Microbial communities in forest floors under four tree species in coastal British Columbia

Abstract

We compare forest floor microbial communities in pure plots of four tree species ( Thuja plicata, Tsuga heterophylla, Pseudotsuga menziesii, and Picea sitchensis) replicated at three sites on Vancouver Island. Microbial communities were characterised through community level physiological profiles (CLPP), and profiling of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA). Microbial communities from cedar forest floors had higher potential C utilisation than the other species. The F layer of the forest floor under cedar contained significantly higher bacterial biomass (PLFA) than the F layer under the other three tree species. There were differences in microbial communities among the three sites: Upper Klanawa had the highest bacterial biomass and potential C utilisation; this site also had the highest N availability in the forest floors. Forest floor H layers under hemlock and Douglas-fir contained greater biomass of Gram positive, Gram negative bacteria and actinomycetes than F layers based on PLFA, and H layers under spruce contained greater biomass of Gram negative bacteria than F layers. There were no significant differences in bacterial biomass between forest floor layers under cedar. Fungal biomass displayed opposite trends to bacteria and actinomycetes, being lowest in cedar forest floors, and highest in the F layer and at the site with lowest N availability. There were also differences in community composition among species and sites, with cedar forest floors having a much lower fungal:bacterial ratio than spruce, hemlock and Douglas-fir. The least fertile Sarita Lake site had a much greater fungal:bacterial ratio than the more fertile San Juan and Upper Klanawa sites. Forest floor layer had the greatest effect on microbial community structure and potential function, followed by site, and tree species. The similarity in trends among measures of N availability and microbial communities is further evidence that these techniques provide information on microbial communities that is relevant to N cycling processes in the forest floor.