Effects of Different Land Use Types on Active Autotrophic Ammonia and Nitrite Oxidizers in Cinnamon Soils

Abstract

Land use types with different disturbance gradients show many variations in soil properties, but the effects of different land use types on soil nitrifying communities and their ecological implications remain poorly understood. Using ¹³CO₂-DNA-based stable isotope probing (DNA-SIP), we examined the relative importance and active community composition of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in soils under three land use types, forest, cropland, and greenhouse vegetable soil, representing three interference gradients. Soil net nitrification rate was in the order forest soil > cropland soil > greenhouse vegetable soil. DNA-SIP showed that active AOA outcompeted AOB in the forest soil, whereas AOB outperformed AOA in the cropland and greenhouse vegetable soils. Cropland soil was richer in NOB than in AOA and AOB. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that ammonia oxidation in the forest soil was predominantly catalyzed by the AOA <i>Nitrosocosmicus franklandus</i> cluster within the group 1.1b lineage. The ¹³C-labeled AOB were overwhelmingly dominated by <i>Nitrosospira</i> cluster 3 in the cropland soil. The active AOB <i>Nitrosococcus watsonii</i> lineage was observed in the greenhouse vegetable soil, and it played an important role in nitrification. Active NOB communities were closely affiliated with <i>Nitrospira</i> in the forest and cropland soils, and with <i>Nitrolancea</i> and <i>Nitrococcus</i> in the greenhouse vegetable soil. Canonical correlation analysis showed that soil pH and organic matter content significantly affected the active nitrifier community composition. These results suggest that land use types with different disturbance gradients alter the distribution of active nitrifier communities by affecting soil physicochemical properties. <b>IMPORTANCE</b> Nitrification plays an important role in the soil N cycle, and land use management has a profound effect on soil nitrifiers. It is unclear how different gradients of land use affect active ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. Our research is significant because we determined the response of nitrifiers to human disturbance, which will greatly improve our understanding of the niche of nitrifiers and the differences in their physiology.