scholarly journals Shifts in soil and plant functional diversity along an altitudinal gradient in the French Alps

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexia Stokes ◽  
Guillermo Angeles ◽  
Fabien Anthelme ◽  
Eduardo Aranda-Delgado ◽  
Isabelle Barois ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Community ◽  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Water Infiltration ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Biophysical Properties ◽  
Tropical Zone ◽  
Soil Microbial

Abstract Objectives Altitude integrates changes in environmental conditions that determine shifts in vegetation, including temperature, precipitation, solar radiation and edaphogenetic processes. In turn, vegetation alters soil biophysical properties through litter input, root growth, microbial and macrofaunal interactions. The belowground traits of plant communities modify soil processes in different ways, but it is not known how root traits influence soil biota at the community level. We collected data to investigate how elevation affects belowground community traits and soil microbial and faunal communities. This dataset comprises data from a temperate climate in France and a twin study was performed in a tropical zone in Mexico. Data description The paper describes soil physical and chemical properties, climatic variables, plant community composition and species abundance, plant community traits, soil microbial functional diversity and macrofaunal abundance and diversity. Data are provided for six elevations (1400–2400 m) ranging from montane forest to alpine prairie. We focused on soil biophysical properties beneath three dominant plant species that structure local vegetation. These data are useful for understanding how shifts in vegetation communities affect belowground processes, such as water infiltration, soil aggregation and carbon storage. Data will also help researchers understand how plant communities adjust to a changing climate/environment.

scholarly journals Evidence of within-species specialization by soil microbes and the implications for plant community diversity

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (15) ◽  
pp. 7371-7376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenalle L. Eck ◽  
Simon M. Stump ◽  
Camille S. Delavaux ◽  
Scott A. Mangan ◽  
Liza S. Comita
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Soil Microbial Community ◽  
Soil Microbes ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Species Specific

Microbes are thought to maintain diversity in plant communities by specializing on particular species, but it is not known whether microbes that specialize within species (i.e., on genotypes) affect diversity or dynamics in plant communities. Here we show that soil microbes can specialize at the within-population level in a wild plant species, and that such specialization could promote species diversity and seed dispersal in plant communities. In a shadehouse experiment in Panama, we found that seedlings of the native tree species, Virola surinamensis (Myristicaceae), had reduced performance in the soil microbial community of their maternal tree compared with in the soil microbial community of a nonmaternal tree from the same population. Performance differences were unrelated to soil nutrients or to colonization by mycorrhizal fungi, suggesting that highly specialized pathogens were the mechanism reducing seedling performance in maternal soils. We then constructed a simulation model to explore the ecological and evolutionary consequences of genotype-specific pathogens in multispecies plant communities. Model results indicated that genotype-specific pathogens promote plant species coexistence—albeit less strongly than species-specific pathogens—and are most effective at maintaining species richness when genetic diversity is relatively low. Simulations also revealed that genotype-specific pathogens select for increased seed dispersal relative to species-specific pathogens, potentially helping to create seed dispersal landscapes that allow pathogens to more effectively promote diversity. Combined, our results reveal that soil microbes can specialize within wild plant populations, affecting seedling performance near conspecific adults and influencing plant community dynamics on ecological and evolutionary time scales.

Drought intensity effects on grassland plant communities and soil microbial community function

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Oram ◽  
Johannes Ingrisch ◽  
Gerd Gleixner ◽  
Nadine Praeg ◽  
Paul Illmer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Soil Microbial Community ◽  
Extracellular Enzyme ◽  
Community Recovery ◽  
Community Functioning ◽  
Drought Intensity ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Acquisition Strategies

