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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Terrestrial Microbiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1477571
This article is part of the Research Topic Climate Change and Soil Microbial Control of Carbon Sequestration View all 10 articles

Effects of stand age on soil respiration and soil microbial communities throughout the growth cycle of poplar plantations in northeastern China

Provisionally accepted
Xiangrong Liu Xiangrong Liu 1Lingyu Hou Lingyu Hou 1Changjun Ding Changjun Ding 1*Xiaohua Su Xiaohua Su 1Weixi Zhang Weixi Zhang 1Zhongyi Pang Zhongyi Pang 2Yanlin Zhang Yanlin Zhang 1Qiwu Sun Qiwu Sun 1*
  • 1 Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
  • 2 State-Owned Xinmin City Machinery Forest Farm, Shenyang, China, Shenyang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Many studies have identified stand age and soil microbial communities as key factors influencing soil respiration (Rs). However, the effects of stand age and soil microbial communities on Rs throughout the growth cycle of poplar (Populus euramevicana cv.'I-214') plantations remain unclear. In this study, we adopted a spatial approach instead of a temporal one to investigate Rs and soil microbial communities in poplar plantations of 15 different ages (1-15 years old). The results showed that Rs exhibited clear seasonal dynamics, with the highest rates observed in the first year of stand age (1-year-old). As stand age increased, Rs showed a significant decreasing trend.We further identified r-selected microbial communities (copiotrophic species) as key biological factors influencing the decline in Rs with increasing stand age. Other abiotic factors, such as soil temperature (ST), pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrate nitrogen (NO3 --N), and the C/N ratio of plant litter (Litter C/N), were also significantly correlated with Rs. Increased stand age promoted fungal community diversity but suppressed bacterial community diversity. Bacterial and fungal communities differed significantly in abundance, composition, and function, with the Litter C/N ratio being a key variable affected by microbial community changes. This study provides crucial empirical evidence on how stand age affects Rs, highlighting the connection between microbial community assemblages, their trophic strategies, and Rs over the growth cycle of poplar plantations.

    Keywords: Soil respiration, Stand age, Soil microbial community structure and function, Poplar plantation, Microbial r-K selection theory

    Received: 08 Aug 2024; Accepted: 09 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Hou, Ding, Su, Zhang, Pang, Zhang and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Changjun Ding, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
    Qiwu Sun, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China

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