摘要：Characterizing the spatial distribution patterns of soil microorganisms is helpful in understanding the biogeochemical processes they perform, but has been less studied relative to those of macroorganisms. In this study, we investigated and compared the spatially explicit distribution patterns of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) abundance and the influential factors between an early (ES) and a late successional (LS) subtropical forest stand. The average AOA abundance, vegetational attributes, and soil nutrient contents were mostly greater in the LS than the ES stand ( P = 0.085 or smaller), but their spatial variations were more pronounced in the ES than the LS stand. The spatial distribution patches of AOA abundance were smaller and more irregular in the ES stand (patch size
