Changes in Soil Bacterial Community and Function in Winter Following Long-Term Nitrogen (N) Deposition in Wetland Soil in Sanjiang Plain, China

Abstract

N deposition is a key factor affecting the composition and function of soil microbial communities in wetland ecosystems. Previous studies mainly focused on the effects of N deposition in the soil during the growing season (summer and autumn). Here, we focused on the response of the soil microbial community structure and function in winter. Soil from the Sanjiang Plain wetland, China, that had been treated for the past 11 years by using artificial N deposition at three levels (no intervention in N0, N deposition with 4 g N m−2 yr−1 in N1, and with 8 g N m−2 yr−1 in N2). Soil characteristics were determined and the bacterial composition and function was characterized using high-throughput sequence technology. The N deposition significantly reduced the soil bacterial diversity detected in winter compared with the control N0, and it significantly changed the composition of the bacterial community. At the phylum level, the high N deposition (N2) increased the relative abundance of Acidobacteria and decreased that of Myxococcota and Gemmatimonadota compared with N0. In soil from N2, the relative abundance of the general Candidatus_Solibacter and Bryobacter was significantly increased compared with N0. Soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), and total nitrogen (TN) were the key factors affecting the soil bacterial diversity and composition in winter. Soil pH was correlated with soil carbon cycling, probably due to its significant correlation with aerobic_chemoheterotrophy. The results show that a long-term N deposition reduces soil nutrients in winter wetlands and decreases soil bacterial diversity, resulting in a negative impact on the Sanjiang plain wetland. This study contributes to a better understanding of the winter responses of soil microbial community composition and function to the N deposition in temperate wetland ecosystems.