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Australian dryland soils are acidic and nutrient-depleted, and have unique microbial communities compared with other drylands.

ABSTRACT: Aim:To compare Australian dryland soils with dryland soils globally. Location:Australian and global drylands. Methods:We used data from standardized surveys of soil properties (C:N:P content and stoichiometry, and pH), and microbes (diversity, composition and correlation networks) from Australian and global drylands, which occupy three-quarters of the Australian land mass and are the largest biome on Earth. Results:We found that Australian dryland soils were different, exhibiting characteristics of ancient weathered soils. They had lower pH, total and available P, and total N, and greater C:N and C:P ratios than global dryland soils. Australian soils had distinctive microbial community composition and diversity, with more Proteobacteria and fewer Basidiomycota than global dryland soils, and promoted the abundance of specific microbial phylotypes including pathogens, mycorrhizae and saprobes. Main conclusions:Australian dryland soils are clearly different from dryland soils elsewhere. These differences need to be considered when managing dryland soils to avoid unreasonable expectations about plant productivity and carbon stocks, or when predicting likely changes in ecosystem processes resulting from global environmental change.

SUBMITTER: Eldridge DJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6373843 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Australian dryland soils are acidic and nutrient-depleted, and have unique microbial communities compared with other drylands.

Eldridge David J DJ Maestre Fernando T FT Koen Terry B TB Delgado-Baquerizo Manuel M

Journal of biogeography 20181001 12

<h4>Aim</h4>To compare Australian dryland soils with dryland soils globally.<h4>Location</h4>Australian and global drylands.<h4>Methods</h4>We used data from standardized surveys of soil properties (C:N:P content and stoichiometry, and pH), and microbes (diversity, composition and correlation networks) from Australian and global drylands, which occupy three-quarters of the Australian land mass and are the largest biome on Earth.<h4>Results</h4>We found that Australian dryland soils were differen ...[more]

PMID: 30774181

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Project description:Biochar and chemical fertilizer have been widely used in agriculture. Most studies have proved that they not only alter soil nutrient content, but also have an impact on soil microbial communities. However, the effects of biochar and chemical fertilizer application on the overall bacterial community in different soil types under rainfall conditions are not yet understood. We took rainfall as a fixed influencing factor and selected four typical soils of China to investigate the bacterial effects of biochar and chemical fertilizer at 25 mm rainfall, and to identify specific differential bacteria and their functions, and to explore the changes of the bacterial community structure of different soil types. The depth of simulated rainfall was 25 mm each time. Yellow-brown soil, fluvo-aquic soil, lou soil, and black soil were chosen for experiment and each soil was divided into four treatments, included non-biochar and non-fertilizer (CK), fertilizer alone (F), biochar alone (C), and combination of biochar and fertilizer (FC). The results indicated that biochar and fertilizer have a more significant effect on bacterial communities in acidic soils. The amendment of biochar and fertilizer alone or together identified 3 (f_Oxalobacteraceae, f_Solibacteraceae_Subgroup_3, f_Sphingomonadaceae), 5 (f_Chitinophagaceae, f_Comamonadaceae, f_Geobacteraceae, f_norank_o_SC-I-84, f_norank_c_OPB35_soil_group), 1 (f_Blastocatellaceae_Subgroup_4) and 0 differential bacteria in yellow-brown soil, fluvo-aquic soil, lou soil, and black soil by statistical test. In yellow-brown soil, the application of biochar alone increased the relative abundance of potential pathogens within the Sphingomonadaceae and reduced the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria in Solibacteraceae, but the addition of biochar and fertilizer together increased the relative abundance of some beneficial bacteria in Oxalobacteraceae. In fluvo-aquic soil, both biochar, and chemical fertilizers promoted the relative abundance of some beneficial bacteria belonging to Chitinophagaceae, Comamonadaceae, and Geobacteraceae that may be involved in nutrient cycling, degradation of plant residues and increase of metal tolerance. The interactions between acidic soil bacterial communities and measured soil parameters including pH, organic matter were found to be statistically significant. Results from this study revealed that it is necessary to formulate biochar and fertilizer application schemes based on different soil types.

Dataset Information

Australian dryland soils are acidic and nutrient-depleted, and have unique microbial communities compared with other drylands.

Publications

Australian dryland soils are acidic and nutrient-depleted, and have unique microbial communities compared with other drylands.

Similar Datasets

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