Open AccessIncreasing temperature can modify the effect of straw mulching on soil C fractions, soil respiration, and microbial community composition
Author(s) -
Xin Fu,
Jun Wang,
Meng-Yi Xie,
Fazhu Zhao,
Russell Doughty
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0237245
Subject(s) - gemmatimonadetes , acidobacteria , microbial population biology , agronomy , soil respiration , soil carbon , actinobacteria , straw , chemistry , biology , soil water , botany , ecology , biochemistry , genetics , 16s ribosomal rna , bacteria , gene
Straw mulching has been widely adopted in dryland cropping but its effect on soil respiration and microbial communities under warming are not well understood. Soil samples were collected from a corn field with straw mulching (SM) for nine years and without straw mulching (CK), and incubated at 15°C, 25°C, and 35°C for 60 days. Soil respiration, C fractions and bacterial and fungal community structure were measured SM had greater soil organic carbon and potential C mineralization and a similar microbial biomass carbon throughout the incubation when compared with CK. Soil respiration increased with increasing temperature and its temperature sensitivity (Q 10 ) was lower with SM than CK. Similar microbial community composition was found in the soils with SM and CK before incubation. However, SM had a greater bacterial richness and the relative abundances of Proteobacteria , Acidobacteria , Nitrospirae , Planctomycetes , Bacteroidetes , and Basidiomycota , but lower relative abundances of Actinobacteria , Chloroflexi , and Ascomycota than CK after incubation. Bacterial richness and diversity were greater at 15°C and 25°C than 35°C, but there was no difference in fungal richness and diversity among the incubation temperatures. As temperature increased, the relative abundances of Chloroflexi , Acidobacteria , and Bacteroidetes decreased, but Gemmatimonadetes and Ascomycota increased, and were significantly correlated with soil C fractions and respiration. These findings indicated that the effect of straw mulching on soil C cycling and microbial community structure can be highly modified by increasing temperature.