Microbial diversity in subtropical forest soils

Microorganisms in subtropical forest soils are responsible for many functions of the ecosystems such as organic matter degradation, carbon and nitrogen cycling. It is crucial to understand how environmental factors drive microbial community composition and diversity. Bacterial and archaeal communities were investigated in different layers, forest types and seasons in subtropical Nanling Natural Reserve of Guangdong China via Miseq high throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Soil parameters, soil layers, forest types and change of seasons were evaluated for their relation with microbial community structure and diversity. The results showed that the phyla Acidobacteria (54.16%) and Proteobacteria (20.73%) dominated the subtropical forest soils. The parameters pH, organic matter, total N, hydrolysable N, available P, NO3-, and NH4+ significantly related to microbial community structure and diversity, while total P, total K, SO42-, and Al3+ did not. Soil layers significantly affected microbial community structure and diversity, however, forest types and change of seasons were not significantly correlated with microbial communities. This study added our understanding on the effect of factors on prokaryote community structure and diversity in subtropical forests.