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opencc-zeroFeb 2024View details →

Data for: Male, female and mixed-sex poplar plantations support divergent soil microbial communities

Mixed-species forests are often more productive than monocultures because of a lower niche overlap and higher taxonomic and functional diversity of soil microbial communities. Males and females of dioecious plants have sex-specific adaptations to diverse habitats. The potential of using sexual differences in establishing more diverse poplar plantations has not been explored in degraded areas. We conducted a series of greenhouse and field experiments to investigate how belowground competition, soil microbial communities and seasonal variation nitrogen content differ among female, male and mixed-sex Populus cathayana plantations. In the greenhouse experiment, female neighbors suppressed the growth of males under optimal nitrogen conditions. However, male neighbors enhanced δ15N of females under inter-sexual competition. In the field, the root length density, root area density and biomass of fine roots were lower in female plantations than in male or mixed-sex plantations. Bacterial networks of female, male and mixed-sex plantations were characterized by different composition of hub nodes, including connectors, module and network hubs. The sex composition of plantations altered bacterial and fungal community structures according to Bray-Curtis distances, with 44% and 65% of variance explained by the root biomass, respectively. The total soil nitrogen content of mixed-sex plantation was higher than that in female plantation in spring and summer. The mixed-sex plantation also had a higher β-1,4-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase activity in summer and a higher nitrification rate in autumn than the other two plantations. The seasonal soil N content, nitrification rate and root distribution traits demonstrated spatiotemporal niche separation in the mixed-sex plantation. We argue that a strong female-female competition and limited nitrogen content could strongly impede plant growth and reduce the resistance of monosex plantations to climate change and the mixed-sex plantations constitutes a promising way to restore degraded land.

opencc-zeroMar 2024View details →

Data for: Rewilding soil and litter invertebrates and fungi increases decomposition rates and alters detritivore communities

Habitat degradation and associated reductions in ecosystem functions can be reversed by reintroducing or 'rewilding' keystone species. Rewilding projects have historically targeted restoration of processes such as grazing regimes or top-down predation effects. Few projects focus on restoring decomposition efficiency, despite the pivotal role decomposition plays in global carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling. Here, we tested whether rewilding entire communities of detritivorous invertebrates and fungi can improve litter decomposition efficiency and restore detritivore communities during ecological restoration. Rewilding was conducted by transplanting leaf litter and soil, including associated invertebrate and fungal communities from species-rich remnant sites into species-poor, and geographically isolated, revegetated farmland sites in a temperate woodland region of southeastern Australia. We compared communities in sites under the following treatments: remnant (conservation area and source of litter transplant), rewilded revegetation (revegetated farmland site with litter transplant), and control revegetation (revegetated site, no transplant). In one 'before' and three 'after' sampling periods, we measured litter decomposition and the abundance and diversity of detritivorous invertebrates and fungi. We quantified the effect of detritivores on the rate of litter decomposition using piecewise Structural Equation Modelling. Decomposition was significantly faster in rewilding sites than in both control and remnant areas, and was largely driven by a greater abundance of invertebrate detritivores. Similarly, the abundance of invertebrate detritivores in rewilding revegetation sites exceeded the level of remnant communities, whereas there was little difference between control and remnant sites. In contrast, rewilding did not increase saprotrophic fungi relative abundance/diversity and there was no strong relationship between decomposition and fungal diversity. Our findings suggest the relatively simple act of transplanting leaf litter and soil can increase functional efficiency during restoration and alter community composition. Our methods may prove important across a range of contexts where other restoration methods have failed to restore ecosystem processes to pre-degradation levels.

opencc-zeroMar 2024View details →

Data from: Relationships between rhizosphere microbial communities, soil abiotic properties and root trait variation within a pine species

