Abstract
A chronosequence approach, i.e., a comparison of spatially distinct plots with different stages of succession, is commonly used for studying microbial community dynamics during paedogenesis. The successional traits of prokaryotic communities following sand fixation processes have previously been characterized for arid and semi-arid regions, but they have not been considered for the tundra zone, where the environmental conditions are unfavourable for the establishment of complicated biocoenoses. In this research, we characterized the prokaryotic diversity and abundance of microbial genes found in a typical tundra and wooded tundra along a gradient of increasing vegetation—unfixed aeolian sand, semi-fixed surfaces with mosses and lichens, and mature soil under fully developed plant cover. Microbial communities from typical tundra and wooded tundra plots at three stages of sand fixation were compared using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene libraries. The abundances of ribosomal genes increased gradually in both chronosequences, and a similar trend was observed for the functional genes related to the nitrogen cycle (nifH, bacterial amoA, nirK and nirS). The relative abundance of Planctomycetes increased, while those of Thaumarchaeota, Cyanobacteria and Chloroflexi decreased from unfixed sands to mature soils. According to β-diversity analysis, prokaryotic communities of unfixed sands were more heterogeneous compared to those of mature soils. Despite the differences in the plant cover of the two mature soils, the structural compositions of the prokaryotic communities were shaped in the same way. Thus, sand fixation in the tundra zone increases archaeal, bacterial and fungal abundances, shifts and unifies prokaryotic communities structure.
Highlights
For the investigation of microbial succession during soil-forming processes, a chronosequence approach, i.e., a comparison of spatially distinct plots of different ages, is commonly used
Chemical properties of substrates on the studied plots. Both total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents increased in correspondence with the stage of soil formation
The gradual increase in ribosomal gene copy numbers was revealed in both chronosequences from the unfixed sand to the mature soil
Summary
For the investigation of microbial succession during soil-forming processes, a chronosequence approach, i.e., a comparison of spatially distinct plots of different ages, is commonly used. Microbiome shifts during soil formation in tundra study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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