大通河流域土壤细菌及氮循环功能菌群沿海拔的空间分布

探究土壤微生物的海拔分布格局及其驱动机制对理解气候变化下陆地生态系统的响应至关重要.土壤微生物群落的海拔分布格局随空间尺度有所差异,为此分别沿大通河流域干流流向（海拔梯度1 000 m）和山体坡面（海拔梯度500 m）设置了两种空间尺度的样带,利用高通量测序技术分析土壤细菌群落结构和多样性沿海拔的分布特征,基于FAPROTAX数据库分析氮循环功能类群的海拔分布,探讨驱动土壤细菌群落沿海拔分布的关键环境因子.结果表明:①土壤理化性质沿海拔分布有显著差异,总氮（TN）和硝态氮（NO₃ ^-）含量与海拔正相关（P < 0.01）,土壤容重（BD）、pH与海拔负相关（P < 0.001）；②细菌群落OTU丰度沿海拔升高显著增大（P < 0.01）,丰富度和多样性指数沿海拔增大,但趋势不显著（P > 0.05）；③细菌群落以酸杆菌门（Acidobacteria）、变形菌门（Proteobacteria）和拟杆菌门（Bacteroidetes）为优势门,其相对丰度随海拔升高分别增加、减小和微弱减小；④参与氮循环的功能类群共13种,以硝化作用、好氧氨氧化和好氧亚硝酸盐氧化作用为主,随海拔升高响应规律不同,其中硝化作用细菌丰度显著增加（P < 0.01）,好氧氨氧化和硝酸还原细菌丰度微弱增加,而参与含氮化合物异化还原的细菌丰度先增后减；⑤冗余分析表明海拔（ELEV）、pH和氨氮（NH₄ ⁺）是驱动门水平土壤细菌群落的主要因子,Mantel分析表明土壤细菌氮循环优势类群均受海拔驱动（P < 0.01）.⑥流域和坡面尺度上细菌群落α-多样性沿海拔的规律一致,但土壤性质、氮循环功能菌群丰度和主要环境影响因子均不同.因此从不同空间尺度探究土壤微生物的海拔分布格局具有重要意义.

Spatial Patterns of Soil Bacterial Communities and N-cycling Functional Groups Along an Altitude Gradient in Datong River Basin

The altitude distribution patterns of soil microorganisms and their driving mechanisms are crucial for understanding the consequences of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems. There is an obvious altitude difference in Datong River Basin in the Qilian Mountains. Two spatial scale transections were set up along the mountain slope (with altitude spanning 1 000 m) and the mainstream direction (with altitude spanning 300-500 m), respectively. The distribution characteristics of the soil bacterial community structure and diversity along the altitude gradients were examined using high-throughput sequencing technology. Based on the FAPROTAX database, the altitude distribution patterns of nitrogen cycling functional groups were analyzed to investigate the major environmental factors influencing the altitude distribution patterns of soil bacterial communities. The findings revealed that:① Soil physicochemical characteristics varied significantly with altitude. The content of total nitrogen (TN) and nitrate nitrogen (NO₃^-) were positively correlated with the altitude (P < 0.01), whereas the soil bulk density and pH were negatively connected (P < 0.001). ② The abundance of OTU increased significantly along the altitude (P < 0.01), and the richness and diversity indices increased along the altitude, although the trend was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). ③ The predominant bacterial communities were Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, and as altitude climbed, their relative abundances varied between increasing, decreasing, and slightly decreasing, respectively. ④ The nitrogen cycling processes involved 13 functional groups, primarily nitrification, aerobic ammonia oxidation, aerobic nitrite oxidation, etc. As the altitude increased, the response law changed, with an increase in the abundance of nitrobacteria (P < 0.01), a slight increase in the abundance of aerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, and a hump-back tendency in bacteria abundance for nitrogen respiration. ⑤ Redundancy analysis revealed that the key determinants influencing soil bacterial populations at the phylum level were altitude, pH, and the content of NH₄⁺. Mantel analysis showed that the dominant groups of soil bacterial nitrogen cycling were all statistically and significantly driven by altitude (P < 0.01). ⑥ The α-diversity of the bacterial community with increasing altitude were both increased along the mountain slope and the mainstream direction, but the soil properties, the abundance of N-cycling functional groups, and the main environmental factors differed. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore the altitude distribution pattern of soil microorganisms at different spatial scales.