Rhizosphere microbes play important roles in plant performance and ecosystem functioning. It is becoming increasingly clear that rhizosphere communities vary with soil properties and variation in root traits among plant species. However, less is known about whether and how variation in root traits within plant species influences the rhizosphere microbial communities. We evaluated the intraspecific root traits variation and explored their associations with bacterial and fungal communities in rhizosphere by focusing on an ectomycorrhizal tree species, i.e., Pinus massoniana, in 22 sites in subtropical China. The first dimension of the principal component analysis on root traits revealed evidence for the 'conservation' gradient of the root economics space. Overall, root traits explained more variation in fungal communities than in bacterial communities in the rhizosphere. Functional composition of rhizosphere microbial communities changed significantly along the 'conservation' gradient, with fast-growing copiotrophic bacteria and symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungi were significantly enriched on the 'acquisition' side, while slow-growing oligotrophic bacteria were significantly enriched on the 'conservation' side of the gradient. Synthesis: Our study demonstrates that intraspecific variation in plant roots significantly influence rhizosphere microbial communities, which in turn can influence plant nutrition and therefore plant performance within the community.

opencc-zeroApr 2024View details →

Data from: Effects of pesticides on soil bacterial, fungal and protist communities, soil functions and crop quality in vineyards

Pesticides can have unintentional effects on non-target organisms and change biotic communities. Such changes might be particularly important in soil microbial communities which drive many ecosystem functions and may affect crop quality. Here, we investigated, in a 3-year study, how vegetation control (by herbicide application) and soil copper content (from long-term copper-based fungicide application), affect biodiversity and the community structure of soil bacteria, fungi and protists and associated soil functions (respiration, decomposition) in Swiss vineyards. Furthermore, we determined the effects of these two management practices on grape quality as the most direct ecosystem service to farmers. Across all study years, the community composition of microorganisms was affected by herbicide application, however, a significant loss of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) was only observed in fungi and protists. Soil copper content reduced OTU richness of bacteria and protists in some years but had no significant effect on fungal richness. Copper changed the community composition in all three groups of soil microorganisms. While we found no effect of copper on soil functions, herbicide application reduced microbial respiration and biomass by about 39% and 45% respectively. However, decomposition rates remained virtually unchanged by any pesticide. Yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) levels in grape must were below the critical threshold of 140 mg/L in 40% of the vineyards without herbicide application and the variety Chasselas , whereas in vineyards with herbicide application it was only 20%. Synthesis and applications: Application of pesticides led to changes in richness and composition of soil microbial communities and directly reduced some soil functions (microbial biomass and respiration), but not all (decomposition). Some grape quality parameters can be indirectly enhanced by pesticide application, highlighting the trade-off between the interests of nature conservation and the interests of the farmer. Balancing these two diverging interests requires the establishment of alternative vineyard management allowing reduced pesticide application.

opencc-by-4.0Apr 2024View details →

Data on soil variables (with plot IDs) and grassland species traits used for the analysis of grassland vegetation data by Pillar, V.D. (2024) Trait divergence in plant community assembly is generated by environmental factor interactions. Journal of Vegetation Science, 35, e13259. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13259

File <a href="../api/records/10983049/draft/files/Plot_IDs_990ua.txt/content" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Plot_IDs_990ua.txt</a> contains the IDs of the 1-m2 plots used for the analysis of grassland vegetation data by Pillar, V.D. (2024) Trait divergence in plant community assembly is generated by environmental factor interactions. The plot data are stored in the sPlot database (PPBio South Brazilian Grassland Database). File <a href="../api/records/10983049/draft/files/E_990ua_21SoilVar.txt/content" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">E_990ua_21SoilVar.txt</a> contains data on soil variables evaluated in the 250 m transects, but here expanded to the 990 1-m2 plots (each transect was sampled using 10 1-m2 pots). File <a href="../api/records/10983049/draft/files/B_769spp_4t.txt/content" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">B_769spp_4t.txt</a> is the species trait database collected in the framework of several research projects in the Quantitative Ecology Lab (EcoQua) and Grassland Vegetation Studies Lab (LevCamp) of Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). Data gaps were filled by compiled from the TRY database and data imputation.

opencc-zeroOct 2021View details →

Data from: Reindeer control over subarctic treeline alters soil fungal communities with potential consequences for soil carbon storage

