Soil CO release increase and microbial community sift under dry-wet cycles; Comparison of surface soils and buried humus layers

Suzuki, Yuri*; Nagano, Hirohiko*; Suzuki, Kazuki*; Hiradate, Shuntaro*; Koarashi, Jun   ; Atarashi-Andoh, Mariko  ; Abe, Yukiko; Nakayama, Masataka*

Recent observations of decreased precipitation frequency and increased intensity are expected to intensify dry-wet cycles (DWC), increasing soil microbial-derived carbon dioxide emissions. To elucidate the effect of differences in soil nutrient conditions on microbial community sift under DWC, we conducted incubation experiments using 12 surface soils and 2 buried humus soils. Microbial community composition was analyzed by targeting bacterial 16S rRNA genes and fungal ITS regions in soil samples. In the surface soils, microbial community compositions of bacteria, archaea, and fungi varied not only among soils, but also among water treatments and incubation timings. DWC resulted in common changing patterns with an increase in Actinobacteria relative abundance, a decrease in Acidobacteria for bacteria and archaea, and a decrease in Mortierellomycota for fungi. Furthermore, the relative abundances of nitrification-related genes and methane-production-relatad genes showed a greater change due to DWC in the buried humus soils than in the surface soils. The expected DWC intensification may alter soil microbial communities, particularly in soils with low carbon availability, such as buried humus soils and affect the dynamics of greenhouse gases.