Changes of Forest Microbiome Driven by Soil Properties after Clear-cut Logging in South Korea

Abstract

Clear-cut logging is a driver of deforestation in many forestry regions, significantly impacting on biodiversity and the ecosystem. It is well-known that soil properties change after clear-cut logging and soil microbiome change. However, studies that combine rhizosphere and endophyte with soil microbial communities are rare. We used 16s sequencing to characterize soil and rhizosphere bacterial and leaf endophytic communities. We conducted this study across previously clear-cut areas and adjacent control areas at the five forests (Cheongyang, Hongcheon, Jangseong, Pocheon, Yeongdeok) in South Korea for three years (2020 ~ 2022). We used three tree species (Quercus serrata, Quercus mongolica, and Lindera obtusiloba) which were common to all sites. In this study, the leaf endophytic community showed no significant difference between the control and logged area. Instead, the endophytic community differed among host plant species. However, the effects of clear-cut logging were different for each site in the rhizosphere and soil bacterial communities. Soil bacterial communities altered after clear-cut logging in all sites, and rhizosphere bacterial communities altered in four sites except Yeongdeok. Furthermore, the soil chemical properties that affect the bacterial community composition tended to coincide with the soil properties that showed differences between the control and logged areas in each site. As a result of the identification of differentially abundant bacteria between the control and logged area, Rhizobiales, Gp2, Mycobateriales, and Burkholderiales at the order level were observed in common in both soil and rhizosphere. These four orders were the top four dominant orders in bacterial community composition. Consequently, we showed that soil chemical properties altered after clear-cut logging influenced the soil bacterial community composition. We confirmed that changes in soil properties after clear-cut logging made changes in dominant bacteria and their relative abundance rather than phylogenetic differences in soil and rhizosphere.