scholarly journals Resistance, Resilience, and Recovery of Dryland Soil Bacterial Communities Across Multiple Disturbances

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blaire Steven ◽  
Michala L. Phillips ◽  
Jayne Belnap ◽  
La Verne Gallegos-Graves ◽  
Cheryl R. Kuske ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Soil Structure ◽  
Bacterial Biomass ◽  
Natural Resistance ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Community Recovery ◽  
Soil Bacterial Communities ◽  
Dryland Ecosystems ◽  
Soil Bacterial ◽  
And Function

Dryland ecosystems are sensitive to perturbations and generally slow to recover post disturbance. The microorganisms residing in dryland soils are especially important as they contribute to soil structure and nutrient cycling. Disturbance can have particularly strong effects on dryland soil structure and function, yet the natural resistance and recovery of the microbial components of dryland soils has not been well documented. In this study, the recovery of surface soil bacterial communities from multiple physical and environmental disturbances is assessed. Samples were collected from three field sites in the vicinity of Moab, UT, United States, 6 to 7 years after physical and climate disturbance manipulations had been terminated, allowing for the assessment of community recovery. Additionally, samples were collected in a transect that included three habitat patches: the canopy zone soils under the dominant shrubs, the interspace soils that are colonized by biological soil crusts, and edge soils at the plot borders. Field site and habitat patch were significant factors structuring the bacterial communities, illustrating that sites and habitats harbored unique soil microbiomes. Across the different sites and disturbance treatments, there was evidence of significant bacterial community recovery, as bacterial biomass and diversity were not significantly different than control plots. There was, however, a small number of 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence variants that distinguished particular treatments, suggesting that legacy effects of the disturbances still remained. Taken together, these data suggest that dryland bacterial communities may possess a previously unappreciated potential to recover within years of the original disturbance.

scholarly journals The role of ecosystem engineers in shaping the diversity and function of arid soil bacterial communities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Capucine Baubin ◽  
Arielle M. Farrell ◽  
Adam Šťovíček ◽  
Lusine Ghazaryan ◽  
Itamar Giladi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Ecosystem Engineers ◽  
Soil Microbiome ◽  
Desert Ecosystems ◽  
Arid Soil ◽  
Soil Bacterial Communities ◽  
Ant Nests ◽  
Soil Bacterial ◽  
And Function

ABSTRACTEcosystem engineers (EEs) are present in every environment and are known to strongly influence ecological processes and thus shape the distribution of species and resources. In this study, we assessed the direct and indirect effect of two EEs (perennial shrubs and ant nests), individually and combined, on the composition and function of arid soil bacterial communities. To that end, top soil samples were collected in the Negev Desert Highlands during the dry season from four patch types: (1) barren soil; (2) under shrubs; (3) near ant nests; or (4) near ant nests situated under shrubs. The bacterial composition was evaluated in the soil samples (fourteen replicates per patch type) using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, together with physico-chemical measures of the soil, and the potential functions of the community. We have found that the EEs differently affected the community composition. Indeed, barren patches supported a soil microbiome, dominated by Rubrobacter and Proteobacteria, while in EE patches the Deinococcus-Thermus phylum was dominating. The presence of the EEs similarly enhanced the abundance of phototrophic, nitrogen cycle and stress- related genes. In addition, only when both EEs were combined, were the soil characteristics altered. Our results imply that arid landscapes foster unique communities selected by each EE(s), solo or in combination, yet these communities have similar potential biological traits to persist under the harsh arid conditions. Environments with multiple EEs are complicated to study due to the possibility of non-additive effects of EEs and thus further research should be done.IMPORTANCEEcosystem engineers are organisms that can create, modify, or maintain their habitat. They are present in various environments but are particularly conspicuous in desert ecosystems, where their presence is tightly linked to vital resources like water or nutrients. Despite their key role in structuring and controlling desert ecosystems, joint engineering, and their effect on soil function, are unknown. Our study explores the contributions of key ecosystem engineers to the diversity and function of their soil microbiome allowing better understanding of their role in shaping habitats and engineering their activity

scholarly journals Impact of Maize–Mushroom Intercropping on the Soil Bacterial Community Composition in Northeast China

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1526
Author(s):  
Xiaoqin Yang ◽  
Yang Wang ◽  
Luying Sun ◽  
Xiaoning Qi ◽  
Fengbin Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Northeast China ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Bacterial Community Composition ◽  
Soil Microbial Communities ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Soil Bacterial Communities ◽  
Soil Bacterial

