Objective  Characteristics and seasonal changes of ammonia-oxidizing microorganism (AOM) community in soils under different land uses on Wuyi Mountains were studied.

  Method  Soil specimens of virgin woodland and tea plantations in evergreen broad-leaf forest growing zones at same latitude on Wuyi Mountains in Fujian were collected for Illumina Hiseq high-throughput sequencing to analyze the relative abundance and diversity of AOMs in the region. The data were applied for a correlation analysis with the physiochemical properties of the local soil.

  Result  (1) An abundant resource of AOMs was found in the soils. The microbial species in soil were similar despite varied land uses. The archaea domain of the AOMs included Unclassified Candidatus Nitrososphaera, Unclassified Crenarchaeota, Unclassified Thaumarchaeota, Nitrosopumilus, and others, while the bacteria consisted of Nitrosomonas, Nitrosospira, Unclassified Nitrosomonadaceae and others. At the tea plantations, a unique species, Nitrosovibrio, was found. (2) The relative abundance of AOMs in the region had significantly changed over time and was affected by the seasons. (3) The environmental factors affected the bacteria and the archaea of the AOM community in soil differently. The major influential factors also varied in accordance with seasons; and, potassium in soil affected mainly the bacteria, while ammonium nitrogen the archaea.

  Conclusion  Regular seasonal changes on the AOM community in the soil of evergreen broad-leaf forest zone on Wuyi Mountains were observed. Although the microbial species in the soils did not differ significantly by the land use, their relative abundance varied significantly seasonally and by the land utilization.