<p>Plant and soil communities are intimately connected. Plants shape soil microbial community composition through their resource acquisition strategies and via root carbon (C) inputs, which has cascading effects on biogeochemical cycles. Drought has been shown to disrupt the connection between plants and soil microorganisms. However, the effects of drought intensity on soil microbial community functioning, including the uptake of recent plant-derived C, are largely unknown. Here, we determined how two plant communities with contrasting resource acquisition strategies (acquisitive versus conservative) responded to a gradient of drought (control, and eight drought intensities). Using a <sup>13</sup>C pulse labelling approach, we tracked C allocated from plants to soil and its uptake by the microbial community. We measured potential extracellular enzyme activity as a proxy of microbial community functioning. We hypothesized that (1) drought responses are non-linear, and (2) acquisitive plant communities have lower drought resistance but recover faster than conservative plant communities, which is reflected in lower <sup>13</sup>C transfer and reduced microbial functioning during drought and increases after drought. In general, we found that the responses we measured were non-linearly related to drought intensity. After three weeks of drought, drought intensity decreased aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) of both plant communities. Soil extractable organic <sup>13</sup>C decreased with increasing drought intensity, indicating that less recently assimilated C was allocated to root exudation. Although microbial biomass remained stable over the drought intensity gradient, <sup>13</sup>C uptake into microbial biomass decreased at peak drought, and was lower in the conservative vs. acquisitive plant community at mild drought levels. Potential enzyme activity of β-1,4-glucosidase, involved in cellulose breakdown, and  β-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase, involved in chitin breakdown, decreased with increasing drought intensity. Urease activity was higher in conservative than acquisitive plant communities exposed to drought. Seven days after re-wetting, we found that microbial uptake of <sup>13</sup>C increased along the drought gradient and was higher than the control in communities previously subjected to high drought intensities. This fast microbial recovery could affect nutrient mobilisation, which could underlie longer-term plant community recovery. Two months after re-wetting, we indeed found that plant communities that had previously experienced high drought intensity (> 75% soil water deficit) had higher ANPP than the control. We conclude that drought intensity has significant non-linear effects on microbial uptake of recent plant C and on potential extracellular enzyme activities both during drought and recovery, with consequences for plant community recovery dynamics.  </p>

scholarly journals Relationships Between Soil Microbial Communities and Plant Communities on Different Slope Aspects in a Subalpine Coniferous Forest

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luoshu He ◽  
Suhui Ma ◽  
Jiangling Zhu ◽  
Xinyu Xiong ◽  
Yangang Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Soil Microbial Communities ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Coniferous Forests ◽  
Slope Aspect ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Plant Soil ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Purpose The local microclimate of different slope aspects in the same area can not only impact soil environment and plant community but also affect soil microbial community. However, the relationship between aboveground plant communities and belowground soil microbial communities on various slope aspects has not been well understood.Methods We investigated the above- and belowground relationship on different slope aspects and explored how soil properties influence this relationship. Plant community attributes were evaluated by plant species richness and plant total basal area. Soil microbial community was assessed based on both 16S rRNA and ITS rRNA, using High-throughput Illumina sequencing. Results There was no significant correlation between plant richness and soil bacterial community composition on the north slope, but there was a positive correlation on the south slope and a significantly negative correlation on the flat site. There was a significantly negative correlation between soil fungal community composition and plant total basal area, which did not change with the slope aspect. In addition, there was no significant correlation between plant community species richness and soil microbial species richness.Conclusions In subalpine coniferous forests, the relationship between plant-soil bacteria varies with slope aspect, but the plant-soil fungi relationship is relatively consistent across different slope aspects. These results can improve our understanding of the relationship between plant and soil microorganisms in forest ecosystems under microtopographic changes and have important implications for the conservation of biodiversity and forest management in subalpine coniferous forests.

scholarly journals Effects of plant community history, soil legacy and plant diversity on soil microbial communities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc W. Schmid ◽  
Sofia J. van Moorsel ◽  
Terhi Hahl ◽  
Enrica De Luca ◽  
Gerlinde B. Deyn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiment ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Soil Microbial Diversity ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Community History ◽  
Soil Legacy ◽  
Bacterial Richness

AbstractPlant and soil microbial diversity are linked through a range of interactions, including the exchange of carbon and nutrients but also herbivory and pathogenic effects. Over time, associations between plant communities and their soil microbiota may strengthen and become more specific, resulting in stronger associations between plant and soil microbial diversity. We tested this hypothesis in a 4-year long field experiment in which we factorially combined plant community history and soil legacy with plant diversity (1, 2, 4, 8, 60 species). Plant community history and soil legacy refer to the presence (“old”) or absence (“new”) of a common history of plants and soils in 52 different plant species compositions during 8 years in a long-term biodiversity experiment in Jena, Germany. After 4 years of growth, we took soil samples in the new field experiment and determined soil bacterial and fungal composition in terms of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) using 16S rRNA gene and ITS DNA sequencing. Plant community history did not affect overall soil community composition but differentially affected bacterial richness and abundances of specific bacteria taxa in association with particular plant species compositions. Soil legacy markedly increased soil bacterial richness and evenness and decreased fungal evenness. Soil fungal richness increased with plant species richness, regardless of plant community history or soil legacy, with the strongest difference between plant monocultures and mixtures. Particular plant species compositions and functional groups were associated with particular bacterial and fungal community compositions. Grasses increased and legumes decreased fungal richness and evenness. Our findings indicate that as experimental ecosystems varying in plant diversity develop over 8 years, plant species associate with specific soil microbial taxa. This can have long-lasting effects on belowground community composition in re-assembled plant communities, as reflected in strong soil legacy signals still visible after 4 years of growing new plant communities. Effects of plant community history on soil communities are subtle and may take longer to fully develop.

