Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Relationship between plant species diversity and soil microbial functional diversity along a longitudinal gradient in temperate grasslands of Hulunbeir, Inner Mongolia, China

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Ecological Research

Abstract

Numerous experiments have been established to examine the effect of plant diversity on the soil microbial community. However, the relationship between plant diversity and microbial functional diversity along broad spatial gradients at a large scale is still unexplored. In this paper, we examined the relationship of plant species diversity with soil microbial biomass C, microbial catabolic activity, catabolic diversity and catabolic richness along a longitudinal gradient in temperate grasslands of Hulunbeir, Inner Mongolia, China. Preliminary detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) indicated that plant composition showed a significant separation along the axis 1, and axis 1 explained the main portion of variability in the data set. Moreover, DCA-axis 1 was significantly correlated with soil microbial biomass C (r = 0.735, P = 0.001), microbial catabolic activity (average well color development; r = 0.775, P < 0.001) and microbial functional diversity (catabolic diversity: r = 0.791, P < 0.001 and catabolic richness: r = 0.812, P < 0.001), which suggested thatsome relationship existed between plant composition and the soil microbial community along the spatial gradient at a large scale. Soil microbial biomass C, microbial catabolic activity, catabolic diversity and catabolic richness showed a significant, linear increase with greater plant species richness. However, many responses that we observed could be explained by greater aboveground plant biomass associated with higher levels of plant diversity, which suggested that plant diversity impacted the soil microbial community mainly through increases in plant production.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bai YF (1999) The influence of seasonal distribution of precipitation on primary productivity of Stipa krylovii community. Acta Phytoecol Sin 23:155–160 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bai YF, Li LH, Wang QB, Zhang LX, Zhang Y, Chen ZZ (2000) Changes in plant species diversity and productivity along gradients of precipitation and elevation in the Xilin river basin, Inner Mongolia. Acta Phytoecol Sin 24:667–673 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bardgett RD, Shine A (1999) Linkages between plant litter diversity, soil microbial biomass and ecosystem function in temperate grassland. Soil Biol Biochem 31:317–321

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Begon M, Harper JL, Townsend CR (1990) Ecology-individuals, populations, communities. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Broughton LC, Gross KL (2000) Patterns of diversity in plant and soil microbial communities along a productivity gradient in a Michigan old field. Oecologia 125:420–427

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carney KM, Matson PA (2005) Plant communities, soil microorganisms, and soil carbon cycling: does altering the world belowground matter to ecosystem functioning? Ecosystems 8:928–940

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Faber JH, Joose ENG (1993) Vertical distribution of Collembola in a Pinus nigra organic soil. Pedobiologia 37:336–350

    Google Scholar 

  • Garland JL (1996) Analytical approaches to the characterization of samples of microbial communities using patterns of potential C source utilization. Soil Biol Biochem 28:213–221

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gastine A, Scherer-Lorenzen M, Leadley PW (2003) No consistent effects of plant diversity on root biomass, soil biota and soil abiotic conditions in temperate grassland communities. Appl Soil Ecol 24:101–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haack SK, Garchow H, Klug MJ, Forney LJ (1995) Analysis of factors affecting the accuracy, reproducibility, and interpretation of microbial community carbon source utilization patterns. Appl Environ Microbiol 61:1458–1468

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hector A, Schmid B, Beierkuhnlein C, Caldeira MC, Diemer M, Dimitrakopoulos PG, Finn JA, Freitas H, Giller PS, Good J, Harris R, Hogberg P, Huss-Danell K, Joshi J, Jumpponen A, Korner C, Leadley PW, Loreau M, Minns A, Mulder CPH, O’Donovan G, Otway SJ, Pereira JS, Prinz A, Read DJ, Scherer-Lorenzen M, Schulze ED, Siamantziouras ASD, Terry AC, Troumbis AY, Woodward FI, Yachi S, Lawton JH (1999) Plant diversity and productivity experiments in European grasslands. Science 286:1123–1127

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Heemsbergen DA, Berg MP, Loreau M, van Hal JR, Faber JA, Verhoef HA (2004) Biodiversity effects on soil processes explained by site-specific functional dissimilarity. Science 306:1019–1020

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holland EA, Coleman DC (1987) Litter placement effects on microbial and organic matter dynamics in an agro-ecosystem. Ecology 68:425–433

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooper DU, Bignell DE, Brown VK, Brussaard L, Dangerfield JM, Wall DH, Korthals GW, Smilauer P, van Dijk C, van der Putten WH (2001) Linking above- and below-ground biodiversity: abundance and trophic complexity in soil as a response to experimental plant communities on abandoned arable land. Funct Ecol 15:506–514

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kowalchuk GA, Buma DS, de Boer W, Klinkhamer PGL, van Veen JA (2002) Effects of aboveground plant species composition and diversity on the diversity of soil-borne microorganisms. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 81:509–520

