Perennials but not slope aspect affect the diversity of soil bacterial communities in the northern Negev Desert, Israel

Vonshak, Avigad; Sklarz, Menachem Y.; Hirsch, Ann M.; Gillor, Osnat

doi:10.1071/sr17010

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The increase in the activity of the gene groups can be explained by an increase in nutrients in the combined EEs patches. However the physico-chemical measures, including soil water content, organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, and pH, did not match the changes observed in bacterial composition or function (Table S4, S5 and Figure 1) as was previously reported (13,61,62). We have previously proposed that the observed differences in community could be mediated by microclimatic characteristics under shrub patches (13).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 49%

The role of ecosystem engineers in shaping the diversity and function of arid soil bacterial communities

Baubin

Farrell

Šťovíček

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Ecosystem engineers (EEs) are present in every environment and are known to strongly influence ecological processes and thus shape the distribution of species and resources. In this study, we assessed the direct and indirect effect of two EEs (perennial shrubs and ant nests), individually and combined, on the composition and function of arid soil bacterial communities. To that end, top soil samples were collected in the Negev Desert Highlands during the dry season from four patch types: (1) barren soil; (2) under shrubs; (3) near ant nests; or (4) near ant nests situated under shrubs. The bacterial composition was evaluated in the soil samples (fourteen replicates per patch type) using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, together with physico-chemical measures of the soil, and the potential functions of the community. We have found that the EEs differently affected the community composition. Indeed, barren patches supported a soil microbiome, dominated by Rubrobacter and Proteobacteria, while in EE patches the Deinococcus-Thermus phylum was dominating. The presence of the EEs similarly enhanced the abundance of phototrophic, nitrogen cycle and stress- related genes. In addition, only when both EEs were combined, were the soil characteristics altered. Our results imply that arid landscapes foster unique communities selected by each EE(s), solo or in combination, yet these communities have similar potential biological traits to persist under the harsh arid conditions. Environments with multiple EEs are complicated to study due to the possibility of non-additive effects of EEs and thus further research should be done.IMPORTANCEEcosystem engineers are organisms that can create, modify, or maintain their habitat. They are present in various environments but are particularly conspicuous in desert ecosystems, where their presence is tightly linked to vital resources like water or nutrients. Despite their key role in structuring and controlling desert ecosystems, joint engineering, and their effect on soil function, are unknown. Our study explores the contributions of key ecosystem engineers to the diversity and function of their soil microbiome allowing better understanding of their role in shaping habitats and engineering their activity

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 49%

The role of ecosystem engineers in shaping the diversity and function of arid soil bacterial communities

Baubin

Farrell

Šťovíček

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

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show abstract

“…However the physico-chemical measures, including soil water content, OM, nitrogen, P, and pH, did not match the changes observed in bacterial composition or function (Table A1, A2, A9 and Figure 1) as was previously reported (Angel et al, 2010;Bachar et al, 2012;Vonshak et al, 2018). Indeed, there was no significant link between the changes in the bacterial communities and the soil parameters (Table A10).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

The role of ecosystem engineers in shaping the diversity and function of arid soil bacterial communities

Baubin¹,

Farrell²,

Šťovíček³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Abstract. Ecosystem engineers (EEs) are present in every environment and are known to strongly influence ecological processes and thus shape the distribution of species and resources. In this study, we assessed the direct and indirect effect of two EEs (perennial shrubs and ant nests), individually and combined, on the composition and function of arid soil bacterial communities. To that end, topsoil samples were collected in the Negev Desert Highlands during the dry season from four patch types: (1) barren soil; (2) under shrubs; (3) near ant nests; or (4) near ant nests situated under shrubs. The bacterial community composition and potential functionality were evaluated in the soil samples (fourteen replicates per patch type) using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, together with physico-chemical measures of the soil. We have found that the EEs differently affected the community composition. Barren patches supported a soil microbiome, dominated by Rubrobacter and Proteobacteria, while in EE patches Deinococcus-Thermus dominated. The presence of the EEs similarly enhanced the abundance of phototrophic, nitrogen cycle and stress- related genes. In addition, the soil characteristics were altered only when both EEs were combined. Our results suggest that arid landscapes foster unique bacterial communities selected by patches created by each EE(s), solo or in combination. Although, the communities’ composition differs, they support similar potential functions that may have a role in surviving harsh arid conditions. The combined effect of the EEs on soil microbial communities is a good example of hard to predict non-additive features of arid ecosystems that, therefore, merit further research.

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“…Only the combination of EEs resulted in significant changes (p values: Table A2) in NO − 3 , P, and, to a lesser extent, NH + 4 , pH, and OM (values: Table A1). When located under a shrub, ants can increase their seed consumption, which enhances the amount of leftovers around the nest (Wagner, 1997) and increases the concentrations of NO − 3 and P. These macronutrients are important drivers of the biological processes, as they are often the limiting factors of microbial growth and activity in the terrestrial environments (FAO et al, 2020). The physico-chemical measures, including soil water content, OM, nitrogen, P, and pH, did not match the changes observed in bacterial composition or function (Tables A1, A2, and A9 and Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of ecosystem engineers in shaping the diversity and function of arid soil bacterial communities

Baubin

Farrell

Šťovíček

et al. 2021

SOIL

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Ecosystem engineers (EEs) are present in every environment and are known to strongly influence ecological processes and thus shape the distribution of species and resources. In this study, we assessed the direct and indirect effect of two EEs (perennial shrubs and ant nests), individually and combined, on the composition and function of arid soil bacterial communities. To that end, topsoil samples were collected in the Negev desert highlands during the dry season from four patch types: (1) barren soil; (2) under shrubs; (3) near ant nests; or (4) near ant nests situated under shrubs. The bacterial community composition and potential functionality were evaluated in the soil samples (14 replicates per patch type) using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing together with physico-chemical measures of the soil. We have found that the EEs affected the community composition differently. Barren patches supported a soil microbiome, dominated by Rubrobacter and Proteobacteria, while in EE patches Deinococcus-Thermus dominated. The presence of the EEs similarly enhanced the abundance of phototrophic, nitrogen cycle, and stress-related genes. In addition, the soil characteristics were altered only when both EEs were combined. Our results suggest that arid landscapes foster unique communities selected by patches created by each EE(s), solo or in combination. Although the communities' composition differs, they support similar potential functions that may have a role in surviving the harsh arid conditions. The combined effect of the EEs on soil microbial communities is a good example of the hard-to-predict non-additive features of arid ecosystems that merit further research.

show abstract

Perennials but not slope aspect affect the diversity of soil bacterial communities in the northern Negev Desert, Israel

Cited by 7 publications

References 39 publications

The role of ecosystem engineers in shaping the diversity and function of arid soil bacterial communities

The role of ecosystem engineers in shaping the diversity and function of arid soil bacterial communities

The role of ecosystem engineers in shaping the diversity and function of arid soil bacterial communities

The role of ecosystem engineers in shaping the diversity and function of arid soil bacterial communities

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