Microbial colonization and controls in dryland systems

Pointing, Stephen B.; Belnap, Jayne

doi:10.1038/nrmicro2831

Cited by 518 publications

(463 citation statements)

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“…Typically semi-arid areas display P/PET of 0.2-0.5, arid areas a P/PET of 0.2-0.05 and hyperarid areas a P/PET below 0.05 [1]. This presents severe challenges to animal and plant life and so microbial communities assume the foremost ecological roles in deserts [2]. Desert soil microbiology has been shown to differ fundamentally from that in other biomes [3], and lithic niches also support unique microbial communities [2,4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This presents severe challenges to animal and plant life and so microbial communities assume the foremost ecological roles in deserts [2]. Desert soil microbiology has been shown to differ fundamentally from that in other biomes [3], and lithic niches also support unique microbial communities [2,4]. Biodiversity of desert microbial communities has been relatively well studied (see for example recent reviews: [2,5,6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Desert soil microbiology has been shown to differ fundamentally from that in other biomes [3], and lithic niches also support unique microbial communities [2,4]. Biodiversity of desert microbial communities has been relatively well studied (see for example recent reviews: [2,5,6]. Soil surfaces may support well-defined biological soil crusts dominated by cyanobacteria, fungi, lichens and mosses, and these have been extensively studied [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soil surfaces may support well-defined biological soil crusts dominated by cyanobacteria, fungi, lichens and mosses, and these have been extensively studied [7]. Similarly the cyanobacterial and lichenized lithic microbial communities of desert pavements and exposed rocks have also received significant recent attention [2,5,8]. Relatively less attention has focused on open soils and sand dunes and these have been shown in a few studies to be dominated by a small number of heterotrophic bacterial phyla [9][10][11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microbial Diversity in Soil, Sand Dune and Rock Substrates of the Thar Monsoon Desert, India

et al. 2015

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A culture-independent diversity assessment of archaea, bacteria and fungi in the Thar Desert in India was made. Six locations in Ajmer, Jaisalmer, Jaipur and Jodhupur included semi-arid soils, arid soils, arid sand dunes, plus arid cryptoendolithic substrates. A real-time quantitative PCR approach revealed that bacteria dominated soils and cryptoendoliths, whilst fungi dominated sand dunes. The archaea formed a minor component of all communities. Comparison of rRNA-defined community structure revealed that substrate and climate rather than location were the most parsimonious predictors. Sequence-based identification of 1240 phylotypes revealed that most taxa were common desert microorganisms. Semi-arid soils were dominated by actinobacteria and alpha proteobacteria, arid soils by chloroflexi and alpha proteobacteria, sand dunes by ascomycete fungi and cryptoendoliths by cyanobacteria. Climatic variables that best explained this distribution were mean annual rainfall and maximum annual temperature. Substrate variables that contributed most to observed diversity patterns were conductivity, soluble salts, Ca 2? and pH. This represents an important addition to the inventory of desert microbiota, novel insight into the abiotic drivers of community assembly, and the first report of biodiversity in a monsoon desert system.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microbial Diversity in Soil, Sand Dune and Rock Substrates of the Thar Monsoon Desert, India

et al. 2015

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“…Altered climate and the growth of human populations will almost inevitably exacerbate these problems in drylands (14,17). Because the provisioning of ecosystem services essential for human development (e.g., soil fertility, food, and biomass production) heavily relies on the abundance, composition, and diversity of soil fungi and bacteria (18,19), it is Significance Climate change is increasing the degree of aridity in drylands, which occupy 41% of Earth's surface and support 38% of its population. Soil bacteria and fungi are largely responsible for key ecosystem services, including soil fertility and climate regulation, yet their responses to changes in aridity are poorly understood.…”

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confidence: 99%

Increasing aridity reduces soil microbial diversity and abundance in global drylands

