Responses of Soil Bacterial Diversity to Fertilization are Driven by Local Environmental Context Across China
Youzhi Feng,
Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo,
Yongguan Zhu,
Xiaozeng Han,
Xiaori Han,
Xiuli Xin,
Wei Li,
Zhibing Guo,
Tinghui Dang,
Chenhua Li,
Bo Zhu,
Zejiang Cai,
Daming Li,
Jiabao Zhang
Affiliations
Youzhi Feng
State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
Department of Physical, Chemical, and Natural Systems, Pablo de Olavide University, Sevilla 41013, Spain
Yongguan Zhu
State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
Xiaozeng Han
National Observation Station of the Hailun Agroecology System, Key Laboratory of Mollisols Agroecology, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin 130102, China
Xiaori Han
College of Land and Environment, National Engineering Laboratory for Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer Resources, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
Xiuli Xin
State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
Wei Li
Crop Research Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei 230001, China
Zhibing Guo
Soil and Fertilizer Research Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei 230001, China
Tinghui Dang
Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Chinese Academy of Science & Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China
Chenhua Li
Fukang Station of Desert Ecology, Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology and Desert Environment, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Bo Zhu
Key Laboratory of Mountain Environment Evolvement and Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
Zejiang Cai
Qiyang Agroecosystem of the National Field Experimental Station, Yongzhou 426199, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Improving the Quality of Arable Land, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Daming Li
Jiangxi Institute of Red Soil, Nanchang 331717, China
Jiabao Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; Corresponding author.
Soil microbial diversity is extremely vulnerable to fertilization, which is one of the main anthropogenic activities associated with global changes. Yet we know little about how and why soil microbial diversity responds to fertilization across contrasting local ecological contexts. This knowledge is fundamental for predicting changes in soil microbial diversity in response to ongoing global changes. We analyzed soils from ten 20-year field fertilization (organic and/or inorganic) experiments across China and found that the national-scale responses of soil bacterial diversity to fertilization are dependent on ecological context. In acidic soils from regions with high precipitation and soil fertility, inorganic fertilization can result in further acidification, resulting in negative impacts on soil bacterial diversity. In comparison, organic fertilization causes a smaller disturbance to soil bacterial diversity. Despite the overall role of environmental contexts in driving soil microbial diversity, a small group of bacterial taxa were found to respond to fertilization in a consistent way across contrasting regions throughout China. Taxa such as Nitrosospira and Nitrososphaera, which benefit from nitrogen fertilizer addition, as well as Chitinophagaceae, Bacilli, and phototrophic bacteria, which respond positively to organic fertilization, could be used as bioindicators for soil fertility in response to fertilization at the national scale. Overall, our work provides new insights into the importance of local environmental context in determining the responses of soil microbial diversity to fertilization, and identifies regions with acidic soils wherein soil microbial diversity is more vulnerable to fertilization at the national scale.
