Quercus species control nutrients dynamics by determining the composition and activity of the forest floor fungal community

Published Date

July 2016, Vol.98:186–195, doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.04.015

Title 

Quercus species control nutrients dynamics by determining the composition and activity of the forest floor fungal community

• Author 

• Bruno Chávez-Vergara ^a,
• Andrei Rosales-Castillo ^b,
• Agustín Merino ^c,
• Gerardo Vázquez-Marrufo ^b,
• Ken Oyama ^d,
• Felipe García-Oliva ^e,,

• aInstituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
• bCentro Multidisciplinario de Estudios en Biotecnología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Mexico
• cEscuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain
• dEscuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
• eInstituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico

Received 18 January 2016. Revised 18 April 2016. Accepted 21 April 2016. Available online 30 April 2016.

Highlights

• •
  Microbial community produces more exoenzyme in the poor litter quality.
• •
  Basidiomycota phyla diversity is higher in the poor litter quality.
• •
  The microbial nutrients acquisition strategy was different in each litter oak species.
• •
  Litter of Quercus species determine the composition of fungi community.

Abstract

In forest ecosystems, microbial community structure and activity play an important role in C and nutrient dynamics and are strongly influenced by litter composition. Moreover, litter decomposition rates also depend on microbial activity. Fungi are a key component of the microbial community as they produce extracellular hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes that degrade organic polymers and mobilize inorganic nutrients. In this study, we examined how litter composition affects microbial activity and fungal community structure by comparing decomposing litter derived from sympatric Quercus castanea (Qc) and Quercus deserticola (Qd) in a deciduous forest in Mexico. Microbial N and P biomass were higher in the Qd litter than in the Qc litter. The differences in N and P were seasonal and were not observed at the end of the rainy season (October). The specific enzyme activity was higher in the Qc than in the Qd litter, mainly at the onset of senescence (May). At this time, phenol oxidase and β-glucosidase activities were significantly higher in the Qc litter than in the Qd litter; thereby the nutrient acquisition strategies of the microbial community differ in the litter derived from each Quercus species. Internal transcribed spacer sequence analysis of the fungal community indicated higher richness (24 operational taxonomic units: OTUs) in the Qc litter than in the Qd litter (18 OTUs). Six taxonomic orders of microbes were common to both types of litter, and the phylum Basidiomycota was most abundant in the Qc litter. The lignin and tannin contents were highest in the Qclitter, which also contained diverse fungal taxa associated with POX production. The findings of the present study suggest that the Quercus species control the organic nutrient mineralization by determining the composition and activity of the forest floor microbial community.

Keywords

• Litter decomposition
• Enzymatic activity
• Mexico
• Qercus castanea
• Quercus deserticola

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• ∗ 
  Corresponding author. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, AP27-3, Santa María de Guido, Morelia 58090, Michoacán, Mexico.
  
  

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