TY - JOUR
T1 - Differences in microbial community structure and nitrogen cycling in natural and drained tropical peatland soils
AU - Espenberg, Mikk
AU - Truu, Marika
AU - Mander, Ülo
AU - Kasak, Kuno
AU - Nõlvak, Hiie
AU - Ligi, Teele
AU - Oopkaup, Kristjan
AU - Maddison, Martin
AU - Truu, Jaak
N1 - Funding Information:
This was supported by the Estonian Research Council (grant IUT2-16); and the EU through the European Regional Development Fund through Centre of Excellence EcolChange and the European Social Fund (Doctoral School of Earth Sciences and Ecology). We would like to thank the PhD students participating in the field works.
PY - 2018/12/1
Y1 - 2018/12/1
N2 - Tropical peatlands, which play a crucial role in the maintenance of different ecosystem services, are increasingly drained for agriculture, forestry, peat extraction and human settlement purposes. The present study investigated the differences between natural and drained sites of a tropical peatland in the community structure of soil bacteria and archaea and their potential to perform nitrogen transformation processes. The results indicate significant dissimilarities in the structure of soil bacterial and archaeal communities as well as nirK, nirS, nosZ, nifH and archaeal amoA gene-possessing microbial communities. The reduced denitrification and N2-fixing potential was detected in the drained tropical peatland soil. In undisturbed peatland soil, the N2O emission was primarily related to nirS-type denitrifiers and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium, while the conversion of N2O to N2 was controlled by microbes possessing nosZ clade I genes. The denitrifying microbial community of the drained site differed significantly from the natural site community. The main reducers of N2O were microbes harbouring nosZ clade II genes in the drained site. Additionally, the importance of DNRA process as one of the controlling mechanisms of N2O fluxes in the natural peatlands of the tropics revealed from the results of the study.
AB - Tropical peatlands, which play a crucial role in the maintenance of different ecosystem services, are increasingly drained for agriculture, forestry, peat extraction and human settlement purposes. The present study investigated the differences between natural and drained sites of a tropical peatland in the community structure of soil bacteria and archaea and their potential to perform nitrogen transformation processes. The results indicate significant dissimilarities in the structure of soil bacterial and archaeal communities as well as nirK, nirS, nosZ, nifH and archaeal amoA gene-possessing microbial communities. The reduced denitrification and N2-fixing potential was detected in the drained tropical peatland soil. In undisturbed peatland soil, the N2O emission was primarily related to nirS-type denitrifiers and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium, while the conversion of N2O to N2 was controlled by microbes possessing nosZ clade I genes. The denitrifying microbial community of the drained site differed significantly from the natural site community. The main reducers of N2O were microbes harbouring nosZ clade II genes in the drained site. Additionally, the importance of DNRA process as one of the controlling mechanisms of N2O fluxes in the natural peatlands of the tropics revealed from the results of the study.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85044310236&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-018-23032-y
DO - 10.1038/s41598-018-23032-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 29549345
AN - SCOPUS:85044310236
VL - 8
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
SN - 2045-2322
IS - 1
M1 - 4742
ER -