Changes in soil ammonia oxidizers and potential nitrification after clear-cutting of boreal forests in China

The Korean pine and broad-leaved mixed forests are the most typical and complete ecosystem among the global boreal forests, with extremely important ecological functions. However, few studies on the changes of soil ammonia oxidizers and potential nitrification after clear-cutting of forests are reported. In this study, in contrast to primary Korean pine forests, nitrate (NO₃^-) was significantly higher in secondary broad-leaved forests, while ammonium (NH₄⁺) was on the contrary. The abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) was greatly higher in secondary broad-leaved forests, while levels of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) were not significantly different between them. The significant differences of community structure of AOA and AOB were observed in different forest types and soil layers. Compared with AOA, community compositions of AOB was more sensitive to forest type. The dominant groups of AOA were Nitrososphaera and Nitrosotalea, and the dominant group of AOB was Nitrosospira, of which Nitrosospira cluster 2 and 4 were functional groups with highly activity. Soil potential nitrification rate (PNR) was higher in secondary broad-leaved forests. Furthermore, PNR and AOB abundance had a significant positive correlation, but no significant correlation with AOA abundance. These results provide insights into the soil nitrogen balance and effects on forest restoration after clear-cutting.