The uncontrolled invasion of moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) dramatically alters soil nitrogen cycling and destroys the natural habitat of Alsophila spinulosa. Nevertheless, no clear evidence points out the role of denitrifying bacteria in the invasion of bamboo into the habitat of A. spinulosa. In the present study, we found that low (importance value 0.0008), moderate (0.6551), and high (0.9326) bamboo invasions dramatically altered the underground root biomass of both P. pubescens and A. spinulosa. The root biomass of A. spinulosa was maximal at moderate invasion, indicating that intermediate disturbance might contribute to the growth and survival of the colonized plant. Successful bamboo invasion significantly increased rhizospheric soil available nitrogen content of A. spinulosa, coupled with elevated denitrifying bacterial abundance and diversity. Shewanella, Chitinophaga, and Achromobacter were the primary genera in the three invasions, whereas high bamboo invasion harbored more denitrifying bacteria and higher abundance than moderate and low invasions. Further correlation analysis found that most soil denitrifying bacteria were positively correlated with soil organic matter and available nitrogen but negatively correlated with pH and water content. In addition, our findings illustrated that two denitrifying bacteria, Chitinophaga and Sorangium, might be essential indicators for evaluating the effects of bamboo invasion on the growth of A. spinulosa. Collectively, this study found that moso bamboo invasion could change the nitrogen cycling of colonized habitats through alterations of denitrifying bacteria and provided valuable perspectives for profound recognizing the invasive impacts and mechanisms of bamboo expansion.
Keywords: Alsophila spinulosa; Phyllostachys pubescens; denitrifying bacteria; invasion; nitrogen cycle.