Effects of temperature on the composition and diversity of bacterial communities in bamboo soils at different elevations

Abstract. Bamboo is an important resource distributed in mountain areas in Asia. Little is known about the impact of temperature changes on bamboo soil bacterial communities. In this study, responses of bacterial communities collected at 600, 1200, and 1800 m to different incubation temperatures (15, 20, and 35 °C) were examined using barcoded pyrosequencing and soil analyses. Soil respiration was greater at higher elevation and incubation temperature. The bacterial diversity decreased after 112 days of incubation at 35 °C. Before incubation, Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria were the most abundant phyla in all communities. The relative abundance of Acidobacteria generally decreased after 112 days of incubation at the three temperatures. α-Proteobacteria showed a similar trend, while γ-Proteobacteria increased after incubation, except in samples from 1800 m incubated at 35 °C. Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling analysis revealed structural variability under different incubation times and temperatures. Principal component analysis indicated that the bacterial structure in samples incubated at 35 °C correlated with temperature and soil respiration, while structures in samples incubated at 15 and 20 °C correlated with time. These results suggest that a temperature rise could result in increasing soil respiration and soluble carbon and nitrogen consumption as well as differentially influence bacterial diversity and structure at different elevations.