Aim: Climate is widely understood to determine elevational patterns of soil microbial communities, whereas the effects of parental material are uncertain. Changes in the composition of parental materials along elevational transects could also affect soil microbial communities by influencing soil pH and nutrient availability. Here, we aim to illustrate the combined effects of climate and parental material on the biomass and composition of soil microbial communities along an elevational transect.
Location: A subtropical forest on a karst mountain (Mt. Jinfo), China.
Taxon: Bacteria and Fungi.
Methods: We use phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA) and DNA amplicon high-throughput sequencing to determine biomass and diversity patterns of soil microbial communities along a subtropical elevational gradient with contrasting parental materials (limestone and clasolite).
Results: We observed that the microbial communities were more diverse (α-diversity) and productive (biomass) on limestone than on clasolite. Additionally, we found that parental material played a role in shaping the composition (β-diversity) of soil microbial communities along the elevational gradient. The impact of climate on soil microbial communities was found to be significant, albeit relatively weak. Structural equation models provided evidence for both direct and indirect effects of climate and parental material on microbial biomass and α-diversity along the elevational gradient. Notably, the changes in soil pH, influenced by both parental material and climate, were identified as a key factor driving these effects.
Main Conclusions: Our results underline the importance of both climate and parental material variations in space-for-time studies investigating soil microbial communities along elevational gradients.