| To further understand the status and effects of different aged artificial sea buckthorn forests on soil microbial-composition, three major groups of soil microorganisms were investigated by plate cultivation. Meanwhile, the data in the study were analyzed using the hierarchical cluster as well as the principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that, for the total quantity of the soil microorganisms among all three major microbial groups, 7a forest had the highest, whereas 10 a and 15 a contained less and there was no significant difference between them. Additionally, the group of actinomycetes, though smaller in quantity, played a more important role in influencing the variations of Shannon-Wiener index. Four kinds of different aged sea buckthorn forests were classified into three classes according to the composition of culturable soil microorganisms through the analyses of hierarchical cluster and the principal component analysis (PCA). Forest age played extremely significant roles in affecting the soil micro-composition. Furthermore, in this study, the results also indicated that the microbial-composition in sea buckthorn forests more than 10 years old was similar to that in the abandon land. In conclusion, it was suggested that there was a particular rule and causes for the variations in soil microorganism composition under different aged sea buckthorn forests, which offered reference and theoretical basis to the sustainable development of economic vegetation in the gully region of loess plateau. |