Effects of Pleioblastus viridistriatus expansion on species diversity of understory vegetation and soil bacterial community in subtropical forests

Abstract

As one of the most widely used dwarf bamboos, Pleioblastus viridistriatus has well-developed rhizome and root systems, which can rapidly expand into forest stands. However, little is known about the influence of P. viridistriatus expansion on the undergrowth diversity in subtropical forests of China and its association with the diversity of soil bacterial microbiota. The species diversity and soil bacterial community structure were investigated in a forest where P. viridistriatus was expanding into coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest. We found that P. viridistriatus expansion reduced species diversity in the shrub and herbaceous layers and had significant effects on major soil physicochemical properties. In addition, the alpha diversity indexes were significantly increased and the abundance of Actinobacteria and Candidatus Saccharibacteria increased, while the abundance of Nitrospirae and Deinococcus-Thermus decreased with the increasing expansion. At the genus level, a total of 25 genera of soil bacteria showed significant difference in abundance. Overall, expansion of P. viridistriatus reduced forest species diversity, while increased soil nutrient accumulation and specific bacterial abundance to improve nutrient acquisition. Our results can provide guidance for controlling dwarf bamboo expansion and help the sustainable forest management.