Changes in microbial community structure and functioning with elevation are linked to local soil characteristics as well as climatic variables

Mountain forests are important carbon stocks and biodiversity hotspots but are threatened by increased insect outbreaks and climate-driven forest conversion. Soil microorganisms play an eminent role in nutrient cycling in forest habitats and form the basis of soil food webs. Uncovering the driving factors shaping microbial communities and functioning at mountainsides across the world is of eminent importance to better understand their dynamics at local and global scales. We investigated microbial communities and their climatic and local soil-related drivers along an elevational gradient (800-1700 m asl) of primary forests at Changbai Mountain, China. We analyzed substrate-induced respiration and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) in litter and two soil layers at seven sites. Microbial biomass (C-mic) peaked in the litter layer and increased towards higher elevations. In the litter layer, the increase in C-mic and in stress indicator ratios was negatively correlated with Ca concentrations indicating increased nutritional stress in high microbial biomass communities at sites with lower Ca availability. PLFA profiles in the litter layer separated low and high elevations, but this was less pronounced in soil, suggesting that the litter layer functions as a buffer for soil microbial communities. Annual variations in temperature correlated with PLFA profiles in all three layers, while annual variations in precipitation correlated with PLFA profiles in upper soil only. Furthermore, the availability of resources, soil moisture, Ca concentrations, and pH structured the microbial communities. Pronounced changes in C-mic and stress indicator ratios in the litter layer between pine-dominated (800-1100 m) and spruce-dominated (1250-1700 m) forests indicated a shift in the structure and functioning of microbial communities between forest types along the elevational gradient. The study highlights strong changes in microbial community structure and functioning along elevational gradients, but also shows that these changes and their driving factors vary between soil layers. Besides annual variations in temperature and precipitation, carbon accumulation and nitrogen acquisition shape changes in microbial communities with elevation at Changbai Mountain.