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Effects of livestock grazing systems on soil microbial community composition and functional profiles related to carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling in the Tianzhu alpine grassland
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DOI：10.1007/s11104-026-08962-1.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Soil microorganisms play key roles in grassland biogeochemical cycling, yet little is known about how different livestock grazing systems are associated with soil microbial communities and microbial functional profiles related to nutrient cycling on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. This study investigated associations between grazing systems and microbial communities and functional genes involved in carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) cycling. Metagenomic sequencing was performed to characterize soil microbial communities and functional genes under Tibetan sheep grazing (SG), yak grazing (YG), and mixed grazing (MG). Grazing systems were associated with distinct microbial community composition, diversity, and functional profiles. SG showed a higher relative abundance of Pseudomonadota and greater bacterial richness, whereas YG was associated with higher relative abundances of Actinomycetota and Ascomycota, together with greater bacterial and fungal diversity. Functional genes involved in C fixation, N cycling, and P acquisition were generally more abundant under SG, whereas methane oxidation genes were more abundant under YG. Soil ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N), soil organic carbon (SOC), and available phosphorus (AP) were the soil properties most strongly associated with variation in microbial functional genes. Different livestock grazing systems were associated with contrasting microbial functional profiles related to soil C, N, and P cycling, and these patterns are likely linked to variation in soil properties. These findings provide new insights into grazing-associated variation in soil microbial functional profiles in the Tianzhu alpine grassland, although direct measurements of ecosystem processes are needed to further evaluate their ecological significance.
Keywords:
Metagenomic
Livestock grazing
Nutrient cycling
Soil microorganism
Functional genes
Alpine grassland
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