Here we present the data and R script from "Reindeer control over subarctic treeline alters soil fungal communities with potential consequences for soil carbon storage" by Henni Ylänne, Rieke L. Madsen, Carles Castaño, Daniel B. Metcalfe and Karina E. Clemmensen (Global Change Biology, 2021). In this study we reported the impacts of grazing regime and mountain birch vicinity on the abundance, diversity and community composition of the soil fungal community, and explored how the soil fungal communities relate to vegetation and, ultimately, to the observed variation in soil carbon stocks. The study was conducted at a treeline ecotone in northern Fennoscandia, where two adjacent 65-year-old grazing regimes with or without summer grazing by reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) could be compared. As these grazing regimes differ in the abundance of mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii), the own effects of mountain birch vicinity on the fungal communities were assessed by collecting soil samples directly underneath and > 3 m away from mountain birches. This dataset includes data of soil properties, soil carbon and nitrogen stocks, vegetation community composition (as deterred from plant reads captured by the high-throughput sequencing of ITS2 region), fungal abundance (ITS2 copy numbers), fungal diversity and the taxonomic and functional composition of the soil fungal communities.

opencc-zeroNov 2021View details →

Community metabarcoding reveals the relative role of environmental filtering and spatial processes in metacommunity dynamics of soil microarthropods across a mosaic of montane forests

Disentangling the relative role of environmental filtering and spatial processes in driving metacommunity structure across mountainous regions remains challenging, as the way we quantify spatial connectivity in topographically and environmentally heterogeneous landscapes can influence our perception of which process predominates. More empirical datasets are required to account for taxon- and context-dependency but relevant research in understudied areas is often compromised by the taxonomic impediment. We here employed haplotype-level community DNA metabarcoding, enabled by stringent filtering of Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs), to characterize metacommunity structure of soil microarthropod assemblages across a mosaic of five forest habitats on the Troodos mountain range in Cyprus. We found similar β diversity patterns at ASV and species (OTU, Operational Taxonomic Unit) levels, which pointed to a primary role of habitat filtering resulting in the existence of largely distinct metacommunities linked to different forest types. Within-habitat turnover was correlated to topoclimatic heterogeneity, again emphasizing the role of environmental filtering. However, when integrating landscape matrix information for the highly fragmented Quercus alnifolia habitat, we also detected a major role of spatial isolation determined by patch connectivity, indicating that stochastic and niche-based processes synergistically govern community assembly. Alpha diversity patterns varied between ASV and OTU levels, with OTU richness decreasing with elevation and ASV richness following a longitudinal gradient, potentially reflecting a decline of genetic diversity eastwards due to historical pressures. Our study demonstrates the utility of haplotype-level community metabarcoding for characterising metacommunity structure of complex assemblages and improving our understanding of biodiversity dynamics across mountainous landscapes worldwide.

Changes in community-weighted trait mean, functional diversity, soil chemical properties and temperature along an elevational gradient in Tenerife, Canary Islands

This dataset comprises community-weighted trait means and functional diversity of leaf traits, chemical soil properties and temperature recorded in roadside (disturbed) and interior (less disturbed) plots, along an elevational gradient of 2,300 m in Tenerife, Canary Islands. The leaf traits measured were specific leaf area (SLA), nitrogen, nitrogen to phosphorus ratio, leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and carbon to phosphorus ratio. The soil chemical properties measured were pH, nitrogen, nitrogen to phosphorus ratio, carbon to phosphorus ratio, calcium, potassium, magnesium and cation exchange capacity. Also the scores of the three first axes derived from a PCA analysis including the soil chemical properties are included. The temperature variables consist of bioclimatic variables Bio10 (mean temperature of the warmest quarter) and Bio11 (mean temperature of the coldest quarter). This dataset has been used for the analysis presented in Ratier Backes et al. (2021).