Maestre

Delgado‐Baquerizo

Jeffries

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

788

622

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Soil bacteria and fungi play key roles in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, yet our understanding of their responses to climate change lags significantly behind that of other organisms. This gap in our understanding is particularly true for drylands, which occupy ∼41% of Earth´s surface, because no global, systematic assessments of the joint diversity of soil bacteria and fungi have been conducted in these environments to date. Here we present results from a study conducted across 80 dryland sites from all continents, except Antarctica, to assess how changes in aridity affect the composition, abundance, and diversity of soil bacteria and fungi. The diversity and abundance of soil bacteria and fungi was reduced as aridity increased. These results were largely driven by the negative impacts of aridity on soil organic carbon content, which positively affected the abundance and diversity of both bacteria and fungi. Aridity promoted shifts in the composition of soil bacteria, with increases in the relative abundance of Chloroflexi and α-Proteobacteria and decreases in Acidobacteria and Verrucomicrobia. Contrary to what has been reported by previous continental and global-scale studies, soil pH was not a major driver of bacterial diversity, and fungal communities were dominated by Ascomycota. Our results fill a critical gap in our understanding of soil microbial communities in terrestrial ecosystems. They suggest that changes in aridity, such as those predicted by climatechange models, may reduce microbial abundance and diversity, a response that will likely impact the provision of key ecosystem services by global drylands.bacteria | fungi | climate change | arid | semiarid

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Rapidly restoring biological soil crusts and ecosystem functions in a severely disturbed desert ecosystem

Chiquoine

Abella

Bowker

2016

Ecological Applications

109

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Restoring biological soil crusts (biocrusts) in degraded drylands can contribute to recovery of ecosystem functions that have global implications, including erosion resistance and nutrient cycling. To examine techniques for restoring biocrusts, we conducted a replicated, factorial experiment on recently abandoned road surfaces by applying biocrust inoculation (salvaged and stored dry for two years), salvaged topsoil, an abiotic soil amendment (wood shavings), and planting of a dominant perennial shrub (Ambrosia dumosa). Eighteen months after treatments, we measured biocrust abundance and species composition, soil chlorophyll a content and fertility, and soil resistance to erosion. Biocrust addition significantly accelerated biocrust recovery on disturbed soils, including increasing lichen and moss cover and cyanobacteria colonization. Compared to undisturbed controls, inoculated plots had similar lichen and moss composition, recovered 43% of total cyanobacteria density, had similar soil chlorophyll content, and exhibited recovery of soil fertility and soil stability. Inoculation was the only treatment that generated lichen and moss cover. Topsoil application resulted in partial recovery of the cyanobacteria community and soil properties. Compared to untreated disturbed plots, topsoil application without inoculum increased cyanobacteria density by 186% and moderately improved soil chlorophyll and ammonium content and soil stability. Topsoil application produced 22% and 51% of the cyanobacteria density g⁻¹ soil compared to undisturbed and inoculated plots, respectively. Plots not treated with either topsoil or inoculum had significantly lower cyanobacteria density, soil chlorophyll and ammonium concentrations, and significantly higher soil nitrate concentration. Wood shavings and Ambrosia had no influence on biocrust lichen and moss species recovery but did affect cyanobacteria composition and soil fertility. Inoculation of severely disturbed soil with native biocrusts rapidly restored biocrust communities and soil stability such that restored areas were similar to undisturbed desert within three years. Using salvaged biocrust as inoculum can be an effective tool in ecological restoration because of its efficacy and simple implementation. Although salvaging biocrust material can be technically difficult and potentially costly, utilizing opportunities to salvage material in planned future disturbance can provide additional land management tools.

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Microbial colonization and controls in dryland systems

Cited by 518 publications

References 80 publications

Microbial Diversity in Soil, Sand Dune and Rock Substrates of the Thar Monsoon Desert, India

Microbial Diversity in Soil, Sand Dune and Rock Substrates of the Thar Monsoon Desert, India

Increasing aridity reduces soil microbial diversity and abundance in global drylands

Rapidly restoring biological soil crusts and ecosystem functions in a severely disturbed desert ecosystem

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