Chin J Plant Ecol ›› 2025, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (10): 1755-1766.DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2024.0380  cstr: 32100.14.cjpe.2024.0380

• Research Articles • Previous Articles    

Effects of forest fires on rhizosphere and bulk soil microbial communities of Larix gmelinii

HU Tong-Xin(), SHI Lin, DOU Xu, YU Cheng, HAN Yu, SUN Long*()   

  1. Key Laboratory of Northern Forest Fire Management, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
  • Received:2024-10-24 Accepted:2025-03-21 Online:2025-10-20 Published:2025-11-26
  • Contact: SUN Long
  • Supported by:
    The National Natural Science Foundation of China(32471868);Key Research and Development Program of Heilongjiang Province(ZZDYF220100001);The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(2572023CT01);The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(2572020DP14)

Abstract:

Aims Forest fires and soil microorganisms, along with their interactions, play a crucial role in shaping the soil environment in boreal forest ecosystems. The rhizosphere soil microbial community, recognised as one of the most sensitive bioindicators to environmental changes, offers critical insights into the stability of soil ecosystems. A comprehensive assessment of soil environmental stability in boreal forests necessitates a thorough understanding of the structural changes occurring in both rhizosphere and bulk soil microbial communities.
Methods This study focused on the rhizosphere soil of Larix gmelinii, a dominant tree species in the forests of northern China. The analysis of fungal and bacterial communities was conducted using ITS and 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technologies to investigate the effect of forest fires on the dynamics of soil microbial communities.
Important findings (1) Forest fires significantly reduced soil organic carbon content (decreased by 40.0% in rhizosphere soil and 15.7% in bulk soil), total nitrogen content (decreased by 51.3% in rhizosphere soil and 38.9% in bulk soil), as well as the activity of β-1,4-glucosidase (decreased by 83.4% in rhizosphere soil and 72.7% in bulk soil) and β-1,4-N-acetylglucosamine glucosidase activity (decreased by 54.6% in rhizosphere soil and 13.4% in bulk soil), while dissolved inorganic nitrogen content increased significantly after the fire (increased by 21.1% in rhizosphere soil and 431.8% in bulk soil). (2) After fire, a significant decrease was observed in the Shannon Wiener index of fungi in the rhizosphere and bulk soils (decreased by 12.2% and 13.7%, respectively). Concurrently, a significant increase was observed in the Shannon-Wiener index of bacteria (increased by 8.8% and 10.2%, respectively). Further analysis revealed significant differences in the β-diversity of community structures of fungal and bacterial analysis between the rhizosphere and bulk soils. (3) Redundancy analysis shows that soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon, dissolved inorganic nitrogen content, β-1,4-glucosidase activity, and β-1,4-N-acetylglucosamine activity are the primary factors influencing the composition of the fungal and bacterial community in the rhizosphere and bulk soils following fire. Structural equation modeling further elucidates the direct and indirect effects of forest fires on soil properties, enzyme activities, and microbial community structures. This study offers a valuable insight into the alterations in soil microbial community structure within the Da Hinggan Ling forest region after fire events, which is of great significance for the post-fire ecological restoration and the implementation of suitable protective and management measures.

Key words: forest fire, soil microbial community, rhizosphere soil, Larix gmelinii, microbial diversity