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Direct and indirect effects of elevated CO2 and nitrogen addition on soil microbial communities in the rhizosphere of Bothriochloa ischaemum

  • Soils, Sec 1 • Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Elevated CO2 and nitrogen (N) addition both affect soil microbial communities, which significantly influence soil processes and plant growth. Here, we evaluated the combined effects of elevated CO2 and N addition on the soil–microbe–plant system of the Chinese Loess Plateau.

Materials and methods

A pot cultivation experiment with two CO2 treatment levels (400 and 800 μmol mol−1) and three N addition levels (0, 2.5, and 5 g N m−2 year−1) was conducted in climate-controlled chambers to evaluate the effects of elevated CO2 and N addition on microbial community structure in the rhizosphere of Bothriochloa ischaemum using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles and associated soil and plant properties. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to identify the direct and indirect effects of the experimental treatments on the structure of microbial communities.

Results and discussion

Elevated CO2 and N addition both increased total and fungal PLFAs. N addition alone increased bacterial, Gram-positive, and Gram-negative PLFAs. However, elevated CO2 interacting with N addition had no significant effects on the microbial community. The SEM indicated that N addition directly affected the soil microbial community structure. Elevated CO2 and N addition both indirectly affected the microbial communities by affecting plant and soil variables. N addition exerted a stronger total effect than elevated CO2.

Conclusions

The results highlighted the importance of comprehensively studying soil–microbe–plant systems to deeply reveal how characteristics of terrestrial ecosystems may respond under global change.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Prof. Simon Queenborough at the Yale University for his assistance with English language editing of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41701603), Program for Science & Technology Innovation Research Team of Shaanxi Province (2018TD-037), and Western Young Scholars Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XAB2015A05).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, 710048, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Lie Xiao & Peng Li

  2. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Guobin Liu & Sha Xue

  3. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Guobin Liu & Sha Xue

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  1. Lie Xiao
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  2. Guobin Liu
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  4. Sha Xue
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Correspondence to Sha Xue.

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Responsible editor: Yongfu Li

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Xiao, L., Liu, G., Li, P. et al. Direct and indirect effects of elevated CO2 and nitrogen addition on soil microbial communities in the rhizosphere of Bothriochloa ischaemum. J Soils Sediments 19, 3679–3687 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-019-02336-0

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