Links between boreal forest management, soil fungal communities and belowground carbon sequestration

Forest management has a potential to alter belowground carbon storage. However, the underlying mechanisms, and the relative importance of carbon input and decomposition in regulation of soil carbon dynamics are poorly understood. We examined whether interactive effects of forest fertilization and thinning on carbon stocks in the topsoil of boreal forests were linked to changes in fungal community composition, biomass, and enzyme activities, in a long-term fertilization and thinning experiment distributed across 29 Pinus sylvestris forests along a 1300 km latitudinal transect in Sweden. Nitrogen fertilization increased fungal biomass, particularly towards the north and mainly by promoting root associated Ascomycetes, but the response was moderated by thinning. Fungal biomass correlated positively with carbon stocks in the organic topsoil. However, ectomycorrhizal Cortinarius species were reduced in abundance by fertilization and correlated negatively with carbon stocks. Plausibly, increased soil carbon stocks after fertilization are linked to increased input of carbon in the form of root-associated mycelium combined with loss of ectomycorrhizal decomposers within the genus Cortinarius. These fungal responses to fertilization may mediate a natural climate solution by promoting carbon sequestration in the organic topsoil, but the effect of fertilization may also be undesired from a biodiversity perspective.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2022View details →

Data for A first-year melon/cowpea intercropping system improves soil nutrients and changes the soil microbial community

A first-year melon/cowpea intercropping system improves soil nutrients and changes the soil microbial community data

opencc-zeroJan 2022View details →

Data from: Foliar herbivory creates subtle soil legacy effects that alter future herbivores via changes in plant community biomass allocation

Plants leave legacy effects in the soil they grow in, which can drive important vegetation processes, including productivity, community dynamics and species turnover. Plants at the same time also face continuous pressure posed by insect herbivores. Given the intimate interactions between plants and herbivores in ecosystems, plant identity and herbivory are likely to interactively shape soil legacies. However, the mechanisms that drive such legacy effects on future generations of plants and associated herbivores are little known. In a greenhouse study, we exposed ten common grasses and non-leguminous forbs individually to insect herbivory by two closely related noctuid caterpillars, Mamestra brassicae and Trichoplusia ni (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) or kept them free of herbivores. We then used the soil legacies created by these plant individuals to grow a plant community composed of all ten plant species in each soil, and exposed these plant communities to M. brassicae. We measured conditioning plant biomass, soil respiration and chemistry of the conditioned soils, as well as individual plant, plant community and herbivore biomass responses. At the end of the conditioning phase, soils with herbivore legacies had higher soil respiration, but only significantly so for M. brassicae. Herbivore legacies had minimal impacts on community productivity. However, path models reveal that herbivore-induced soil legacies affected responding herbivores through changes in plant community shoot: root ratios. Soil legacy effect patterns differed between functional groups. We found strong plant species and functional group-specific effects on soil respiration parameters, which in turn led to plant community shifts in grass: forb biomass ratios. Soil legacies were negative for the growth of plants of the same functional group. Synthesis: We show that insect herbivory, plant species and their functional groups, all incur soil microbial responses that lead to subtle (herbivory) or strong (plants and their functional group) effects in response plant communities and associated polyphagous herbivores. Hence, even though typically ignored, our study emphasizes that legacies of previous insect herbivory in the soil can influence current soil-plant-insect community interactions.

Plastic mulch film residues in agriculture: impact on soil suppressiveness, plant growth, and microbial communities

Plastic mulch film residues have been accumulating in agricultural soils for decades, but so far, little is known about its consequences on soil microbial communities and functions. Here, we tested the effects of plastic residues of low-density polyethylene and biodegradable mulch films on soil suppressiveness and microbial community composition. We investigated how plastic residues in a Fusarium culmorum suppressive soil affect the level of disease suppressiveness, plant biomass, nutrient status, and microbial communities in rhizosphere using a controlled pot experiment. The addition of 1% plastic residues to the suppressive soil did not affect the level of suppression and the disease symptoms index. However, we did find that plant biomasses decreased, and that plant nutrient status changed in the presence of plastic residues. No significant changes in bacterial and fungal rhizosphere communities were observed. Nonetheless, bacterial and fungal communities closely attached to the plastisphere were very different from the rhizosphere communities with overrepresentation of potential plant pathogens. The plastisphere revealed a high abundance of specific bacterial phyla (Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria) and fungal genera (Rhizoctonia and Arthrobotrys). Our work revealed new insights and raises emerging questions for further studies on the impact of microplastics on the agroecosystems.

