Duration-Related Variations in Archaeal Communities after a Change from Upland Fields to Paddy Fields

Archaea substantially contribute to global geochemical cycling and energy cycling and are impacted by land-use change. However, the response of archaeal communities to a change from upland field to paddy field has been poorly characterized. Here, soil samples were collected at two depths (0-20 cm and 20-40 cm) from one upland field and six paddy fields that were established on former upland fields at different times (1, 5, 10, 20, 30, and 40 years before the study). Barcoded pyrosequencing was employed to assess the archaeal communities from the samples at taxonomic resolutions from phylum to genus levels. The total archaeal operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness showed a significant positive correlation with the land-use change duration. Two phyla, Euryarchaeota and Crenarchaeota, were recorded throughout the study. Both the relative abundance and OTU richness of Euryarchaeota increased at both depths but increased more steadily at the subsurface rather than at the surface. However, these data of Crenarchaeota were the opposite. Additionally, the archaeal composition exhibited a significant relationship with C/N ratios, total phosphorus, soil pH, Olsen phosphorus, and the land-use change duration at several taxonomic resolutions. Our results emphasize that after a change from upland fields to paddy fields, the archaeal diversity and composition changed, and the duration is an important factor in addition to the soil chemical properties.