Effects of soil improvement treatments on bacterial community structure and soil processes in an upland grassland soil

Gray, Neil D., Hastings, Richard C., Sheppard, Samuel Keir, Loughnane, Paul, Lloyd, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5656-0571, McCarthy, Alan J. and Head, Ian M. 2003. Effects of soil improvement treatments on bacterial community structure and soil processes in an upland grassland soil. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 46 (1) , pp. 11-22. 10.1016/S0168-6496(03)00160-0

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Abstract

Temporal temperature gradient electrophoresis (TTGE) analysis of 16S rRNA gene fragments amplified with primers selective for eubacteria and β-proteobacterial ammonia-oxidising bacteria (AOB) was used to analyse changes in bacterial and AOB community profiles of an upland pasture following soil improvement treatments (addition of sewage sludge and/or lime). Community structure was compared with changes in activity assessed by laboratory measurements of basal respiration and ammonia oxidation potentials, and with measurements of treatment- and time-related changes in soil characteristics. The predominant bacterial populations had a high degree of similarity under all treatment regimens, which was most pronounced early in the growing season. Most of the differences that occurred between soil samples with time could be accounted for by spatial and temporal variation; however, analysis of variance and cluster analysis of similarities between 16S rDNA TTGE profiles indicated that soil improvement treatments exerted some effect on community structure. Lime application had the greatest influence. The impact of soil improvement treatments on autotrophic ammonia oxidation was significant and sustained, especially in soils which had received sewage sludge and lime treatments in combination. However, despite obvious changes in soil characteristics, e.g. pH and soil nitrogen, increasing heterogeneity in the AOB community structure over time obscured the treatment effects observed at the beginning of the experiment. Nevertheless, time series analysis of AOB TTGE profiles indicated that the AOB community in improved soils was more dynamic than in control soils where populations were found to be relatively stable. These observations suggest that the AOB populations exhibited a degree of functional redundancy.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences
Uncontrolled Keywords:	TTGE; Community structure; Functional redundancy
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
ISSN:	0168-6496
Last Modified:	27 Oct 2022 08:34
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/62674

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