Abstract
Soil microbial communities play a key role in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, in particular through their interaction with above-ground plants and weathering of rocks. In this study, the chemical properties and microbial diversity of soils covered by different organisms on Leshan Giant Buddha body were analyzed. The results showed that the concentration of soil total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) increased significantly with the change of above-ground organisms from lichens to bryophytes and vascular plants. TOC, TN, TP, C:N, and C:P were significantly correlated with the composition of microbial community. Bacterial and fungal diversity responded differently to the change of organisms, and the diversity of bacterial communities changed significantly among different sites. The settlement of Embryogenic plants increased the α-diversity indices including Sobs, Shannon, Ace and Chao indices, which were highest in sites covered with Ferns. The relative abundances of Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, Nitrospirae and Planctomycetes increased with the order of Bryophyte, Fern, Grass and Shrub, and Cyanobacteria was opposite, with the highest in samples covered with lichens. These results improve understanding of plant–fungi–bacteria interactions during the early stages of soil development, and provide a scientific basis for protection of Leshan Giant Buddha.
Highlights
Soil microbial communities play a vital role in the maintenance and evolution of terrestrial ecosystems through interactions with plant communities and impact on nutrient cycling in particular [1,2,3]
Significant differences were detected in the pH, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) of the rock debris samples and soil samples colonised by a series of organisms on the surface of the Leshan Giant Buddha (Table 1)
The results showed that all samples were neutral, and naked rock (NR) and lichen covered sandstone (LR) had the lowest pH, whereas gramineous plant (GS) had the highest
Summary
Soil microbial communities play a vital role in the maintenance and evolution of terrestrial ecosystems through interactions with plant communities and impact on nutrient cycling in particular [1,2,3]. Soil microorganisms can alter the above-ground plant communities by enhancing the availability of nutrients [7,8,9], and impact plant predominance via symbiotic microorganisms [10,11]. Recent studies have investigated the interactions between composition of soil microbial community and above-ground plants during different ecological processes such as pedogenesis [12], afforestation [13], and secondary succession [14], but the results are varied. Plant biomass and flora richness greatly impact the soil microbial community diversity [19].
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