Community Structure of Soil Protozoa and Its Response to Environmental Factors in the Zhegu Steppe
In order to explore the characteristics of soil protozoa community and its correlation with environ-mental factors,seven sample sites were set up according to the geographical characteristics in the Zhegu Steppe,and a total of 70 soil samples were collected using the plum blossom five-point method in August(summer)and October(autumn)of 2021.Next,the culture and identification of soil protozoa were carried out using the non-floo-ded Petri dish method and the in vivo observation method.A total of 161 soil protozoa species were identified,be-longing to 13 classes,29 orders,56 families and 87 genera,among which Spirotrichea was the most abundant in summer and autumn.Heterotrichea and Armophorea were the least abundant in summer,while Heliozoea and Kary-orelictea possessed the lowest abundances in autumn.The Alpha diversity index was calculated to analyze the differ-ence of community structure in time,and the Mantel analysis was used to explore the relationships between the soil protozoa community and the soil environmental factors.The results showed that the Margalef species richness index(D),the Shannon-Wiener diversity index(H)and the Simpson dominance index(C)were significantly different between seasons(P<0.01),indicating that the soil protozoan structure was affected by seasons.Available potassium(RAK),total nitrogen(TN)and soil organic matter(SOM)were the main environmental factors affect-ing the distribution of soil protozoa species in summer and autumn.This study provides basic data for the protection and restoration of soil ecological environment in the Zhegu Steppe.