Soil microbial diversity and community composition during conversion from conventional to organic agriculture

It is generally assumed that the dependence of conventional agriculture on artificial fertilizers and pesticides strongly impacts the environment, while organic agriculture relying more on microbial functioning may mitigate these impacts. However, it is not well known how microbial diversity and community composition change in conventionally managed farmers' fields that are converted to organic management. Here, we sequenced bacterial and fungal communities of 34 organic fields on sand and marine clay soils in a time series (chronosequence) covering 25 years of conversion. Nearby conventional fields were used as references. We found that community composition of bacteria and fungi differed between organic and conventionally managed fields. In the organic fields, fungal diversity increased with time since conversion. However, this effect disappeared when the conventional paired fields were included. There was a relationship between pH and soil organic matter content and the diversity and community composition of bacteria and fungi. In marine clay soils, when time since organic management increased, fungal communities in organic fields became more dissimilar to those in conventional fields. We conclude that conversion to organic management in these Dutch farmers' fields did not increase microbial community diversity. Instead, we observed that in organic fields in marine clay when time since conversion increased soil fungal community composition became progressively dissimilar from that in conventional fields. Our results also showed that the paired sampling approach of organic and conventional fields was essential in order to control for environmental variation that was otherwise unaccounted for.

embargoedcc-by-4.0Dec 2021View details →

Data and metadata of soil microbial community structure, enzyme activities, functional genes and earthworms derived from H2020 Diverfarming project

Soil data and metadata of soil microbial community structure, enzyme activities (dehydrogenase, β-glucosidase, leucine-aminopeptidase, alkaline phosphatase and arylsusfatase activities), N functional genes and earthworms from the different cases studies and long terms from WP4 "Impact of crop diversification on biodiversity", derived from H2020 Diverfarming project. The main objective of workpackage is to provide a scientific understanding of the link between diversified cropping systems, above- and belowground biodiversity, and the resulting ecosystem services provided by soil microorganisms, soil invertebrates and vegetation in agro-ecosystems. Soil organisms contribute to all biogeochemical cycles, Soil organic matter mineralization and stabilization, shape soil structure and have associations with plant species promoting growth and development. http://www.diverfarming.eu.

opencc-zeroAug 2022View details →

Biochar and nitrogen fertilizer promote rice yield by altering soil enzyme activity and microbial community structure

Biochar can significantly change soil properties and improve soil quality. However, the effects of long-term combined application of biochar (B) and nitrogen (N) fertilizer on relationships between soil enzyme activity, microbial community structure and crop yield are still obscure. We characterized these relationships in a long-term (8 years) field experiment with rice, two biochar rates of 0 and 13.5 t ha-1 year-1 (B0 and B) and two N fertilizer rates of 0 and 300 kg N ha-1 year-1 (N0 and N). The repeated, long-term combined applications of biochar and N fertilizer significantly increased microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen (MBC and MBN), but biochar decreased the abundance of total bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as the amount of total phospholipid fatty acids. The activity of leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) decreased significantly in the biochar-amended and N fertilized treatment, but the LAP activity either remained unchanged or increased with biochar amendment at N0. The relative abundance of bacterial phylum Chloroflexi was increased in the combined biochar and N fertilizer treatment. The changes in soil organic matter and the activity of α-1,4-xylosidase were the major properties influencing soil bacterial community composition, whereas the structure of fungal community was governed by MBC, MBN and LAP activity. In addition, long-term biochar and N fertilizer applied together significantly increased rice yield (more than biochar and nitrogen fertilizer applied alone). Yield was significantly positively correlated with LAP activity, but significantly negatively correlated with the relative abundance of Chloroflexi. In conclusion, long-term biochar and nitrogen fertilizer applications increased rice yield, which was associated with altered soil microbial community and enhanced activity of some enzymes.

