Microbial community diversity in the profile of an agricultural soilin northern China
ZHOU Juan , GUO Weihua , WANG Renqing , HAN Xuemei , WANG Qiang
DOI:
Received October 09, 2007,Revised January 08, 2008, Accepted , Available online
Volume 20,2008,Pages 981-988
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The soil microorganisms at di erent depths play an important role in soil formation, ecosystem biogeochemistry, recycling of
nutrients, and degradation of waste products. The aims of this study were to observe the microbial diversity in the profile of an
agricultural soil in northern China, and to research the correlation between soil microbes and geochemistry. First, the soil geochemistry
of the profile was investigated through 25 chemical elements. Secondly, the various physiological groups of microorganisms were
studied by traditional culture methods. Thirdly, the functional diversity on sole carbon source utilization (SCSU) was evaluated
by the BIOLOG system. Finally, the correlation between the soil microbial diversity and geochemistry was analyzed statistically.
The results showed that the amounts and proportions of various physiological groups of microorganisms changed with depth. The
bacterial functional diversity on SCSU decreased with increasing depth, but evenness of the substrate utilization increased. Although
the microbial metabolic diversity was di erent at every depth, it could be classified into three main groups by principal component
analysis and cluster analysis. The various physiological groups of microorganisms showed remarkable correlation with relevant soil
chemical elements. The sensitive microbial indicators of soil health were expected to be screened out from actinomyces or ammonifying
bacteria.
