Rare microbial taxa as the major drivers of nutrient acquisition under moss biocrusts in karst area

Abstract

Karst rocky desertification refers to the process of land degradation caused by various factors such as climate change and human activities including deforestation and agriculture on a fragile karst substrate. Nutrient limitation is common in karst areas. Moss crust grows widely in karst areas. The microorganisms associated with bryophytes are vital to maintaining ecological functions, including climate regulation and nutrient circulation. The synergistic effect of moss crusts and microorganisms may hold great potential for restoring degraded karst ecosystems. However, our understanding of the responses of microbial communities, especially abundant and rare taxa, to nutrient limitations and acquisition in the presence of moss crusts is limited. Different moss habitats exhibit varying patterns of nutrient availability, which also affect microbial diversity and composition. Therefore, in this study, we investigated three habitats of mosses: autochthonal bryophytes under forest, lithophytic bryophytes under forest and on cliff rock. We measured soil physicochemical properties and enzymatic activities. We conducted high-throughput sequencing and analysis of soil microorganisms. Our finding revealed that autochthonal moss crusts under forest had higher nutrient availability and a higher proportion of copiotrophic microbial communities compared to lithophytic moss crusts under forest or on cliff rock. However, enzyme activities were lower in autochthonal moss crusts under forest. Additionally, rare taxa exhibited distinct structures in all three habitats. Analysis of co-occurrence network showed that rare taxa had a relatively high proportion in the main modules. Furthermore, we found that both abundant and rare taxa were primarily assembled by stochastic processes. Soil properties significantly affected the community assembly of the rare taxa, indirectly affecting microbial diversity and complexity and finally nutrient acquisition. These findings highlight the importance of rare taxa under moss crusts for nutrient acquisition. Addressing this knowledge gap is essential for guiding ongoing ecological restoration projects in karst rocky desertification regions.