Soil microbial communities shift along an urban gradient in Berlin, Germany

Whitehead, J. D.; Roy, Julien; Hempel, Stefan; Rillig, Matthias C.

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2022.972052

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 82 publications

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“…In many urban ecology studies, numerous parameters and methods have been used to estimate the intensity of human impacts on an area [ 18 , 19 ]. However, this hampered the comparison of experimental results from different studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urbanization Reduces Phyllosphere Microbial Network Complexity and Species Richness of Camphor Trees

Han

et al. 2023

Microorganisms

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Studies on microbial communities associated with foliage in natural ecosystems have grown in number in recent years yet have rarely focused on urban ecosystems. With urbanization, phyllosphere microorganisms in the urban environment have come under pressures from increasing human activities. To explore the effects of urbanization on the phyllosphere microbial communities of urban ecosystems, we investigated the phyllosphere microbial structure and the diversity of camphor trees in eight parks along a suburban-to-urban gradient. The results showed that the number of ASVs (amplicon sequence variants), unique on the phyllosphere microbial communities of three different urbanization gradients, was 4.54 to 17.99 times higher than that of the shared ASVs. Specific microbial biomarkers were also found for leaf samples from each urbanization gradient. Moreover, significant differences (R2 = 0.133, p = 0.005) were observed in the phyllosphere microbial structure among the three urbanization gradients. Alpha diversity and co-occurrence patterns of bacterial communities showed that urbanization can strongly reduce the complexity and species richness of the phyllosphere microbial network of camphor trees. Correlation analysis with environmental factors showed that leaf total carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S), as well as leaf C/N, soil pH, and artificial light intensity at night (ALIAN) were the important drivers in determining the divergence of phyllosphere microbial communities across the urbanization gradient. Together, we found that urbanization can affect the composition of the phyllosphere bacterial community of camphor trees, and that the interplay between human activities and plant microbial communities may contribute to shaping the urban microbiome.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urbanization Reduces Phyllosphere Microbial Network Complexity and Species Richness of Camphor Trees

Han

et al. 2023

Microorganisms

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Changes in Soil Fungal Diversity and Composition along a Rural–Urban Gradient

Rusterholz,

Baur

2023

Forests

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The functioning of forest ecosystems depends on the taxonomic and ecological diversity of soil fungi. Urbanization is increasing worldwide and is regarded as a key driver of environmental change altering local species assemblages in urban forest. We investigated whether the degree of urbanization and local forest characteristics affect the soil fungal community in 20 beech forests located along a rural–urban gradient in the city of Basel and its suburbs (Switzerland). We analyzed their soil fungal communities by DNA metabarcoding of the rDNA ITS2 region and related these data to local forest vegetation characteristics and soil properties. The number of fungal OTUs in the 20 forests examined ranged from 170 to 303. Richness, diversity and evenness of fungal communities were all significantly affected by the degree of urbanization, but in different ways. Soil fungal richness was highest in forests in areas with a low degree of urbanization and lowest in forests in rural areas. In contrast, the fungal community diversity increased with the increasing degree of urbanization. Different fungal phyla and fungal guilds showed distinct patterns in their relative abundance along the rural–urban gradient. The degree of urbanization reduced the relative abundance of symbiotrophic fungi, but increased that of saprotrophic and pathotrophic fungi. Our results show that urbanization changes soil fungal community, which in turn can lead to alterations in forest ecosystems.

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The Influence of Cone Age and Urbanisation on the Diversity and Community Composition of Culturable Seed Fungal Endophytes within Native Australian Banksia ericifolia L.f. subsp. ericifolia

Philpott

Liew

Merwe

et al. 2023

JoF

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Seed fungal endophytes play a crucial role in assisting the overall health and success of their host plant; however, little is known about the factors that influence the diversity and composition of these endophytes, particularly with respect to how they change over time and within urban environments. Using culturing techniques, morphological analyses, and Sanger sequencing, we identified the culturable seed fungal endophytes of Banksia ericifolia at two urban and two natural sites in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. A total of 27 Operational Taxonomic Units were obtained from 1200 seeds. Older cones were found to contain, on average, more colonised endophytes than younger cones. Species richness was also significantly influenced by cone age, with older cones being more speciose. Between urban and natural sites, the overall community composition did not change, although species richness and diversity were greatest at urban sites. Understanding how these endophytes vary in time and space may help provide an insight into the transmission pathways used and the potential role they play within the development and survival of the seed. This knowledge may also be crucial for restoration purposes, especially regarding the need to consider endophyte viability in ex situ seed collection and storage in seed-banking practices.

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Soil microbial communities shift along an urban gradient in Berlin, Germany

Cited by 3 publications

References 82 publications

Urbanization Reduces Phyllosphere Microbial Network Complexity and Species Richness of Camphor Trees

Urbanization Reduces Phyllosphere Microbial Network Complexity and Species Richness of Camphor Trees

Changes in Soil Fungal Diversity and Composition along a Rural–Urban Gradient

The Influence of Cone Age and Urbanisation on the Diversity and Community Composition of Culturable Seed Fungal Endophytes within Native Australian Banksia ericifolia L.f. subsp. ericifolia

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