Open AccessBacterial community structure and soil properties of a subarctic tundra soil in Council, Alaska
Author(s) -
Kim Hye Min,
Jung Ji Young,
Yergeau Etienne,
Hwang Chung Yeon,
Hinzman Larry,
Nam Sungjin,
Hong Soon Gyu,
Kim OkSun,
Chun Jongsik,
Lee Yoo Kyung
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
fems microbiology ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.377
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1574-6941
pISSN - 0168-6496
DOI - 10.1111/1574-6941.12362
Subject(s) - subarctic climate , tundra , microbial population biology , unifrac , biology , community structure , soil water , soil horizon , soil ph , ecology , environmental science , soil science , agronomy , ecosystem , bacteria , 16s ribosomal rna , genetics
The subarctic region is highly responsive and vulnerable to climate change. Understanding the structure of subarctic soil microbial communities is essential for predicting the response of the subarctic soil environment to climate change. To determine the composition of the bacterial community and its relationship with soil properties, we investigated the bacterial community structure and properties of surface soil from the moist acidic tussock tundra in Council, Alaska. We collected 70 soil samples with 25‐m intervals between sampling points from 0–10 cm to 10–20 cm depths. The bacterial community was analyzed by pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes, and the following soil properties were analyzed: soil moisture content (MC), pH , total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), and inorganic nitrogen ( NH 4 + and NO 3 − ). The community compositions of the two different depths showed that Alphaproteobacteria decreased with soil depth. Among the soil properties measured, soil pH was the most significant factor correlating with bacterial community in both upper and lower‐layer soils. Bacterial community similarity based on jackknifed unweighted unifrac distance showed greater similarity across horizontal layers than through the vertical depth. This study showed that soil depth and pH were the most important soil properties determining bacterial community structure of the subarctic tundra soil in Council, Alaska.