Metrics
82 Record Views
Journal article
Soil microbiomes of hardwood‐ versus pine‐dominated stands: Linkage with overstory species
Ecosphere (Washington, D.C), Vol.14(7), e4537
07/2023
Web of Science ID: WOS:001033673300001
Abstract
Biodiversity in forest ecosystems is paradoxical. Whereas their most apparent component—the woody overstory—is the least diverse with respect to numbers of species, the least apparent component is the biotic community of highest diversity—the soil microbiome. Numerous factors influence the composition and diversity of soil microbial communities, which in turn exert a profound impact on plant species occupying the soil and the biogeochemistry of essential plant nutrients. Of interest in forest ecosystems is how the soil microbiome interacts with the overstory, a phenomenon referred to as linkage. This study compared the soil microbiome of two adjacent stand types—hardwood‐ and longleaf pine (Pinus palustris)‐dominated—and addressed the following questions: (1) How does soil microbiome vary with stand type? (2) Do the forest overstory community and soil microbiome exhibit linkage? Twelve 0.04‐ha circular plots were established in each stand type to assess tree community composition and structure and to sample mineral soil for three separate analyses: assessment of soil fertility, measurement of total carbon and nitrogen (N), and extraction of genomic DNA for assessment of microbiome communities. All live stems ≥2.5 cm dbh in each plot were identified to species and measured for dbh to the nearest 0.1 cm. Mineral soil was taken from a depth of 5 cm and oven‐dried at 38°C prior to analyses. Hardwood stands were dominated by flowering magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) and southern evergreen oaks, whereas pine stands were dominated by longleaf pine and live oak (Quercus virginiana). Although soils of both stand types were highly acidic, the hardwood stands were generally higher in fertility, especially for total and available N. The overstory and soil microbial communities exhibited evidence of linkage among all sample plots combined. When assessed separately by stand type, only hardwood‐dominated stands displayed evidence of overstory/microbial linkage. These results have broader implications for future scenarios given the sensitivity of soil microbes to climate change.
Files and links (1)
Related links
Details
- Title
- Soil microbiomes of hardwood‐ versus pine‐dominated stands
- Publication Details
- Ecosphere (Washington, D.C), Vol.14(7), e4537
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons, Inc
- Format
- link
- Number of pages
- 13
- Grant note
- We thank the University of West Florida Office ofUndergraduate Research for financial support via theSummer Undergraduate Research Program for funding forfield supplies and soil analyses. We also thank Wade Jeffrey,Johan Liebens, and Rema Eqaab for logistical support.
- Copyright
- © 2023 The Authors. Ecosphere published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America.
- Identifiers
- WOS:001033673300001; 99380459496206600
- Academic Unit
- Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering ; Biology; Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation
- Language
- English