Peer Review #2 of "Spatial heterogeneity of physicochemical properties explains differences in microbial composition in arid soils from Cuatro Cienegas, Mexico (v0.2)"

Arid ecosystems are characterized by high spatial heterogeneity, and the variation among vegetation patches is a clear example. Soil biotic and abiotic factors associated with these patches have also been well documented as highly heterogeneous in space. Given the low vegetation cover and little precipitation in arid ecosystems, soil microorganisms are the main drivers of nutrient cycling. Nonetheless, little is known about the spatial distribution of microorganisms and the relationship that their diversity holds with nutrients and other physicochemical gradients in arid soils. In this study, we evaluated the spatial variability of soil microbial diversity and chemical parameters (nutrients and ion content) at local scale (meters) occurring in a gypsum-based desert soil, to gain knowledge on what soil abiotic factors control the distribution of microbes in arid ecosystems. We analyzed 32 soil samples within a 64 m2plot and: (a) characterized microbial diversity using T-RFLPs of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene, (b) determined soil chemical parameters, and (c) identified relationships between microbial diversity and chemical properties. Overall, we found a strong correlation between microbial composition heterogeneity and spatial variation of cations (Ca2, K+) and anions (HCO${}_{3}^{-}$, Cl−, SO${}_{4}^{2-}$) content in this small plot. Our results could be attributable to spatial differences of soil saline content, favoring the patchy emergence of salt and soil microbial communities.

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Peer Review #2 of "Microbial secondary succession in soil microcosms of a desert oasis in the Cuatro Cienegas Basin, Mexico (v0.1)"

10.7287/peerj.47v0.1/reviews/2 ◽

2013 ◽

Keyword(s):

Peer Review ◽

Secondary Succession ◽

Soil Microcosms ◽

Desert Oasis ◽

Cuatro Ciénegas ◽

Cuatro Ciénegas Basin

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Fish-processing effluent discharges influenced physicochemical properties and prokaryotic community structure in arid soils from Patagonia

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136882 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 714 ◽

pp. 136882 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M.B. Vallejos ◽

M.S. Marcos ◽

C. Barrionuevo ◽

N.L. Olivera

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Physicochemical Properties ◽

Arid Soils ◽

Prokaryotic Community ◽

Fish Processing

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Vulnerability and resistance in the spatial heterogeneity of soil microbial communities under resource additions

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1908117117 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 117 (13) ◽

pp. 7263-7270 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kelly Gravuer ◽

Anu Eskelinen ◽

Joy B. Winbourne ◽

Susan P. Harrison

Keyword(s):

Spatial Variability ◽

Spatial Heterogeneity ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Archaeal Community ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Water Addition ◽

Microbial Composition ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

The Face ◽

And Function

Spatial heterogeneity in composition and function enables ecosystems to supply diverse services. For soil microbes and the ecosystem functions they catalyze, whether such heterogeneity can be maintained in the face of altered resource inputs is uncertain. In a 50-ha northern California grassland with a mosaic of plant communities generated by different soil types, we tested how spatial variability in microbial composition and function changed in response to nutrient and water addition. Fungal composition lost some of its spatial variability in response to nutrient addition, driven by decreases in mutualistic fungi and increases in antagonistic fungi that were strongest on the least fertile soils, where mutualists were initially most frequent and antagonists initially least frequent. Bacterial and archaeal community composition showed little change in their spatial variability with resource addition. Microbial functions related to nitrogen cycling showed increased spatial variability under nutrient, and sometimes water, additions, driven in part by accelerated nitrification on the initially more-fertile soils. Under anthropogenic changes such as eutrophication and altered rainfall, these findings illustrate the potential for significant changes in ecosystem-level spatial heterogeneity of microbial functions and communities.

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