes in the sediment microbial community can probably be explained by increases in nutrients and microhabitat heterogeneity during mangrove succession.
Highlights
Mangrove ecosystems are coastal wetlands dominated by woody plants that are adapted to saline, coastal soils
The microbial community in different successional stages of mangroves. In both the wet and dry season, the abundances of all microbial groups and the ratios of fungi to bacteria and gram-positive bacteria to gram-negative bacteria increased with mangrove succession
Many reports have described the relationship between sediment physiochemical properties and the benthos community, few reports have considered the relationships between the characteristics of the mangrove plant community structure and the mangrove microbial community
Summary
Mangrove ecosystems are coastal wetlands dominated by woody plants that are adapted to saline, coastal soils These ecosystems occur throughout the tropics and subtropics and are characterized by azonal plant communities that are greatly affected by ocean tides[1,2]. As sediments accumulate[8], the habitat becomes more suitable for the following species that characterize the late successional stage: Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, K. candel, Rhizophora stylosa, and others. These species replace the previous communities and form a mixed, mature mangrove forest. Research on the community structure of soil microorganisms in different mangrove successional stages should provide valuable information for the conservation and sustainable use of mangroves in South China. Using samples collected in the wet and dry season from four sites representing a mangrove chronosequence, we attempt to answer the following questions: 1) How does the sediment microbial community change with mangrove succession? and 2) What are the main factors that determine the structure of the sediment microbial community during mangrove succession?
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