Restoration Efficacy of <i>Picea likiangensis</i> var. <i>rubescens</i> Rehder & E. H. Wilson Plantations on the Soil Microbial Community Structure and Function in a Subalpine Area

• Main Authors: Jixin Cao, Songlin Shi, Hong Pan, Zhan Chen, He Shang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
• Series: Microorganisms
• Subjects: community structure and function; soil microorganisms; subalpine area; reforestation; restoration ecology
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/6/1145

The knowledge concerning the relationship between vegetation restoration and soil microorganisms is limited, especially at high altitudes. In order to evaluate the restoration efficacy of the reforestation on the soil microbial community, we have examined vegetation composition, edaphic properties and structure and function of different soil microbial groups in two different aged (25- and 40-year-old) <i>Picea likiangensis</i> var. <i>rubescens</i> Rehder & E. H. Wilson (<i>P</i>. <i>rubescens</i>) plantations and the primeval coniferous forest (PCF) dominated by <i>Abies squamata</i> Masters by plot-level inventories and sampling in western Sichuan Province, China. Our results suggested that only the fungal samples in 25-year-old <i>P</i>. <i>rubescens</i> plantation could be distinguished from those in the PCF in both structure and function. The structure and function of the fungal community recovered relatively slowly compared with bacterial and archaeal communities. In addition to the soil chemical properties and tree species composition, the shrub composition was also a key factor influencing the soil microbial community. The <i>P. rubescens</i> plantations were conducive to restoring the soil microbial community in both structure and function. However, there were uncertainties in the variations of the bacterial and archaeal communities with increasing the <i>P</i>. <i>rubescens</i> plantation age.