• 标题：Effects of vegetation type on the microbial characteristics of the fissure soil-plant systems in karst rocky desertification regions of SW China
• 关键词：Karst rocky desertification (KRD),Shallow karst fissure (SKF),Vegetation type,Phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA),Microbial community composition
• 作者：Youjin Yan, Quanhou Dai, Gang Hu, Quan Jiao, Lina Mei, Wenbing Fu

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In karst regions, shallow karst fifissure (SKF) soil has proven to be an important plant habitat and soil resource. However, how plants affect the microbial abundance and community composition of SKF soil remains poorly studied. We explored the soil microbial community structure differences in fractured soil-plant systems by determining phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profifiles under three vegetation types (herbs, shrubs and trees) in SKF and used a bare SKF without vegetation as the control in a karst rocky desertifification area. The total microbial biomass and microbial community composition differed between surface soil and SKF soil. The total microbial biomass in surface soil was higher than that in SKF soil. In addition, in contrast to surface soil, the microbial communities in SKF soil were more vulnerable to the effects of environmental variables. Furthermore, plants had a signifificant positive effect on the accumulation of microbial biomass in surface and SKF soil: shrubs had the strongest effect, followed by trees. Vegetation types signifificantly affected the ratios of saturated PLFAs to monounsaturated PLFAs (SAT/MONO ratio) and cyclopropyl PLFAs to precursors (cy/pre ratio). In contrast to the SKF without vegetation, the SAT/MONO ratio and cy/pre ratio under grasslands, shrublands and trees were low. Herbs and shrubs had the greatest capacity to enhance the ability of soil to respond to environmental stress compared to trees. Our results suggest that, as an important plant habitat in karst regions, the condition of SKF soil should be urgently improved. The stereoscopic collocation of shrub-grass vegetation may be the preferred measure for vegetation restoration.