Grazing Intensity Modifies Soil Microbial Diversity and Their Co-Occurrence Networks in an Alpine Steppe, Central Tibet
Grazing intensity is one of the crucial anthropogenic activities on alpine grasslands. However, how grazing intensity affects soil microorganism diversities and their co-occurrence networks in alpine steppe remains uncertain. We carried out a controlled grazing experiment (null grazing, CK; moderate...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Mingxue Xiang Zepeng Liang Yanjie Zhang Junxi Wu Tao Ma Lha Duo Xianzhou Zhang Gang Fu |
| author_facet | Mingxue Xiang Zepeng Liang Yanjie Zhang Junxi Wu Tao Ma Lha Duo Xianzhou Zhang Gang Fu |
| author_sort | Mingxue Xiang |
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| description | Grazing intensity is one of the crucial anthropogenic activities on alpine grasslands. However, how grazing intensity affects soil microorganism diversities and their co-occurrence networks in alpine steppe remains uncertain. We carried out a controlled grazing experiment (null grazing, CK; moderate grazing, MG; and heavy grazing, HG) on a typical alpine steppe in the Lhasa River Basin, Central Tibet, China. We used high-throughput sequencing to find the sequences of bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal ITS gene amplicons. Then, we analyzed their alpha and beta diversities and set up co-occurrence networks that show how often they occur together. MG significantly increased the bacterial Shannon index and changed the bacterial community structure. In contrast, HG decreased the fungal ACE and Chao1 indices and also changed the fungal community structure (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Linear mixed-effect model revealed that available phosphorus in soil significantly impacted on soil bacterial Shannon, ACE, and Chao1 indices across grazing intensities, while total carbon in subsoil significantly affected these indicators of soil fungi. Moreover, MG increased the complexity of the co-occurrence network in the bacterial community, while HG simplified it. However, both MG and HG made the co-occurrence networks in the fungal community less complicated. This shows that the intensity of grazing has different impacts on how microbes interact with each other. Therefore, sustainable grazing intensity necessitates a deeper understanding of biodiversity conservation in alpine grasslands. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-8a86e3c739f94226a8ae216ca9993c752025-01-24T13:42:47ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-01-0113113810.3390/microorganisms13010138Grazing Intensity Modifies Soil Microbial Diversity and Their Co-Occurrence Networks in an Alpine Steppe, Central TibetMingxue Xiang0Zepeng Liang1Yanjie Zhang2Junxi Wu3Tao Ma4Lha Duo5Xianzhou Zhang6Gang Fu7State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, ChinaSchool of Science, Tibet University, Lhasa 850011, ChinaCollege of Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Dali University, Dali 671003, ChinaLhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, ChinaSchool of Science, Tibet University, Lhasa 850011, ChinaLhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, ChinaLhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, ChinaGrazing intensity is one of the crucial anthropogenic activities on alpine grasslands. However, how grazing intensity affects soil microorganism diversities and their co-occurrence networks in alpine steppe remains uncertain. We carried out a controlled grazing experiment (null grazing, CK; moderate grazing, MG; and heavy grazing, HG) on a typical alpine steppe in the Lhasa River Basin, Central Tibet, China. We used high-throughput sequencing to find the sequences of bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal ITS gene amplicons. Then, we analyzed their alpha and beta diversities and set up co-occurrence networks that show how often they occur together. MG significantly increased the bacterial Shannon index and changed the bacterial community structure. In contrast, HG decreased the fungal ACE and Chao1 indices and also changed the fungal community structure (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Linear mixed-effect model revealed that available phosphorus in soil significantly impacted on soil bacterial Shannon, ACE, and Chao1 indices across grazing intensities, while total carbon in subsoil significantly affected these indicators of soil fungi. Moreover, MG increased the complexity of the co-occurrence network in the bacterial community, while HG simplified it. However, both MG and HG made the co-occurrence networks in the fungal community less complicated. This shows that the intensity of grazing has different impacts on how microbes interact with each other. Therefore, sustainable grazing intensity necessitates a deeper understanding of biodiversity conservation in alpine grasslands.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/1/138alpine grasslandco-occurrence networkdiversity of bacteria and fungigrazing intensityTibet |
| spellingShingle | Mingxue Xiang Zepeng Liang Yanjie Zhang Junxi Wu Tao Ma Lha Duo Xianzhou Zhang Gang Fu Grazing Intensity Modifies Soil Microbial Diversity and Their Co-Occurrence Networks in an Alpine Steppe, Central Tibet Microorganisms alpine grassland co-occurrence network diversity of bacteria and fungi grazing intensity Tibet |
| title | Grazing Intensity Modifies Soil Microbial Diversity and Their Co-Occurrence Networks in an Alpine Steppe, Central Tibet |
| title_full | Grazing Intensity Modifies Soil Microbial Diversity and Their Co-Occurrence Networks in an Alpine Steppe, Central Tibet |
| title_fullStr | Grazing Intensity Modifies Soil Microbial Diversity and Their Co-Occurrence Networks in an Alpine Steppe, Central Tibet |
| title_full_unstemmed | Grazing Intensity Modifies Soil Microbial Diversity and Their Co-Occurrence Networks in an Alpine Steppe, Central Tibet |
| title_short | Grazing Intensity Modifies Soil Microbial Diversity and Their Co-Occurrence Networks in an Alpine Steppe, Central Tibet |
| title_sort | grazing intensity modifies soil microbial diversity and their co occurrence networks in an alpine steppe central tibet |
| topic | alpine grassland co-occurrence network diversity of bacteria and fungi grazing intensity Tibet |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/1/138 |
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