A preliminary survey of the diversity of soil algae and cyanoprokaryotes on mafic and ultramafic substrates in South Africa

Venter, Andrew D.; Levanets, Anatoliy; Siebert, S.J.; Rajakaruna, Nishanta

doi:10.1071/bt14207

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Such investigations will likely reveal species that are endemic to the substrate or show a high affinity to ultramafic soils, as shown for such research conducted in South Africa (Venter et al 2015) and California, USA (Rajakaruna et al 2012). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Ultramafic geoecology of South and Southeast Asia

et al. 2017

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Globally, ultramafic outcrops are renowned for hosting floras with high levels of endemism, including plants with specialised adaptations such as nickel or manganese hyperaccumulation. Soils derived from ultramafic regoliths are generally nutrient-deficient, have major cation imbalances, and have concomitant high concentrations of potentially phytotoxic trace elements, especially nickel. The South and Southeast Asian region has the largest surface occurrences of ultramafic regoliths in the world, but the geoecology of these outcrops is still poorly studied despite severe conservation threats. Due to the paucity of systematic plant collections in many areas and the lack of georeferenced herbarium records and databased information, it is not possible to determine the distribution of species, levels of endemism, and the species most threatened. However, site-specific studies provide insights to the ultramafic geoecology of several locations in South and Southeast Asia. The geoecology of tropical ultramafic regions differs substantially from those in temperate regions in that the vegetation at lower elevations is generally tall forest with relatively low levels of endemism. On ultramafic mountaintops, where the combined forces of edaphic and climatic factors intersect, obligate ultramafic species and hyperendemics often occur. Forest clearing, agricultural development, mining, and climate change-related stressors have contributed to rapid and unprecedented loss of ultramafic-associated habitats in the region. The geoecology of the large ultramafic outcrops of Indonesia’s Sulawesi, Obi and Halmahera, and many other smaller outcrops in South and Southeast Asia, remains largely unexplored, and should be prioritised for study and conservation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Ultramafic geoecology of South and Southeast Asia

et al. 2017

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“…For example, Oline (2006) found little evidence that there is a unique ultramafic-soil bacterial flora. Venter et al (2015) examined soil algae and cyanoprokaryotes in ultramafic and non-ultramafic soils in South Africa and reached a similar conclusion, but did discover that some species were unique to the ultramafic communities. In a review produced from the 2011 conference, Southworth et al (2014) found little evidence that mycorrhizal fungal communities are edaphically specialised.…”

Section: Ecology and Biogeography (Session 3)mentioning

confidence: 78%

Global research on ultramafic (serpentine) ecosystems (8th International Conference on Serpentine Ecology in Sabah, Malaysia): a summary and synthesis

et al. 2015

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Since 1991, researchers from approximately 45 nations have participated in eight International Conferences on Serpentine Ecology (ICSE). The Conferences are coordinated by the International Serpentine Ecology Society (ISES), a formal research society whose members study geological, pedological, biological and applied aspects of ultramafic (serpentine) ecosystems worldwide. These conferences have provided an international forum to discuss and synthesise multidisciplinary research, and have provided opportunities for scientists in distinct fields and from different regions of the world to conduct collaborative and interdisciplinary research. The 8th ICSE was hosted by Sabah Parks in Malaysia, on the island of Borneo, and attracted the largest delegation to date, 174 participants from 31 countries. This was the first time an ICSE was held in Asia, a region that hosts some of the world’s most biodiverse ultramafic ecosystems. The presentations provided a cross-section of the current status of research in all aspects of ultramafic-biota relations. In this Special Issue of Australian Journal of Botany (Issues 1–2 combined and 3–4 combined), we have compiled a selection of papers from among the oral and poster presentations to provide insights into recent advances in geoecological and applied studies of ultramafic habitats worldwide. Here we provide a preview of select papers found in this Special Issue and summarise some of the contributions made during the 8th ICSE and describe some of the exciting challenges awaiting future research.

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“…BSCs can be tolerant of harsh environments such as extreme temperatures, drought (Belnap 2006) and heavy metals (Orlekowsky et al 2013). BSCs are also found on serpentine soils (Venter et al 2015), that are usually rich in magnesium and poor in calcium, with low nutrient and high heavy metal concentrations (Alexander et al 2007;Rajakaruna et al 2009). Cyanobacteria and algae make up a large component of BSCs and Venter et al (2015) found typical cyanobacteria and soil algae such as Leptolyngbya, Microcoleus, Phormidium, Chlamydomonas, Chlorococcum and Hantzchia in serpentine as well as non-serpentine soils but algae such as Chroococcus sp., Scytonema ocellatum, Nostoc linckia, Chlorotetraedron sp., Hormotilopsis gelatinosa, Klebsormidium flaccidum, Pleurococcus sp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological crusts of serpentine and non‐serpentine soils from the Barberton Greenstone Belt of South Africa

Venter

Siebert

Rajakaruna

et al. 2017

Ecological Research

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Climate and geography can influence biological soil crust (BSC) community composition, but local heterogeneity in variables such as soil characteristics or microclimate gradients can also impact cryptogamic diversity. Heavy metals and nutrient imbalances in serpentine soils are known to influence the distributions of higher plants, but cryptogamic species appear to be more tolerant of substrate. The aim of this study was to compare the cryptogamic composition of serpentine and non‐serpentine soils by using integrative taxonomy, which combines morphological and DNA barcoding data, to determine how soil characteristics in combination with rainfall can influence BSC community composition. Samples from serpentine and non‐serpentine soils were enumerated and total genomic DNA was isolated from the soil samples. Analyses of the 16S rRNA gene and ITS sequences were done using the quantitative insights into microbial ecology (QIIME) workflow to determine which eukaryotic microorganisms were present in the samples. Sixty genera from the Cyanophyceae (38), Chlorophyceae (10), Bacillariophyceae (6), Eustigmatophyceae (4), Trebouxiophyceae (1) and Xanthophyceae (1) classes were detected with this approach. Results confirm that algae and cyanobacteria are tolerant of most substrates and can even colonize environments with high levels of heavy metal and nutrient imbalances, if moisture is present. Genera such as Acaryochloris, Annamia, Brasilonema, Chrocosphaera, Halomicronema, Planktothricoides, Rubidibacter, and Toxopsis are reported for the first time for South African soil.

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A preliminary survey of the diversity of soil algae and cyanoprokaryotes on mafic and ultramafic substrates in South Africa

Cited by 14 publications

References 45 publications

Ultramafic geoecology of South and Southeast Asia

Ultramafic geoecology of South and Southeast Asia

Global research on ultramafic (serpentine) ecosystems (8th International Conference on Serpentine Ecology in Sabah, Malaysia): a summary and synthesis

Biological crusts of serpentine and non‐serpentine soils from the Barberton Greenstone Belt of South Africa

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