Open AccessChanges in land use driven by urbanization impact nitrogen cycling and the microbial community composition in soils
Author(s) -
Haitao Wang,
C. W. Marshall,
Minying Cheng,
Huijuan Xu,
Hu Li,
XiaoRu Yang,
Tao Zheng
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/srep44049
Subject(s) - soil water , nitrification , environmental science , nitrogen cycle , microbial population biology , ecosystem , urbanization , cycling , nutrient cycle , ecology , population , urban ecology , agronomy , nitrogen , biology , geography , soil science , chemistry , forestry , bacteria , demography , organic chemistry , sociology , genetics
Transition of populations from rural to urban living causes landscape changes and alters the functionality of soil ecosystems. It is unclear how this urbanization disturbs the microbial ecology of soils and how the disruption influences nitrogen cycling. In this study, microbial communities in turfgrass-grown soils from urban and suburban areas around Xiamen City were compared to microbial communities in the soils from rural farmlands. The potential N 2 O emissions, potential denitrification activity, and abundances of denitrifiers were higher in the rural farmland soils compared with the turfgrass soils. Ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA) were more abundant than ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in turfgrass soils. Within turfgrass soils, the potential nitrification activities and AOA abundances were higher in the urban than in the suburban soils. These results indicate a more pivotal role of AOA in nitrification, especially in urban soils. Microbial community composition was distinctly grouped along urbanization categories (urban, suburban, and rural) classified according to the population density, which can in part be attributed to the differences in soil properties. These observed changes could potentially have a broader impact on soil nutrient availability and greenhouse gas emissions.