|
|
The field of soil ecology has relatively few fundamental unifying principles that can be used to explain and predict patterns and processes in belowground ecosystems. Here we propose that a first step towards developing a more comprehensive set of unifying principles in soil ecology is to identify and understand the characteristics shared by a wide range of soils, the common mechanisms driving soil biogeochemical processes, and the biogeochemical constraints imposed on soil biota regardless of soil type. Very often, soil ecologists focus on the differences between soils when, in fact, many soils share a common set of ecological mechanisms that govern biogeochemical processes. Here we explore evidence for the existence...
|
The consequences of deforestation for aboveground biodiversity have been a scientific and political concern for decades. In contrast, despite being a dominant component of biodiversity that is essential to the functioning of ecosystems, the responses of belowground biodiversity to forest removal have received less attention. Single-site studies suggest that soil microbes can be highly responsive to forest removal, but responses are highly variable, with negligible effects in some regions. Using high throughput sequencing, we characterize the effects of deforestation on microbial communities across multiple biomes and explore what determines the vulnerability of microbial communities to this vegetative change. We...
|
Although belowground ecosystems have been studied extensively and soil biota play integral roles in biogeochemical processes, surprisingly we have a limited understanding of global patterns in belowground biomass and community structure. To address this critical gap, we conducted a meta-analysis of published data (> 1300 datapoints) to compare belowground plant, microbial and faunal biomass across seven of the major biomes on Earth. We also assembled data to assess biome-level patterns in belowground microbial community composition. Our analysis suggests that variation in microbial biomass is predictable across biomes, with microbial biomass carbon representing 0.6-1.1% of soil organic carbon (r(2) = 0.91) and 1-20%...
Categories: Publication;
Types: Citation,
Journal Citation;
Tags: 16S rRNA,
Acari,
Collembola,
Ecology Letters,
nematodes, All tags...
soil bacteria,
soil fauna biomass,
soil food webs,
soil fungi,
soil microbial biomass, Fewer tags
|
Soil drying and rewetting represents a common physiological stress for the microbial communities residing in surface soils. A drying-rewetting cycle may induce lysis in a significant proportion of the microbial biomass and, for a number of reasons, may directly or indirectly influence microbial community composition. Few studies have explicitly examined the role of drying-rewetting frequency in shaping soil microbial community structure. In this experiment, we manipulated soil water stress in the laboratory by exposing two different soil types to 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, or 15 drying-rewetting cycles over a 2-month period. The two soils used for the experiment were both collected from the Sedgwick Ranch Natural Reserve...
|
The rapid rewetting of a dry soil often yields a pulse in soil CO2 production that persists for 2 to 6 d. This phenomenon is a common occurrence in surface soils, yet the mechanism responsible for producing the CO2 pulse has not been positively identified, We studied the effects of a single drying and rewetting event on soil C pools, to identify which specific C substrates are mineralized to produce the observed pulse in respiration rates. We labeled two soils with C-glucose and measured the enrichment and pool sizes of the released CO2, extractable biomass C, and extractable soil organic matter (SOM-C) throughout a drying and rewetting cycle. After rewetting, respiration rates were 475 to 370% higher than the rates...
|
View more...
|
