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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:Ocean microorganisms constitute ~70% of the marine biomass, contribute to ~50% of the Earth's primary production, and play a vital role in global biogeochemical cycles. The marine heterotrophic and mixotrophic protistan and fungal communities have often been overlooked mainly due to limitations in morphological species identification. Despite the accumulation of studies on biogeographic patterns observed in microbial communities, our understanding of the abundance and distribution patterns within the microbial community of the largest subtropical gyre, the South Pacific Gyre (SPG), remains incomplete. Here, we investigated the diversity and vertical composition of protistan and fungal communities in the water column of the ultra-oligotrophic SPG. Our results showed apparent differences in protistan community diversity in the photic and aphotic regions. The entire protistan community diversity was significantly affected by temperature, salinity, oxygen, and nutrient concentrations, while the parasitic community diversity was also affected by chlorophyll a concentration. The parasitic protists were assigned to the class Syndiniales accounting for over 98% of the total parasitic protists, exhibiting higher relative sequence abundance along the water depth and displaying consistent patterns among different sampling stations. In contrast to the protistan community, the fungal community along the SPG primarily clustered based on the sampling station and pelagic zones. In particular, our study reveals a significant presence of parasitic protists and functionally diverse fungi in SPG and their potential impact on carbon cycling in the gyre.IMPORTANCEOur findings carry important implications for understanding the distribution patterns of the previously unrecognized occurrence of parasitic protists and functionally diverse fungi in the nutrient-limited South Pacific Gyre. In particular, our study reveals a significant presence of parasitic Syndiniales, predominantly abundant in the upper 300 m of the aphotic zone in the gyre, and a distinct presence of fungal communities in the aphotic zone at the central part of the gyre. These findings strongly suggest that these communities play a substantial role in yet insufficiently described microbial food web. Moreover, our research enhances our understanding of their contribution to the dynamics of the food webs in oligotrophic gyres and is valuable for projecting the ecological consequences of future climate warming.

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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