Work

Effects of Simulated Precipitation Treatment on Denitrifying Microbial Communities in the Wayan Mountains

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau is undergoing rapid warming and humidification, with altered precipitation regimes increasingly affecting soil nitrogen cycling and N2O emissions. Denitrification—a key nitrogen transformation pathway—is particularly sensitive to these hydrological changes. Here, we investigated the response of nirK-type denitrifying microbial communities to altered precipitation in an alpine wetland on the northern shore of Qinghai Lake. Using a long-term precipitation manipulation platform with five gradients (ambient, ±25%, and ±50%), we integrated high-throughput sequencing with bioinformatics to systematically assess community shifts. Short-term precipitation treatments did not significantly alter alpha diversity, but markedly restructured community composition. Extreme wetting (+50%) increased within-group heterogeneity. At the phylum level, Proteobacteria remained dominant across all treatments, whereas extreme drought (−50%) suppressed Planctomycetes. At the genus level, Ochrobactrum was enriched under reduced precipitation, while Rhodopseudomonas increased under increased precipitation. Functional predictions indicated that reduced precipitation enhanced nitrogen fixation potential, whereas increased precipitation favored nitrate respiration. Soil pH and carbon fractions were the key environmental filters driving community variation. Ecological process analysis revealed that community assembly was entirely governed by deterministic processes, specifically variable selection. Together, these findings elucidate how precipitation shifts reconfigure the structure and functional potential of denitrifying microbial communities in alpine wetlands, primarily via changes in soil pH and moisture under variable selection. This work provides critical insights into microbial regulation of the nitrogen cycle on the Tibetan Plateau under ongoing climate change.

Source: Biology

DOI: 10.3390/biology15060512

Authors: Shijia Zhou, Kelong Chen, Ni Zhang, Zhiyun Zhou, Siyu Wang

Institutions: Qinghai Normal University, State Forestry and Grassland Administration

Language: English

Topic: Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics

Subfield: Soil Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Life on land, Clean water and sanitation

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,258