Dataset Information

Abundance and Diversity of Bacterial, Archaeal, and Fungal Communities Along an Altitudinal Gradient in Alpine Forest Soils: What Are the Driving Factors?

ABSTRACT: Shifts in soil microbial communities over altitudinal gradients and the driving factors are poorly studied. Their elucidation is indispensable to gain a comprehensive understanding of the response of ecosystems to global climate change. Here, we investigated soil archaeal, bacterial, and fungal communities at four Alpine forest sites representing a climosequence, over an altitudinal gradient from 545 to 2000 m above sea level (asl), regarding abundance and diversity by using qPCR and Illumina sequencing, respectively. Archaeal community was dominated by Thaumarchaeota, and no significant shifts were detected in abundance or community composition with altitude. The relative bacterial abundance increased at higher altitudes, which was related to increasing levels of soil organic matter and nutrients with altitude. Shifts in bacterial richness and diversity as well as community structure (comprised basically of Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes) significantly correlated with several environmental and soil chemical factors, especially soil pH. The site at the lowest altitude harbored the highest bacterial richness and diversity, although richness/diversity community properties did not show a monotonic decrease along the gradient. The relative size of fungal community also increased with altitude and its composition comprised Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Zygomycota. Changes in fungal richness/diversity and community structure were mainly governed by pH and C/N, respectively. The variation of the predominant bacterial and fungal classes over the altitudinal gradient was the result of the environmental and soil chemical factors prevailing at each site.

SUBMITTER: Siles JA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4902835 | biostudies-other | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Abundance and Diversity of Bacterial, Archaeal, and Fungal Communities Along an Altitudinal Gradient in Alpine Forest Soils: What Are the Driving Factors?

Siles José A JA Margesin Rosa R

Microbial ecology 20160309 1

Shifts in soil microbial communities over altitudinal gradients and the driving factors are poorly studied. Their elucidation is indispensable to gain a comprehensive understanding of the response of ecosystems to global climate change. Here, we investigated soil archaeal, bacterial, and fungal communities at four Alpine forest sites representing a climosequence, over an altitudinal gradient from 545 to 2000 m above sea level (asl), regarding abundance and diversity by using qPCR and Illumina se ...[more]

PMID: 26961712

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Project description:BackgroundIn Europe, Pinus cembra forests cover subalpine and alpine areas and they are of high conservational and ecological relevance. These forests experience strong seasonality with alternating snow-free and snow covered periods. Although P. cembra is known for mycorrhization and mycorrhizae usually involve fungi, plants and bacteria, the community compositions of fungi and bacteria and their associations in (sub-)alpine P. cembra forests remain vastly understudied. Here, we studied the fungal and bacterial community compositions in three independent (sub-)alpine P. cembra forests and inferred their microbial associations using marker gene sequencing and network analysis. We asked about the effect of snow cover on microbial compositions and associations. In addition, we propose inferring microbial associations across a range of filtering criteria, based on which we infer well justified, concrete microbial associations with high potential for ecological relevance that are typical for P. cembra forests and depending on snow cover.ResultsThe overall fungal and bacterial community structure was comparable with regards to both forest locations and snow cover. However, occurrence, abundance, and diversity patterns of several microbial taxa typical for P. cembra forests differed among snow-free and snow covered soils, e.g. Russula, Tetracladium and Phenoliphera. Moreover, network properties and microbial associations were influenced by snow cover. Here, we present concrete microbial associations on genus and species level that were repeatedly found across microbial networks, thereby confirming their ecological relevance. Most importantly, ectomycorrhizal fungi, such as Basidioascus, Pseudotomentella and Rhizopogon, as well as saprobic Mortierella changed their bacterial association partners depending on snow cover.ConclusionThis is the first study researching fungal-bacterial associations across several (sub-)alpine P. cembra forests. The poorly investigated influence of snow cover on soil fungi and bacteria, especially those mycorrhizing P. cembra roots, but also saprobic soil organisms, underlines the relevance of forest seasonality. Our findings highlight that the seasonal impact of snow cover has significant consequences for the ecology of the ecosystem, particularly in relation to mycorrhization and nutrient cycling. It is imperative to consider such effects for a comprehensive understanding of the functioning resilience and responsiveness of an ecosystem.

Project description:UnlabelledWe investigated communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the roots and the rhizosphere soil of Brachypodium retusum in six different natural soils under field conditions. We explored phylogenetic patterns of AMF composition using indicator species analyses to find AMF associated with a given habitat (root versus rhizosphere) or soil type. We tested whether the AMF characteristics of different habitats or contrasting soils were more closely related than expected by chance. Then we used principal-component analysis and multivariate analysis of variance to test for the relative contribution of each factor in explaining the variation in fungal community composition. Finally, we used redundancy analysis to identify the soil properties that significantly explained the differences in AMF communities across soil types. The results pointed out a tendency of AMF communities in roots to be closely related and different from those in the rhizosphere soil. The indicator species analyses revealed AMF associated with rhizosphere soil and the root habitat. Soil type also determined the distribution of AMF communities in soils, and this effect could not be attributed to a single soil characteristic, as at least three soil properties related to microbial activity, i.e., pH and levels of two micronutrients (Mn and Zn), played significant roles in triggering AMF populations.ImportanceCommunities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are main components of soil biota that can determine the productivity of ecosystems. These fungal assemblages vary across host plants and ecosystems, but the main ecological processes that shape the structures of these communities are still largely unknown. A field study in six different soil types from semiarid areas revealed that AMF communities are significantly influenced by habitat (soil versus roots) and soil type. In addition, three soil properties related to microbiological activity (i.e., pH and manganese and zinc levels) were the main factors triggering the distribution of AMF. These results contribute to a better understanding of the ecological factors that can shape AMF communities, an important soil microbial group that affects multiple ecosystem functions.

Dataset Information

Abundance and Diversity of Bacterial, Archaeal, and Fungal Communities Along an Altitudinal Gradient in Alpine Forest Soils: What Are the Driving Factors?

Publications

Abundance and Diversity of Bacterial, Archaeal, and Fungal Communities Along an Altitudinal Gradient in Alpine Forest Soils: What Are the Driving Factors?

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