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Evaluating the lingering effect of livestock grazing on functional potentials of microbial communities in Tibetan grassland soils

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Abstract

Background and aims

Livestock grazing is a widely practiced land-use regime that can impose lingering effects on global biogeochemical cycles. However, elucidating the mechanisms of related eco-processes, which are largely mediated by the microbial community, remains challenging.

Methods

Here, we collected soil samples from two Tibetan grassland sites subjected to grazing in winter followed by a 3-month recovery. We then evaluated functional potentials of microbial communities via a metagenomic tool known as GeoChip 4.0.

Results

Significant alterations were detected in post-grazing grassland soils, and further analysis showed that plant diversity was the best indicator of alterations in functional potentials. Relative abundances of labile C degradation genes decreased at the 3400-m site, but those of recalcitrant C degradation genes increased, which could be explained by the higher soil recalcitrant C input owing to their being substantially more forbs species at this site. Nitrification genes decreased at both sites, probably owing to increased soil moisture conducive to oxygen-limiting conditions. Relative abundance of denitrification genes increased at the 3200-m site, concomitant with increased N2O emissions.

Conclusions

These results demonstrated that functional gene compositions of the microbial community were altered in post-grazing grassland soils, and linked to soil biogeochemical processes.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Haibei Research Station staff for sampling and Hao Yu for GeoChip assistance. This research was supported by grants to Yunfeng Yang from the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2013CB956601), Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment (2013ZX07315-001-03), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB15010102), National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (2012AA061401) and National Science Foundation of China (41471202 & 41171201), to Shiping Wang from the National Basic Research Program (2013CB956000) and National Science Foundation of China (41230750), and to Jizhong Zhou from the National Science Foundation of China (41430856). The development of GeoChip and associated pipelines used in this study was supported by the US Department of Energy (DE-SC0004601) and the US National Science Foundation (EF-1065844) to Jizhong Zhou.

Author contributions

MW performed the statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript. LW and DX participated in the statistical analysis. SW conceived the study and directed field sampling and measurement of environmental attributes. QL and YH carried out the sampling and measurement of environmental attributes. XL directed DNA preparation and drafted the manuscript. JZ conceived the study and drafted the manuscript. YY performed the GeoChip experiment and drafted the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Mengmeng Wang, Linwei Wu, Depeng Xu, Jizhong Zhou & Yunfeng Yang

  2. Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology and Biodiversity, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Shiping Wang

  3. CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Science, Beijing, 100101, China

    Shiping Wang

  4. Institute for Environmental Genomics and Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

    Depeng Xu & Jizhong Zhou

  5. Key Laboratory of Adaption and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, 810008, China

    Qiaoyan Lin & Yigang Hu

  6. Shapotou Desert Experiment and Research Station, Cold and Arid Regions and Environmental & Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Yigang Hu

  7. Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Xiangzhen Li

  8. Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Jizhong Zhou

  9. Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Jizhong Zhou & Yunfeng Yang

Authors
  1. Mengmeng Wang
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  2. Shiping Wang
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  3. Linwei Wu
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  4. Depeng Xu
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  6. Yigang Hu
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  7. Xiangzhen Li
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  8. Jizhong Zhou
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  9. Yunfeng Yang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yunfeng Yang.

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Competing financial interests

The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

Data accessibility

GeoChip 4.0 data is available online (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/) with the accession number GSE52425.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Jeff R. Powell .

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Wang, M., Wang, S., Wu, L. et al. Evaluating the lingering effect of livestock grazing on functional potentials of microbial communities in Tibetan grassland soils. Plant Soil 407, 385–399 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-2897-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-2897-y

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