scholarly journals Spatial Patterns in Plant Diversity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Danilo Coelho de Almeida
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Null Models ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Leaf Mass Per Area ◽  
Mature Trees

<p>The present study is divided into two parts: Firstly, null models where used to test whether plant communities in a New Zealand forest were assembled deterministically or stochastically. Secondly, a relationship between a plant trait; Leaf Mass per Area (LMA) and environmental conditions was investigated in a New Zealand forest. For the first study abundance of adult species was recorded in thirty 30m x 30m plots at Otari Wilton's Bush. In a subsample of six plots, the abundance of seedling species was also recorded. Null models for species co-occurrence, species richness, species abundance and niche overlap were used in order to establish how plant communities assemble at Otari Wilton's Bush. There was evidence of both determinist and stochasticity in some aspects of the plant community, it appears that seedlings are mainly randomly assembled whereas, determinism appears to be the main driver of community composition for mature trees. Results therefore suggest a pluralistic approach should be used in order to explain plant community patterns at Otari Wilton's Bush. For the second study, of all species observed in the first study only those species found in five or more of the plots were examined. For those species, the height of the two highest individuals was measured. From each individual, six fully exposed leaves were collected and measured. Measurements of environmental conditions were also collected for all plots. Principal component analysis and multiple regression was used to analyse the data. Height related (vertical) trends were observed for three surveyed species such that LMA significantly increased with plant height. Horizontal patterns were observed for two species, and for three species it was not possible to distinguish the association of tree height (vertical) and position along the forest (horizontal) with LMA. Potentially, by including more species in future studies a clearer pattern will be observed. It could also be that different species display different strategies regarding LMA and if so, a study more focused on individual species in isolation may be able to provide more informative explanations.</p>

scholarly journals Spatial Patterns in Plant Diversity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Danilo Coelho de Almeida
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Null Models ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Leaf Mass Per Area ◽  
Mature Trees

<p>The present study is divided into two parts: Firstly, null models where used to test whether plant communities in a New Zealand forest were assembled deterministically or stochastically. Secondly, a relationship between a plant trait; Leaf Mass per Area (LMA) and environmental conditions was investigated in a New Zealand forest. For the first study abundance of adult species was recorded in thirty 30m x 30m plots at Otari Wilton's Bush. In a subsample of six plots, the abundance of seedling species was also recorded. Null models for species co-occurrence, species richness, species abundance and niche overlap were used in order to establish how plant communities assemble at Otari Wilton's Bush. There was evidence of both determinist and stochasticity in some aspects of the plant community, it appears that seedlings are mainly randomly assembled whereas, determinism appears to be the main driver of community composition for mature trees. Results therefore suggest a pluralistic approach should be used in order to explain plant community patterns at Otari Wilton's Bush. For the second study, of all species observed in the first study only those species found in five or more of the plots were examined. For those species, the height of the two highest individuals was measured. From each individual, six fully exposed leaves were collected and measured. Measurements of environmental conditions were also collected for all plots. Principal component analysis and multiple regression was used to analyse the data. Height related (vertical) trends were observed for three surveyed species such that LMA significantly increased with plant height. Horizontal patterns were observed for two species, and for three species it was not possible to distinguish the association of tree height (vertical) and position along the forest (horizontal) with LMA. Potentially, by including more species in future studies a clearer pattern will be observed. It could also be that different species display different strategies regarding LMA and if so, a study more focused on individual species in isolation may be able to provide more informative explanations.</p>

Relationship between soil properties and enzyme activities with soil water repellency

Soil Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Simpson ◽  
Karen Mason ◽  
Kyle Robertson ◽  
Karin Müller
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Enzyme Activities ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Water Repellency ◽  
Water Infiltration ◽  
Soil Water Repellency ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
The North