Conservative agricultural practices have been adopted to improve soil quality and maintain crop productivity. An efficient intercropping of maize with mushroom has been developed in Northeast China. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the effects of planting patterns on the diversity and structure of the soil bacterial communities at a 0–20 cm depth in the black soil zone of Northeast China. The experiment consisted of monoculture of maize and mushroom, and intercropping in a split-plot arrangement. The characteristics of soil microbial communities were performed by 16S rRNA gene amplicom sequencing. The results showed that intercropping increased soil bacterial richness and diversity compared with maize monoculture. The relative abundances of Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Saccharibacteria and Planctomycetes were significantly higher, whereas Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were lower in intercropping than maize monoculture. Redundancy analysis suggested that pH, NO3−-N and NH4+-N contents had a notable effect on the structure of the bacterial communities. Moreover, intercropping significantly increased the relative abundance of carbohydrate metabolism pathway functional groups. Overall, these findings demonstrated that intercropping of maize with mushroom strongly impacts the physical and chemical properties of soil as well as the diversity and structure of the soil bacterial communities, suggesting this is a sustainable agricultural management practice in Northeast China.

Temporal variation in soil bacterial communities can be confounded with spatial variation

2020 ◽  
Vol 96 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Syrie M Hermans ◽  
Hannah L Buckley ◽  
Fiona Curran-Cournane ◽  
Matthew Taylor ◽  
Gavin Lear
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Variation ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Amplicon Sequencing ◽  
Spatial Distance ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Soil Bacterial Communities ◽  
Causal Processes ◽  
Fundamental Understanding ◽  
Soil Bacterial ◽  
Indigenous Forest

ABSTRACT Investigating temporal variation in soil bacterial communities advances our fundamental understanding of the causal processes driving biological variation, and how the composition of these important ecosystem members may change into the future. Despite this, temporal variation in soil bacteria remains understudied, and the effects of spatial heterogeneity in bacterial communities on the detection of temporal changes is largely unknown. Using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, we evaluated temporal patterns in soil bacterial communities from indigenous forest and human-impacted sites sampled repeatedly over a 5-year period. Temporal variation appeared to be greater when fewer spatial samples per site were analysed, as well as in human-impacted compared to indigenous sites (P < 0.01 for both). The biggest portion of variation in bacterial community richness and composition was explained by soil physicochemical variables (13–24%) rather than spatial distance or sampling time (<1%). These results highlight the importance of adequate spatiotemporal replication when sampling soil communities for environmental monitoring, and the importance of conducting temporal research across a wide variety of land uses. This will ensure we have a true understanding of how bacterial communities change over space and time; the work presented here provides important considerations for how such research should be designed.

scholarly journals Field-Scale Transplantation Experiment To Investigate Structures of Soil Bacterial Communities at Pioneering Sites

2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (23) ◽  
pp. 8241-8248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Lazzaro ◽  
Andreas Gauer ◽  
Josef Zeyer
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Seasonal Pattern ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Soil Bacterial Communities ◽  
Reciprocal Transplantation ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
Soil Bacterial

ABSTRACTStudies on the effect of environmental conditions on plants and microorganisms are a central issue in ecology, and they require an adequate experimental setup. A strategy often applied in geobotanical studies is based on the reciprocal transplantation of plant species at different sites. We adopted a similar approach as a field-based tool to investigate the relationships of soil bacterial communities with the environment. Soil samples from two different (calcareous and siliceous) unvegetated glacier forefields were reciprocally transplanted and incubated for 15 months between 2009 and 2010. Controls containing local soils were included. The sites were characterized over time in terms of geographical (bedrock, exposition, sunlight, temperature, and precipitation) and physicochemical (texture, water content, soluble and nutrients) features. The incubating local (“home”) and transplanted (“away”) soils were monitored for changes in extractable nutrients and in the bacterial community structure, defined through terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) of the 16S rRNA gene. Concentrations of soluble ions in most samples were more significantly affected by seasons than by the transplantation. For example, NO3−showed a seasonal pattern, increasing from 1 to 3 μg NO3−(g soil dry weight)−1after the melting of snow but decreasing to <1 μg NO3−(g soil dry weight)−1in autumn. Seasons, and in particular strong precipitation events occurring in the summer of 2010 (200 to 300 mm of rain monthly), were also related to changes of bacterial community structures. Our results show the suitability of this approach to compare responses of bacterial communities to different environmental conditions directly in the field.

