Effects of vegetation on the structure and diversity of soil bacterial communities in the Arctic tundra

The relatively simple vegetation of the Arctic tundra provides an ideal site in which to study the relationships between plants, bacterial communities and soil chemistry. Here, results of 16 S rRNA gene sequencing of secondary Arctic brown soils collected from underneath colonies of Dryasoctopetala, Luzulaconfusa and Bistortavivipara in the Arctic tundra near Ny-?lesund, Svalbard, Norway, reveal significant differences in bacterial communities related to soil environmental properties. Redundancy analysis shows that all measured geochemical factors were significant in structuring microbiomes, with strong correlations related to soil pH and organic matter contents. Vegetation is likely to affect the physical and chemical properties of the soil, which in turn affects the bacterial community and composition of the soil.