Characteristics of maize residue decomposition and succession in the bacterial community during decomposition in Northeast China

Microbes are decomposers of crop residues,and climatic factors and residue composition are known to influence microbial growth and community composition,which in turn regulate residue decomposition.However,the succession of the bacterial community during residue decomposition in Northeast China is not well understood.To clarify the property of bacterial community succession and the corresponding factors regulating this succession,bags containing maize residue were buried in soil in Northeast China in October,and then at different intervals over the next 2 years,samples were analyzed for residue mass and bacterial community composition.After residue burial in the soil,the cumulative residue mass loss rates were 18,69,and 77%after 5,12,and 24 months,respectively.The release of residue nitrogen,phosphorus,and carbon followed a similar pattern as mass loss,but 79%of residue potassium was released after only 1 month.The abundance,richness,and community diversity of bacteria in the residue increased rapidly and peaked after 9 or 20 months.Residue decomposition was mainly influenced by temperature and chemical composition in the early stage,and was influenced by chemical composition in the later stage.Phyla Actinobacteria,Bacteroidetes,and Firmicutes dominated the bacterial community composition in residue in the early stage,and the abundances of phyla Chloroflexi,Acidobacteria,and Saccharibacteria gradually increased in the later stage of decomposition.In conclusion,maize residue decomposition in soil was greatly influenced by temperature and residue composition in Northeast China,and the bacterial community shifted from dominance of copiotrophic populations in the early stage to an increase in oligotrophic populations in the later stage.

Phylogenetic and functional structures of succession in plant communities on mounds of Marmota himalayana in alpine regions on the northeast edge of the QinghaieTibet Plateau

Few studies have examined the succession of plant communities in the alpine zone.Studying the succession of plant communities is helpful to understand how species diversity is formed and maintained.In this study,we used species inventories,a molecular phylogeny,and trait data to detect patterns of phylogenetic and functional community structure in successional plant communities growing on the mounds of Himalayan marmots(Marmota himalayana)on the southeast edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.We found that phylogenetic and functional diversities of plant communities on marmot mounds tended to cluster during the early to medium stages of succession,then trended toward overdispersion from medium to late stages.Alpine species in early and late stages of succession were phylogenetically and functionally overdispersed,suggesting that such communities were assembled mainly through species interactions,especially competition.At the medium and late stages of succession,alpine communities growing on marmot mounds were phylogenetically and functionally clustered,implying that the communities were primarily structured by environmental filtering.During the medium and late stages of succession the phylogenetic and functional structures of plant communities on marmot mounds differed significantly from those on neighboring sites.Our results indicate that environmental filtering and species interactions can change plant community composition at different successional stages.Assembly of plant communities on marmot mounds was promoted by a combination of traits that may provide advantages for survival and adaptation during periods of environmental change.

Long-term nutrient variation trends and their potential impact on phytoplankton in the southern Yellow Sea,China

The concentration and composition of nutrients,such as N,P,and Si,respond to biogeochemical processes and in turn,impact the phytoplanktons'community structure and primary production.In this study,historical data was systematically analyzed to identify long-term variations in nutrient trends,red tide frequency,phytoplankton community abundance,and dominant species succession in the southern Yellow Sea(SYS).Results showed that N/P concentration ratios dramatically increased as a function of increasing dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations,and Si/N concentration ratios were generally larger than 1,indicating that N limitation morphed to P limitation and potentially to Si limitation,which impacted the phytoplankton community.Furthermore,inter-annual trends over the past 50 years show that phytoplankton community abundance has been higher in spring and summer,relative to autumn and winter.Moreover,with respect to red tide frequency,diatom abundance gradually decreased,while that of dinoflagellates gradually increased.Dominant species succession showed that the phytoplankton community exhibited an evident tendency to transform from diatoms to dinoflagellates.These research results clearly depict the presence of an important correlation between the phytoplankton community and nutrient structure in the SYS.

Succession of bacterial community during composting:dissimilarity between compost mixture and biochar additive

Previous research showed that biochar addition facilitated composting and elevated nutrient retention.However,few of these studies explored bacterial structure and abundance in the compost mixture and biochar additive.Thus,this study aims to distinguish bacterial communities in both compost and bamboo biochar(BB)additive.Results indicated that the dynamics of nutrient contents in compost and BB samples were in a similar pattern,although there were lower levels of nutrients and metals(i.e.,Cu and Zn)in BB additives.The total number of operational taxonomic units(OTUs)in both compost and BB additives peaked on day 7 and then gradually reduced during composting.There was more abundance of bacteria in compost,whereas the diversity of bacteria was more in BB additives.Furthermore,the dominant bacteria in compost and BB samples were distinct at the different stages of composting.The Firmicutes steadily decreased in compost samples(from 34.78%to 7.65%),while it was the dominant phylum in BB additives during the whole composting period.Furthermore,Ruminofilibacter,Pseudoxanthomonas,and Actinomadura were the most abundant genera in compost samples than Pseudoxanthomonas,Azoarcus,and Paenibacillus in BB additives at the final stage of composting.Results from this study could provide a theoretical reference for the sound performance of biochar-added composting.

