Structure of soil microbial communities in sugi plantations and seminatural broad-leaved forests with different land-use history1

Phospholipid fatty acid profiles were used to evaluate microbial community composition in different soil layers of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica (L.f.) D. Don) plantations and seminatural secondary forests in southeastern Kyushu, Japan. These forests had previously been utilized as meadows or coppices. Principal components analysis and canonical correspondence analysis of the phospholipid fatty acid data demonstrated differences in microbial community structure between current vegetation (sugi plantations or seminatural forests) in the FH layer. In contrast, differences between the previous land-use types (meadows or coppices) were detected through variation in the soil microbial community structure in the upper part of the A layer (0-5 cm). However, in the deeper part of the A layer (5-10 cm), the influence of the previous land-use history on soil microbial community structure was weak and the influence of the current vegetation could be detected. In the 0-5 cm part of the A layer, the organic matter was correlated with the microbial community structure. However, it cannot be assumed that these soil chemical characteristics were the principal factors responsible for separation of the microbial communities based on previous land-use history because the difference in chemical characteristics between the sites was small. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]