Temperature Drives the Continental-Scale Distribution of Key Microbes in Topsoil Communities

García-Pichel, Ferrán; Loza, Virginia; Marusenko, Yevgeniy; Mateo, Pilar; Potrafka, Ruth M.

doi:10.1126/science.1236404

Cited by 253 publications

(268 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…We further showed that cyanobacterial crusts dominated on coarser texture in a 200-600 mm precipitation range (Fig. 2, Table 3), where the majority of the literature sources reported high abundances of the genus Microcoleus, which may respond to temperature change on the genus level (Garcia-Pichel et al 2013). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Garcia-Pichel et al (2013) reported a marginal importance of precipitation and emphasized mean annual temperature as driving factor for the continental-scale distribution of key microbes, for the crust type and for chlorophyll yields of biocrust relevant microbial strains in topsoil communities. Apart from that, it is well possible in our study that the power of regression was weak due to the necessary disregard of some driving factors of biocrust development, such like soil chemical properties, plant cover, or landscape type (Eldridge & Tozer 1996, 1997, which then would contribute to the statistical error.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climatic and soil texture threshold values for cryptogamic cover development: a meta analysis

Fischer

Subbotina

2014

Biologia

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In a global meta study, which contained 157 biological soil crust (BSC) samples from all climatic regions worldwide, climatic and soil texture threshold values favoring BSC development were derived. Response variable was the "relative crust biomass", which was computed per literature source as the ratio between each individual crust biomass value of the given study to the study maximum value reported. Four crust types were distinguished: cyanobacterial, lichen, green algal and moss crusts. To quantify threshold conditions at which crust biomass responded to differences in texture and climate, we (I) determined correlations between bioclimatic variables, (II) calculated generalized linear models to determine the effect of typical climatic variables with soil clay content and with study site as a random effect. (III) Thresholds of climatic and texture effects were identified using a regression tree. Three mean annual temperature classes for texture dependent BSC growth limitation were identified: (1) <9• C with a threshold value of 25% silt and clay (limited growth on coarser soils), (2) 9-19• C, where texture did have no influence on relative crust biomass, and (3) >19• C at soils with <4 or >17% silt and clay. Non of the precipitation related bioclimatic variables did influence the relative crust biomass significantly. Because biocrust development is limited under certain climatic and soil texture conditions, it is suggested to consider soil texture in biogeochemical modeling of cryptogamic ground covers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatic and soil texture threshold values for cryptogamic cover development: a meta analysis

Fischer

Subbotina

2014

Biologia

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“…We thus assessed the consequences of the process of woody-plant encroachment by evaluating the relationship between TC and LP at a given point in time across multiple locations. This approach of swapping time for space has been used to predict future trajectories of species in an ecological succession (25), and more recently, the expected change of organisms ranging from microbes (26) to trees (27) under a changing climate. We are aware of the limitations of this approach, mostly associated with the existence of lags that result in different models through space and time (28).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of woody-plant encroachment on livestock production in North and South America

