Data from: The microbially-mediated soil organic carbon loss under degenerative succession in an alpine meadow

Land-cover change has long been recognized as having marked effect on the
amount of soil organic carbon (SOC). However, the microbially-mediated
processes and mechanisms on SOC are still unclear. In this study, the soil
samples in a degenerative succession from alpine meadow to alpine steppe
meadow in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau were analyzed using high-throughput
technologies, including Illumina sequencing and GeoChip functional gene
arrays. The soil microbial community structure and diversity were
significantly (P < 0.05) different between alpine meadow and alpine
steppe meadow, the microbial ɑ-diversity in alpine steppe meadow was
significantly (P < 0.01) higher than in alpine meadow. Molecular
ecological network analysis indicated that the microbial community
structure in alpine steppe meadow was more complex and tighter than in the
alpine meadow. The relative abundance of soil microbial labile carbon
degradation genes (e.g., pectin and hemicellulose) was significantly
higher in alpine steppe meadow than in alpine meadow, but the relative
abundance of soil recalcitrant carbon degradation genes (e.g. chitin and
lignin) showed the opposite tendency. The Biolog Ecoplate experiment
showed that microbially-mediated soil carbon utilization was more active
in alpine steppe meadow than in alpine meadow. Consequently, more soil
labile carbon might be decomposed in alpine steppe meadow than in alpine
meadow. Therefore, the degenerative succession of alpine meadow because of
climate change or anthropogenic activities would most likely decreased SOC
and nutrients medicated by changing soil microbial community structure and
their functional potentials for carbon decomposition.