Different Urban Forest Tree Species Affect the Assembly of the Soil Bacterial and Fungal Community

The selection of tree species used for the afforestation of urban forests is very important for maintaining the urban ecosystem, while soil microbe is one of the driving factors of material cycling in the urban forest ecosystem and for health of forests. In this study, the characteristics of surface soil bacterial and fungal community structure in four urban forests (primarily composed of Fraxinus mandshurica (Fm), Quercus mongolica (Qm), Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica (Ps), and Pinus tabulaeformis var. Mukdensis (Pt) as the main dominant tree species, respectively) were investigated by high-throughput sequencing. Our results showed that the alpha diversity of the soil microbial community in the Fm urban forest was the highest, while the lowest was in the Ps urban forest. In the bacterial community, Proteobacteria was the most predominant phylum in soils from Fm, Ps, and Pt urban forests. The most relatively abundant phylum of the Qm urban forest soil was Acidobacteria. The relative abundances of the bacterial communities at the genus level in the soil of four urban forests were significantly different. The soil bacterial communities in Ps and Pt urban forests were more similar, and Qm and Fm were also more similar. In the fungal community, Basidiomycota was the most predominant phylum in soils from Qm, Ps, and Pt urban forests. The phylum with the greatest relative abundance in the Fm urban forest soil was Ascomycota. There were differences in the fungal community between Qm, Fm, Ps, and Pt urban forests. Soil microbial community composition was affected by environmental factors: soil bacterial and fungal community compositions were significantly related to soil electrical conductivity (EC), alkali hydrolysable nitrogen (AHN), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP). In conclusion, the soil microbial community structure was related to both forest's tree species and soil properties.

Automated summary

The selection of tree species for urban afforestation and soil properties both play significant roles in determining the composition and diversity of soil microbial communities in urban forests, which in turn affects the health and material cycling of the urban forest ecosystem.