Plant functional traits determine latitudinal variations in soil microbial function: evidence from forests in China

Abstract

Plant functional traits have increasingly been studied as determinants of ecosystem properties, especially for soil biogeochemical processes. While the relationships between biological community structures and ecological functions are a central issue in ecological theory, these relationships remain poorly understood at the large scale. We selected nine forests along the North-South Transect of Eastern China (NSTEC) to determine how plant functional traits influence the latitudinal pattern of soil microbial functions and how soil microbial communities and functions are linked at the regional scale. We found that there was considerable latitudinal variation in the profiles of different substrate use along the NSTEC. Specifically, we found that the substrate use by microorganisms was highest in the temperate forest soils (soil microbial substrate use intensities of 10-12), followed by the subtropical forest soils (soil microbial substrate use intensities of 7-10), and was least in the coniferous forest soils (soil microbial substrate use intensities of 4-7). The latitudinal variation in soil microbial function was more closely related to plant functional traits (leaf dry matter content, leaf C concentrations, and leaf N concentrations, P=0.002) than climate (mean annual precipitation, P=0.022). The soil silt, leaf dry matter, and leaf C and N contents were the main controls on the biogeographical patterns of microbial substrate use in these forest soils. The soil microbial community structures and functions were significantly correlated along the NSTEC. Soil carbohydrate and polymer substrate use were mainly related to soil Gram-positive (G+) bacterial and actinomycic phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs), while the use of amine and miscellaneous substrates were related to soil Gram-negative (G-) bacterial and fungal PLFAs. The enzyme production varied with changes in the soil microbial communities. The soil enzyme activities were positively correlated with the bacterial PLFAs but were not correlated with the fungal PLFAs. The soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition rates were significantly higher in the temperate forests than in the subtropical and tropical forests, emphasizing the rapid degradability of high-energy substrates such as soil microbial biomass carbon, carbohydrates, and amino acids. The SOM decomposition rates were significantly and negatively related to soil dissolved organic carbon concentrations, carboxylic acids, polymers, and miscellaneous substrate use. The relationships between soil PLFAs and microbial substrate use, enzyme activities, and SOM decomposition rate show that as the soil microbial community structure changes, soil biogeochemical processes also change.