High-throughput sequencing to evaluate the effects of methamphetamine on the succession of the bacterial community to estimate the postmortem interval

In forensic medical examinations,estimating the postmortem interval(PMI)is an important factor.Methamphetamine(MA)is a synthetic stimulant that is commonly abused,and estimation of the PMI after MA abuse has become one of the main tasks in forensic investigation.Microorganisms play a vital role in carrion decomposition.Analysing the bacterial succession patterns can be used as a forensic tool to estimate the PMI.The present study aimed to analyse bacterial succession changes during the decomposition of MA to estimate the PMI.We analysed bacterial communities in rabbits treated with three different concentrations of MA(0,22.5,and 90 mg/kg)under the natural conditions of 20°C and 70%humidity by sequencing 16S rRNA gene amplicons using the Illumina MiSeq system.We obtained 2374209 high-quality sequences and 2937 operational taxonomic units(OTUs).The relative abundances of the bacterial communities varied markedly in response to different MA concentrations.Interestingly,in response to the different concentrations of MA,Bacteroidetes became disparate in the rectum in the late PMI.Increased numbers of bacterial taxa were identified in the rectum and buccal cavity samples,except at the highest concentration of MA in the rectum samples when PMI was 0-h,than were present in live rabbits.Meanwhile,the PMI correlated significantly with bacterial succession at different taxonomic levels.Our results suggested that bacterial community succession could be used as a“microbial clock”to estimate the PMI in cases of MA-related death;however,further study is required to gain a deeper understanding of this concept.

Facilitation by nurse plants contributes to vegetation recovery in human-disturbed desert ecosystems

Aims Facilitation by nurse plants is a common interaction in harsh environments and this positive plant-plant interaction may promote vegetation recovery in ecosystems affected by human activities.Determining the relevance of this process,however,requires assessing how nurse plants influence the establishment of other species,as well as the proportion of species in the regional species pool that would benefit from the presence of nurse plants in human-disturbed areas.Further,since vegetation recovery is a time-dependent process,the community-level consequences of facilitation are likely to vary among landscapes with different disturbance history.Thus,an integrative perspective of the relevance of nurse plants for vegetation recovery could be obtained by measuring their effects across different human-disturbed landscapes of the target region.This study focuses on these issues and uses a regional-scale approach to assess the community-level effects of a widespread nurse plant of American deserts,the creosotebush(Larrea tridentata).Methods This study was conducted in the southernmost portion of Chihuahuan Desert because most floodplain valleys of this region have been affected by human activities during the past centuries.For this study,we selected 10 floodplain valleys differing in their age(i.e.the time elapsed after human activities were ceased).At each landscape,we measured the cover of creosotebushes and the proportion of plant species positively associated with them,as well as the density of seeds in the soil beneath creosotebush canopies.All these data were regressed against the age of the landscapes.Further,to assess whether positive association patterns were due to facilitation or other processes,we conducted field experiments and measured the ecophysiological performance of plant species established beneath and outside creosotebush canopies.Important Findings Most plant species from the target region were positively associated to creosotebushes,and our field experiments and ecophysiological measures indicated that these distribution patterns can be attributed to facilitative interactions.In most landscapes,the density of seeds was higher beneath creosotebushes than in the surrounding habitats,suggesting that these shrubs may also act as seed traps.The community-level effects of creosotebushes increased with landscape age and creosotebush cover,indicating that magnitude of these effects depends on the disturbance history of each site.These results highlight the relevance of performing large-scale assessments for identifying the consequences of facilitation on vegetation recovery across space and time.We then propose that this kind of large-scale approach should be taken into account in the development of conservation programs aimed at the recovery and preservation of plant biodiversity in harsh environments.

Development of plant communities after restoration of the Antaibao mining site, China

To investigate the dynamic changes in the artificial vegetation in an abandoned mining site,we analyzed the re lationships among community types,environmental variables and community structure in the process of vegetation restoration in the Antaibao mining site,China by survey of the communities and use of biological dating methods.By means of the quantitative classification method(two-way indicator-species analysis,TWINSPAN)and the ordination technique(de-trended correspondence analysis,DCA;and de-trended canonical correspondence analysis,DCCA),the plant communities were classified into seven groups:community I,Robinia pseudoacacia+Pimus tabulaeformis-Caragana kor-shinskii-Agropyron cristatum;community II,Robinia pseudoacacia-Hippophae rhamnoides-Artemisia capil-laries;community II,Ulmus pumila-Elaeagmus angu-stifolia-Artemisia capillaries;community IV,Caragana korshinskii-Agropyron cristatum+Artemisia capillaries;community V,Hippophae rhamnoides-Elymus dahur-icus;community VI,Elaeagnus angustifolia+Hippophae rhamnoides-Brassica jucea;community VII,Hippophae rhammoides+Elaeagnus angustifolia-Salsola collina.We conclude that the community types and diversity are mainly influenced by the succession time and the soil organic matter content.The forest community is more adaptable to the special inhabitation than the shrub community.