opencc-zeroSep 2022View details →

Environmental drivers of local abundance-mass scaling in soil animal communities

The relationship between species' body masses and densities is strongly conserved around a three-quarter power law when pooling data across communities. However, studies of local within-community relationships have revealed major deviations from this general pattern, which has profound implications for their stability and functioning. Despite multiple contributions of soil communities to people, there is limited knowledge on the drivers of body mass-abundance relationships in these communities. We compiled a dataset comprising 155 soil-animal communities across four countries (Canada, Germany, Indonesia, USA), all sampled using the same methodology. We tested if variation in local climatic and edaphic conditions drives differences in local body mass-abundance scaling relationships. We found substantial variation in the slopes of this power-law relationship across local communities. Structural equation modeling showed that soil temperature and water content have a positive and negative net effect, respectively, on soil communities. These effects are mediated by changes in local edaphic conditions (soil pH and carbon content) and the body-mass range of the communities. These results highlight ways in which alterations of soil climatic and edaphic conditions interactively impact the distribution of abundance between populations of small and large animals. These quantitative mechanistic relationships facilitate our understanding of how global changes in environmental conditions, such as temperature and precipitation, will affect community-abundance distributions and thus the stability and functioning of soil-animal communities.

opencc-zeroOct 2022View details →

Spatio-temporal variation in deep soil water use patterns of overstory and understory layers in subtropical plantations predict community assembly

1. Deep soil water utilization allows plants to cope with drought stress. However, little is known about the roles of the understory layers in driving spatio-temporal variations of deep soil water in forests and how the patterns of deep soil water use among life forms contribute to community assembly processes. 2. We assessed the spatio-temporal patterns and determinants of deep water utilization of tree, shrub and herb layers in subtropical coniferous plantations and investigated associations between deep water use parameters and dominance and richness of understory vegetation. 3. We found that the understory layer had a higher reliance on deep soil water in the dry season, a larger seasonal plasticity of deep soil water uptake, but lower spatial variability in deep soil water utilization than the tree layer. We showed that greater reliance of the tree layer on deep soil water was associated with decreased shrub layer diversity, whereas greater reliance of the shrub layer on deep water was associated with increased herb layer diversity. 4. Synthesis. Our results highlight the roles of understory layers in driving the temporal dynamics of deep soil water in forests and improve our understanding of how deep soil water use patterns amongst life forms shape community assembly in forests.

opencc-by-4.0Jul 2018View details →

Figure 1 in Diversity of soil mite communities in different habitats of Saskhori quarries, Georgia

Figure 1. Map of soil sampling locations on Saskhori quarries.

opencc-zeroOct 2022View details →

Data for: Can heavy metal pollution induce soil bacterial community resistance to antibiotics in boreal forests?

The emergence of microbial antibiotic resistance is a central threat to global health, food security, and development. It has been shown that heavy metal pollution can give rise to microbial resistance to antibiotics, but how wide-spread this phenomenon is remains an open question that urgently needs filling to enable appropriate environmental risk assessments. Here, we determined whether long-term differences in heavy metal pollution in boreal forests had affected soil microbial communities such that they had increased microbial resistance to antibiotics. First, we assessed variation in metal concentrations in samples collected across a distance trajectory from the pollution source, and also the microbial rates and levels of bacterial community resistance to the heavy metal Cu and the antibiotics tetracycline and vancomycin in those samples. Second, we tested if the exposure to Cu or tetracycline could increase bacterial community resistance to Cu and to antibiotics in soils with high versus low background levels of metal contamination. Metal pollution had affected microbial community structures and suppressed decomposer functioning. Importantly, bacterial community Cu resistance increased with higher metal concentrations, which coincided with an induced bacterial community resistance to tetracycline, but not to vancomycin. Laboratory experiments revealed that bacterial community Cu resistance could be further induced in both the low and high end of the pollution gradient, but also that these short-term inductions of community metal tolerance did not coincide with enhanced antibiotic resistance. This yielded a surprising negative correlation between long-term and short-term effects by metals on microbial metal and antibiotic resistances. One mechanism that could provide protection against both metal cations and tetracycline is the small multidrug resistance (SMR) family, which is an energy demanding physiological mechanism that may take time to confer protection. This may explain the different microbial responses to long-term gradients and metal addition experiments. Policy implications. We show that metal pollution in boreal forests will promote antibiotic resistance in soil bacterial communities, revealing an overlooked reservoir of antibiotic resistance. We recommend that environmental risk assessments for any activity giving rise to increased soil metal concentrations need to also consider the induction of microbial antibiotic resistance.