Soil microbiome of the postmining areas in polar ecosystems in surroundings of Nadym, Western Siberia, Russia

Abstract

Localization of agriculture with the aim of local food support has become a very urgent topic for Yamal region. The most fertile soils of this region are sandy textured anthropogenically affected soils. Microbiomes from disturbed soils of the Nadym region were studied using analysis of 16S rRNA metagenomic libraries. It was shown that plant cover is a driving force of microbiome composition. Forest soils covered with aeolian transfers from the quarry retaids a typical forest microbiome with the following dominant bacterial phyla: Proteobateria, Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Planctomycetes and Bacteroidetes. However, it contains significantly less Planctomycetes, which indicates greater aridity of the soil. The microbiomes of the overgrown quarries were strikingly differ from the soil microbiome and resemble those of arctic soils being dominated by Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria and Cyanobacteria. Absence of dense vegetation cover and availability of nutrients facilitated the formation of autotrophic microbial mats. The microbiome of the lower horizons of the quarry is characterised by Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. Presumably, most of the time these bacteria reside in a dormant state with short periods of activity due to nutrient uptake from the upper horizons.

Keywords

• soils
• polar environmets
• microbiome
• agrolandscapes