Characteristics of the soil bacterial community in the decomposition process inside and outside moso bamboo stumps

Purpose Soil bacteria comprise the largest number of soil microorganisms and play an important role in moso bamboo ( Phyllostachys edulis ) stumps decay; however, the characteristics of soil bacterial communities inside and outside these stumps remain unclear. Methods The characteristics of soil bacterial communities inside and outside Phyllostachys edulis bamboo stumps were analyzed under three different levels of decay using high-throughput sequencing technology. Results The abundance of operational taxonomic units, diversity index, and richness index inside and outside the bamboo stumps increased as the decay progressed; Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Planctomycetes were the most abundant phyla in the soil inside and outside the bamboo stumps showing different levels of decay. Outside the bamboo stumps, there was a very significant positive correlation of Acidobacteria and Planctomycetes with the decaying degree. At the genus level, Rhodanobacter and Singulisphaera played an important role in the process of decay inside and outside the bamboo stumps, respectively. The Tax4Fun function prediction results showed that the relative abundance of the carbohydrate metabolism function was the highest inside and outside the bamboo stumps with different levels of decay. Proteobacteria had a very significant positive correlation with the membrane transport function, while Acidobacteria had a very significant positive correlation with the signal transduction function. Actinobacteria had a very significant positive correlation with the nucleotide metabolism and translation functions. Conclusion Our results augment our understanding of the expeditious degradation process of bamboo stumps, and provide a theoretical basis and reference for microbiological research, and sustainable bamboo stump operations.