Dataset Information

Conversion of the Amazon rainforest to agriculture results in biotic homogenization of soil bacterial communities.

ABSTRACT: The Amazon rainforest is the Earth's largest reservoir of plant and animal diversity, and it has been subjected to especially high rates of land use change, primarily to cattle pasture. This conversion has had a strongly negative effect on biological diversity, reducing the number of plant and animal species and homogenizing communities. We report here that microbial biodiversity also responds strongly to conversion of the Amazon rainforest, but in a manner different from plants and animals. Local taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of soil bacteria increases after conversion, but communities become more similar across space. This homogenization is driven by the loss of forest soil bacteria with restricted ranges (endemics) and results in a net loss of diversity. This study shows homogenization of microbial communities in response to human activities. Given that soil microbes represent the majority of biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems and are intimately involved in ecosystem functions, we argue that microbial biodiversity loss should be taken into account when assessing the impact of land use change in tropical forests.

SUBMITTER: Rodrigues JL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3549139 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Conversion of the Amazon rainforest to agriculture results in biotic homogenization of soil bacterial communities.

Rodrigues Jorge L M JL Pellizari Vivian H VH Mueller Rebecca R Baek Kyunghwa K Jesus Ederson da C Eda C Paula Fabiana S FS Mirza Babur B Hamaoui George S GS Tsai Siu Mui SM Feigl Brigitte B Tiedje James M JM Bohannan Brendan J M BJ Nüsslein Klaus K

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20121227 3

The Amazon rainforest is the Earth's largest reservoir of plant and animal diversity, and it has been subjected to especially high rates of land use change, primarily to cattle pasture. This conversion has had a strongly negative effect on biological diversity, reducing the number of plant and animal species and homogenizing communities. We report here that microbial biodiversity also responds strongly to conversion of the Amazon rainforest, but in a manner different from plants and animals. Loc ...[more]

PMID: 23271810

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Dataset Information

Conversion of the Amazon rainforest to agriculture results in biotic homogenization of soil bacterial communities.

Publications

Conversion of the Amazon rainforest to agriculture results in biotic homogenization of soil bacterial communities.

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