Soil water repellency (SWR) is a common phenomenon observed throughout the world. It has a significant impact on water infiltration, altering soil hydrology and consequently the soil microbial community and nutrient cycling. Despite the importance of this phenomenon, the processes involved in the development and breakdown of SWR are poorly understood. The importance of the microbial community for SWR is becoming increasingly apparent. In this study, relationships between microbial activities and SWR were investigated by utilising the patchy occurrence of SWR to select both repellent and wettable soils in six locations of the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. Samples were from directly adjacent locations in mid spring and late summer, and a range of soil physico-chemical properties and enzyme activities were measured. The degree and potential persistence of SWR did not change between the two sampling times, whereas actual persistence of SWR increased. Soil moisture decreased between the two times, and although there was an inverse relationship between moisture and actual persistence of SWR in late summer, unexpectedly, it was a positive relationship in spring. Phosphatase, arylsulfatase and polysaccharide degrading enzyme activities increased with increasing SWR, whereas peroxidase activity decreased. The possible effects of increasing temperature and decreasing water content were modelled, and the observed relationships were strengthened. Arylsulfatase activity was strongly correlated with the degree of SWR, as was extractable organic sulfate, suggesting that the breakdown of sulfate-esters within humic material in soil may be involved in the release and accumulation of SWR-inducing hydrophobic compounds.

scholarly journals Relationship between Diversity and Stability of a Karst Plant Community

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Wang ◽  
Jin Chen ◽  
Limin Zhang ◽  
Ling Feng ◽  
Lingbin Yan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Functional Redundancy ◽  
Community Diversity ◽  
Ecosystem Ecology ◽  
Community Recovery ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Late Stages

The relationships among species diversity, functional diversity, functional redundancy, and community stability are central to community and ecosystem ecology. This paper examines plant communities at different stages of vegetation restoration in the Guizhou karst plateau to study the relationship among functional diversity, functional redundancy, and stability of plant communities. The most important results include the following. (1) Species diversity (SD), functional redundancy (FR), and stability (STB) gradually increased with restoration, and there were significant differences among the different stages; functional diversity (FD) increased at first and then decreased, and reached the highest level at the tree irrigation stage. (2) Plant height (PLH) and specific leaf area (SLA) were functional traits that affected the diversity and stability of the plant community, and PLH was positively correlated with plant community diversity and stability, while SLA was negatively correlated with plant community diversity and stability. (3) During the community recovery, FD and FR interacted to maintain stability. In the early and late stages of recovery, the effect of functional redundancy on stability was greater than that of functional diversity, but it was the opposite in the middle stages. (4) The tree irrigation stage is the likely point at which the species diversity of plant communities in karst areas reached saturation, and the growth rate of functional redundancy after species diversity saturation was greater than that before saturation.

scholarly journals Shift of Dominant Species in Plant Community and Soil Chemical Properties Shape Soil Bacterial Community Characteristics and Putative Functions: A Case Study on Topographic Variation in a Mountain Pasture

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 961
Author(s):  
Jinu Eo ◽  
Myung-Hyun Kim ◽  
Min-Kyeong Kim ◽  
Soon-Kun Choi
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Soil Bacterial Community ◽  
Soil Chemical Properties ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Community Characteristics ◽  
Soil Bacterial

Reducing management intensity according to the topography of pastures can change the dominant plant species from sown forages to weeds. It is unclear how changes in species dominance in plant community drive spatial variation in soil bacterial community characteristics and functions in association with edaphic condition. Analysing separately the effects of both plant communities and soil chemical properties on bacterial community is crucial for understanding the biogeographic process at a small scale. In this paper, we investigated soil bacterial responses in five plant communities (two forage and three weed), where >65% of the coverage was by one or two species. The structure and composition of the bacterial communities in the different microbiome were analysed using sequencing and their characteristics were assessed using the Functional Annotation of Prokaryotic Taxa (FAPROTAX) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. Firmicutes and Planctomycetes responded only to one specific plant community, and each plant community harboured unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at the species level. There were a large percentage of uniquely absent OTUs for specific plant communities, suggesting that a negative effect is critical in the relationship between plants and bacteria. Bacterial diversity indices were influenced more by soil chemical properties than by plant communities. Some putative functions related to C and N recycling including nitrogen fixation were correlated with pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and nutrient levels, and this also implied that some biological functions, such as ureolysis and carbon metabolism, may decline when fertilisation intensity is reduced. Taken together, these results suggest that a shift of dominant species in plant community exerts individual effects on the bacterial community composition, which is different from the effect of soil chemical properties.

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