scholarly journals High throughput sequencing-based analysis of the soil bacterial community structure and functions of Tamarix shrubs in the lower reaches of the Tarim River

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e12105
Author(s):  
Fangnan Xiao ◽  
Yuanyuan Li ◽  
Guifang Li ◽  
Yaling He ◽  
Xinhua Lv ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Metabolic Pathways ◽  
Soil Bacteria ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Soil Bacterial Community ◽  
Tarim River ◽  
Soil Bacterial Communities ◽  
Soil Bacterial ◽  
And Function

Tamarix is a dominant species in the Tarim River Basin, the longest inland river in China. Tamarix plays an important role in the ecological restoration of this region. In this study, to investigate the soil bacterial community diversity in Tamarix shrubs, we collected soil samples from the inside and edge of the canopy and the edge of nebkhas and non-nebkhas Tamarix shrubs located near the Yingsu section in the lower reaches of Tarim River. High throughput sequencing technology was employed to discern the composition and function of soil bacterial communities in nebkhas and non-nebkhas Tamarix shrubs. Besides, the physicochemical properties of soil and the spatial distribution characteristics of soil bacteria and their correlation were analyzed. The outcomes of this analysis demonstrated that different parts of Tamarix shrubs had significantly different effects on soil pH, total K (TK), available K (AK), ammonium N (NH4+), and available P (AP) values (P < 0.05), but not on soil moisture (SWC), total salt (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), total N (TN), total P (TP), and nitrate N (NO3−) values. The soil bacterial communities identified in Tamarix shrubs were categorized into two kingdoms, 71 phyla, 161 classes, 345 orders, 473 families, and 702 genera. Halobacterota, unidentified bacteria, and Proteobacteria were found to be dominant phyla. The correlation between the soil physicochemical factors and soil bacterial community was analyzed, and as per the outcomes OM, AK, AP, EC, and NH4+ were found to primarily affect the structure of the soil bacterial community. SWC, TK and pH were positively correlated with each other, but negatively correlated with other soil factors. At the phyla level, a significantly positive correlation was observed between the Halobacterota and AP, OM as well as Bacteroidota and AK (P < 0.01), but a significantly negative correlation was observed between the Chloroflexi and AK, EC (P < 0.01). The PICRUSt software was employed to predict the functional genes. A total of 6,195 KEGG ortholog genes were obtained. The function of soil bacteria was annotated, and six metabolic pathways in level 1, 41 metabolic pathways in level 2, and 307 metabolic pathways in level 3 were enriched, among which the functional gene related to metabolism, genetic information processing, and environmental information processing was found to have the dominant advantage. The results showed that the nebkhas and canopy of Tamarix shrubs had a certain enrichment effect on soil nutrients content, and bacterial abundance and significant effects on the structure and function of the soil bacterial community.

scholarly journals The role of ecosystem engineers in shaping the diversity and function of arid soil bacterial communities

SOIL ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 611-637
Author(s):  
Capucine Baubin ◽  
Arielle M. Farrell ◽  
Adam Št'ovíček ◽  
Lusine Ghazaryan ◽  
Itamar Giladi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Soil Microbial Communities ◽  
Ecosystem Engineers ◽  
Patch Type ◽  
Arid Soil ◽  
Soil Bacterial Communities ◽  
Ant Nests ◽  
Soil Bacterial ◽  
And Function

Abstract. Ecosystem engineers (EEs) are present in every environment and are known to strongly influence ecological processes and thus shape the distribution of species and resources. In this study, we assessed the direct and indirect effect of two EEs (perennial shrubs and ant nests), individually and combined, on the composition and function of arid soil bacterial communities. To that end, topsoil samples were collected in the Negev desert highlands during the dry season from four patch types: (1) barren soil; (2) under shrubs; (3) near ant nests; or (4) near ant nests situated under shrubs. The bacterial community composition and potential functionality were evaluated in the soil samples (14 replicates per patch type) using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing together with physico-chemical measures of the soil. We have found that the EEs affected the community composition differently. Barren patches supported a soil microbiome, dominated by Rubrobacter and Proteobacteria, while in EE patches Deinococcus-Thermus dominated. The presence of the EEs similarly enhanced the abundance of phototrophic, nitrogen cycle, and stress-related genes. In addition, the soil characteristics were altered only when both EEs were combined. Our results suggest that arid landscapes foster unique communities selected by patches created by each EE(s), solo or in combination. Although the communities' composition differs, they support similar potential functions that may have a role in surviving the harsh arid conditions. The combined effect of the EEs on soil microbial communities is a good example of the hard-to-predict non-additive features of arid ecosystems that merit further research.

