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Soil pH Determines Microbial Diversity and Composition in the Park Grass Experiment

  • Soil Microbiology
  • Published:
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Abstract

The Park Grass experiment (PGE) in the UK has been ongoing since 1856. Its purpose is to study the response of biological communities to the long-term treatments and associated changes in soil parameters, particularly soil pH. In this study, soil samples were collected across pH gradient (pH 3.6–7) and a range of fertilizers (nitrogen as ammonium sulfate, nitrogen as sodium nitrate, phosphorous) to evaluate the effects nutrients have on soil parameters and microbial community structure. Illumina 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) amplicon sequencing was used to determine the relative abundances and diversity of bacterial and archaeal taxa. Relationships between treatments, measured soil parameters, and microbial communities were evaluated. Clostridium, Bacteroides, Bradyrhizobium, Mycobacterium, Ruminococcus, Paenibacillus, and Rhodoplanes were the most abundant genera found at the PGE. The main soil parameter that determined microbial composition, diversity, and biomass in the PGE soil was pH. The most probable mechanism of the pH impact on microbial community may include mediation of nutrient availability in the soil. Addition of nitrogen to the PGE plots as ammonium sulfate decreases soil pH through increased nitrification, which causes buildup of soil carbon, and hence increases C/N ratio. Plant species richness and plant productivity did not reveal significant relationships with microbial diversity; however, plant species richness was positively correlated with soil microbial biomass. Plants responded to the nitrogen treatments with an increase in productivity and a decrease in the species richness.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (grant number MCB-0454030); and the US Department of Agriculture (grant numbers 2005-35319-16300, 00067345). Rothamsted Research receives strategic funding from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council for research and support for the Long-Term Experiments National Capability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, 1052 Museum Road, 32611-0700, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Kateryna Zhalnina, Raquel Dias, Patricia Dörr de Quadros, Austin Davis-Richardson & Eric W. Triplett

  2. Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Patricia Dörr de Quadros & Flavio A. O. Camargo

  3. Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, UK

    Ian M. Clark, Steve P. McGrath & Penny R. Hirsch

Authors
  1. Kateryna Zhalnina
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  2. Raquel Dias
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  3. Patricia Dörr de Quadros
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  4. Austin Davis-Richardson
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  5. Flavio A. O. Camargo
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  6. Ian M. Clark
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  9. Eric W. Triplett
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Correspondence to Eric W. Triplett.

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Zhalnina, K., Dias, R., de Quadros, P.D. et al. Soil pH Determines Microbial Diversity and Composition in the Park Grass Experiment. Microb Ecol 69, 395–406 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-014-0530-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-014-0530-2

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