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lu RK (1999) Analytical methods of soil agrochemistry. Chinese Agriculture Science and Technology Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Mariotte CA, Hudson G, Hamilton D, Neilson R, Boag B, Handley LL, Wishart J, Scrimgeour CM, Robinson D (1997) Spatial variability of soil total C and N and their stable isotopes in an upland Scottish grassland. Plant Soil 196:151–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marschner P, Crowley D, Yang CH (2004) Development of specific rhizosphere bacterial communities in relation to plant species, nutrition and soil type. Plant Soil 261:1199–1208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niklaus PA, Alphei J, Ebersberger D, Kampichler D, Kandeler E, Tscherko D (2003) Six years of in situ CO2 enrichment evokes changes in soil structure and soil biota of nutrient-poor grassland. Global Change Biol 9:585–600

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Donnell AG, Seasman M, Macrae A, Waite I, Davies JT (2001) Plants and fertilizers as drivers of change in microbial community structure and function in soils. Plant Soil 232:135–145

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Spehn EM, Joshi J, Schmid B, Alphei J, Körner C (2000a) Plant diversity effects on soil heterotrophic activity in experimental grassland ecosystems. Plant Soil 224:217–230

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Spehn EM, Joshi J, Schmid B, Diemer M, Körner C (2000b) Aboveground resource use increases with plant species richness in experimental grassland ecosystems. Funct Ecol 14:326–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Staddon WJ, Duchesne LC, Trevors JT (1998) Impact of clear cutting and prescribed burning on microbial diversity and community structure in Jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb) clear-cut using Biolog™ Gram-Negative microplates. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 14:119–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stephan A, Meyer AH, Schmid B (2000) Plant diversity affects culturable soil bacteria in experimental grassland communities. J Ecol 88:988–998

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Symstad AJ, Chapin III FS, Wall DH, Gross KL, Huenneke LF, Mittelbach GG, Peters DPC, Tilman D (2003) Long-term and large-scale perspectives on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Bioscience 53:89–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D, Knops J, Wedin D, Reich PB, Ritchie M, Siemann E (1997) The influence of functional diversity and composition on ecosystem processes. Science 277:1300–1302

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D, Reich PB, Knops J, Wedin D, Mielke T, Lehman C (2001) Diversity and productivity in a long-term grassland experiment. Science 294:843–845

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vance ED, Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS (1987) An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass C. Soil Biol Biochem 19:703–707

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wardle DA (2002) Communities and ecosystems: linking the aboveground and belowground components. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Wardle DA, Nicholson KS (1996) Synergistic effects of grassland plant species on soil microbial biomass and activity: implications for ecosystem-level effects of enriched plant diversity. Funct Ecol 10:410–416

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wardle DA, Bonner KI, Nicholson KS (1997) Biodiversity and plant litter: experimental evidence which does not support the view that enhanced species richness improves ecosystem function. Oikos 79:247–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wardle DA, Yeates GW, Nicholson KS, Bonner KI, Watson RN (1999) Response of soil microbial biomass dynamics, activity and plant litter decomposition to agricultural intensification over a seven-year period. Soil Biol Biochem 31:1707–1720

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wardle DA, Bonner KI, Barker GM (2002) Linkages between plant litter decomposition, litter quality, and vegetation responses to herbivores. Funct Ecol 16:585–595

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zak DR, Tilman D, Parmenter RR, Rice CW, Fisher FM, Vose J, Milchunas D, Martin CW (1994a) Plant production and soil-microorganisms in late-successional ecosystems—a continental-scale study. Ecology 75:2333–2347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zak JC, Willing MR, Moorhead DL, Wildman HG (1994b) Functional diversity of microbial communities: a quantitative approach. Soil Biol Biochem 26:1101–1108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zak DR, Holmes W, White DC, Peacock A, Tilman D (2003) Plant diversity, soil microbial communities, and ecosystem function: are there any link? Ecology 84:2042–2050

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Benjamin Knapp (US Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Clemson University) and Huifeng Hu (Clemson University) for their valuable suggestions for improving the manuscript. This project was supported by the Innovation Research Group supported by the National Sciences Foundation of China (no. 40621061) and the National Key Basic Research Development Foundation of China (no. 2002CB412503).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing, 100085, China

    Zhanfeng Liu, Guohua Liu, Bojie Fu & Xiaoxuan Zheng

Authors
  1. Zhanfeng Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Guohua Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bojie Fu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Xiaoxuan Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bojie Fu.

About this article

Cite this article

Liu, Z., Liu, G., Fu, B. et al. Relationship between plant species diversity and soil microbial functional diversity along a longitudinal gradient in temperate grasslands of Hulunbeir, Inner Mongolia, China. Ecol Res 23, 511–518 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-007-0405-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-007-0405-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation