Impact of Soils Physico-Chemical Properties on Bacterial Diversity and Community Structure in Temperate Forests

Soil ecosystems accommodate various microbial communities which are major drivers of biogeochemical processes especially under favourable conditions. To understand the spatial distribution patterns of soil bacterial communities across different pine and indigenous forests, high-throughput sequencing was used to analyse the bacterial communities. The soil physical and chemical properties were determined using standard methods. To determine the impact soil physical and chemical parameters have on the distribution patterns of the bacterial communities, a Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) was carried out. The evenness (ACE index) and richness (Chao index) of the bacterial communities were significantly different across the forest types with the dominant bacterial phyla showing consistency. Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria were the most dominant phyla in all samples. Soil physical and chemical properties explained 49.72% of the total variation in the spatial heterogeneity of the microbial communities on axis 1 and 83.98% on axis 2. Soil pH, moisture content, nitrate content, potassium, organic carbon and total carbon had the greatest influence on the microbial communities. Soil physical and chemical properties are crucial factors in the determination of the distribution of soil microbial communities. An understanding of this is essential as it has direct consequences on soil ecosystem functioning.