scholarly journals The role of ecosystem engineers in shaping the diversity and function of arid soil bacterial communities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Capucine Baubin ◽  
Arielle M. Farrell ◽  
Adam Šťovíček ◽  
Lusine Ghazaryan ◽  
Itamar Giladi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Soil Microbial Communities ◽  
Ecosystem Engineers ◽  
Patch Type ◽  
Arid Soil ◽  
Soil Bacterial Communities ◽  
Ant Nests ◽  
Soil Bacterial ◽  
And Function

Abstract. Ecosystem engineers (EEs) are present in every environment and are known to strongly influence ecological processes and thus shape the distribution of species and resources. In this study, we assessed the direct and indirect effect of two EEs (perennial shrubs and ant nests), individually and combined, on the composition and function of arid soil bacterial communities. To that end, topsoil samples were collected in the Negev Desert Highlands during the dry season from four patch types: (1) barren soil; (2) under shrubs; (3) near ant nests; or (4) near ant nests situated under shrubs. The bacterial community composition and potential functionality were evaluated in the soil samples (fourteen replicates per patch type) using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, together with physico-chemical measures of the soil. We have found that the EEs differently affected the community composition. Barren patches supported a soil microbiome, dominated by Rubrobacter and Proteobacteria, while in EE patches Deinococcus-Thermus dominated. The presence of the EEs similarly enhanced the abundance of phototrophic, nitrogen cycle and stress- related genes. In addition, the soil characteristics were altered only when both EEs were combined. Our results suggest that arid landscapes foster unique bacterial communities selected by patches created by each EE(s), solo or in combination. Although, the communities’ composition differs, they support similar potential functions that may have a role in surviving harsh arid conditions. The combined effect of the EEs on soil microbial communities is a good example of hard to predict non-additive features of arid ecosystems that, therefore, merit further research.

scholarly journals Soil Bacterial Communities and Diversity in Alpine Grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau Based on 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongmao Jiang ◽  
Youchao Chen ◽  
Yang Hu ◽  
Ziwei Wang ◽  
Xuyang Lu
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Soil Bacteria ◽  
Alpine Grassland ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Alpine Grasslands ◽  
Soil Bacterial Communities ◽  
Soil Bacterial ◽  
Grassland Types

The Tibetan Plateau, widely known as the world’s “Third Pole,” has gained extensive attention due to its susceptibility to climate change. Alpine grasslands are the dominant ecosystem on the Tibetan Plateau, albeit little is known about the microbial community and diversity among different alpine grassland types. Here, soil bacterial composition and diversity in the upper soils of five alpine grassland ecosystems, alpine meadow (AM), alpine steppe (AS), alpine meadow steppe (AMS), alpine desert (AD), and alpine desert steppe (ADS), were investigated based on the 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology. Actinobacteria (46.12%) and Proteobacteria (29.67%) were the two dominant soil bacteria at the phylum level in alpine grasslands. There were significant differences in the relative abundance at the genus level among the five different grassland types, especially for the Rubrobacter, Solirubrobacter, Pseudonocardia, Gaiella, Haliangium, and Geodermatophilus. Six alpha diversity indices were calculated based on the operational taxonomic units (OTUs), including Good’s coverage index, phylogenetic diversity (PD) whole tree index, Chao1 index, observed species index, Shannon index, and Simpson index. The Good’s coverage index value was around 0.97 for all the grassland types in the study area, meaning the soil bacteria samplings sequenced sufficiently. No statistically significant difference was shown in other diversity indices’ value, indicating the similar richness and evenness of soil bacteria in these alpine grasslands. The beta diversity, represented by Bray–Curtis dissimilarity and the non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), showed that OTUs were clustered within alpine grasslands, indicating a clear separation of soil bacterial communities. In addition, soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), pH, and soil water content (SWC) were closely related to the variations in soil bacterial compositions. These results indicated that soil bacterial taxonomic compositions were similar, while soil bacterial community structures were different among the five alpine grassland types. The environmental conditions, including SOM, TN, TP, pH, and SWC, might influence the soil bacterial communities on the Tibetan Plateau.

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