Anadón

Sala

Turner

et al. 2014

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

157

123

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A large fraction of the world grasslands and savannas are undergoing a rapid shift from herbaceous to woody-plant dominance. This land-cover change is expected to lead to a loss in livestock production (LP), but the impacts of woody-plant encroachment on this crucial ecosystem service have not been assessed. We evaluate how tree cover (TC) has affected LP at large spatial scales in rangelands of contrasting social-economic characteristics in the United States and Argentina. Our models indicate that in areas of high productivity, a 1% increase in TC results in a reduction in LP ranging from 0.6 to 1.6 reproductive cows (Rc) per km 2 . Mean LP in the United States is 27 Rc per km 2 , so a 1% increase in TC results in a 2.5% decrease in mean LP. This effect is large considering that woody-plant cover has been described as increasing at 0.5% to 2% per y. On the contrary, in areas of low productivity, increased TC had a positive effect on LP. Our results also show that ecological factors account for a larger fraction of LP variability in Argentinean than in US rangelands. Differences in the relative importance of ecological versus nonecological drivers of LP in Argentina and the United States suggest that the valuation of ecosystem services between these two rangelands might be different. Current management strategies in Argentina are likely designed to maximize LP for various reasons we are unable to explore in this effort, whereas land managers in the United States may be optimizing multiple ecosystem services, including conservation or recreation, alongside LP.global change | food production | social-ecological systems G rasslands, shrublands, and savannas, collectively termed "rangelands," constitute about 50% of the Earth's land surface (1). Although characterized by low yet highly variable annual rainfall, these areas provide 30-35% of terrestrial net primary productivity (NPP) (2), contain >30% of the world's human population, and support the majority of the world's livestock production (LP) (3, 4). Besides LP, rangelands also provide a variety of other ecosystem services, including fiber production, carbon sequestration, maintenance of the genetic library (conservation), and recreation (5).One of the most striking land-cover changes in rangelands worldwide over the past 150 y has been the proliferation of trees and shrubs at the expense of perennial grasses (6). In the United States, nonforest lands undergoing woody-plant encroachment are now estimated to cover up to 335 million ha (40% of the coterminous United States) (7) and the increase in woody cover ranges from 0.5% to 2% per y (8). The causes of this vegetation change are debated and the main potential drivers include intensification of livestock grazing, changes in climate and fire regimes, the introduction of nonnative woody species, and declines (natural and human induced) in the abundance of browsing animals (9-12). Historical increases in atmospheric nitrogen deposition and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration have also been suggested to play ...

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“…However, in one of the Gurbantünggüt swales (Swale 2), the dominance of M. vaginatus was weakened owing to the abundant presence of M. steenstrupii and Scytonema. M. steenstrupii was found to be more thermo tolerant than M. vaginatus (Garcia-Pichel et al 2013), and thus their higher abundance in Swale 2 could imply a higher succession stage compared to other BSCs. In general, Scytonema-like cyanobacteria only begin to establish after Microcoleus move out in the direction of the crust surface, forming a 1-mm-diameter layer on the NA indicates that the phylotype was not included within the 10 most dominant phylotypes for that site.…”

Section: Bacterial Community Successionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community succession of bacteria and eukaryotes in dune ecosystems of Gurbantünggüt Desert, Northwest China

Zhang

2014

Extremophiles

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Pyrosequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction of small subunit rRNA genes were used to provide a comprehensive examination of bacterial, cyanobacterial, and eukaryotic communities in the biological soil crusts (BSCs) of Gurbantünggüt Desert sand dunes (China). Three succession stages were recognized based on the analyses of eukaryotic communities: a late succession stage of BSCs in a swale with eukaryotes mainly related to the Bryophyta clade, an initial succession stage in a slope with barely any eukaryotic phototrophic microorganisms detected, and an intermediate succession type detected from both the swale and slope BSCs dominated by the phylum Chlorophyta. Moreover, the cyanobacterial community dominated all of the BSCs (48.2-69.5 % of the total bacteria) and differed among the three succession stages: sequences related to Microcoleus steenstrupii and the genus Scytonema were abundant in the later succession stage, whereas both the initial and intermediate stages were dominated by Microcoleus vaginatus. Compared with swales, BSCs from slopes are exposed to a harsher environment, e.g., higher irradiance and lower water availability, and thus may be restricted from developing to a higher succession stage. Other disturbances such as wind and grazing may explain the different succession stages observed in swales or slopes. However, no clear differences were detected from non-phototrophic bacterial communities of the three succession stages, and sequences related to Alphaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria were most abundant in all the BSCs. The closest matches for the most frequent non-phototrophic bacterial genera were mainly derived from harsh environments, indicating the robustness of these genera.

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Temperature Drives the Continental-Scale Distribution of Key Microbes in Topsoil Communities

Cited by 253 publications

References 36 publications

Climatic and soil texture threshold values for cryptogamic cover development: a meta analysis

Climatic and soil texture threshold values for cryptogamic cover development: a meta analysis

Effect of woody-plant encroachment on livestock production in North and South America

Community succession of bacteria and eukaryotes in dune ecosystems of Gurbantünggüt Desert, Northwest China

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