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Jung P, Brand R, Briegel-Williams L, Werner L, Jost E, Lentendu G, Singer D, Athavale R, Nürnberg DJ, Alfaro FD, Büdel B, Lakatos M. The symbiotic alga Trebouxia fuels a coherent soil ecosystem on the landscape scale in the Atacama Desert. ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOME 2024; 19:59. [PMID: 39123247 PMCID: PMC11311966 DOI: 10.1186/s40793-024-00601-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 08/05/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
Biocrusts represent associations of lichens, green algae, cyanobacteria, fungi and other microorganisms, colonizing soils in varying proportions of principally arid biomes. The so-called grit crust represents a recently discovered type of biocrust situated in the Coastal Range of the Atacama Desert (Chile) made of microorganisms growing on and in granitoid pebbles, resulting in a checkerboard pattern visible to the naked eye on the landscape scale. This specific microbiome fulfills a broad range of ecosystem services, all probably driven by fog and dew-induced photosynthetic activity of mainly micro-lichens. To understand its biodiversity and impact, we applied a polyphasic approach on the phototrophic microbiome of this biocrust, combining isolation and characterization of the lichen photobionts, multi-gene phylogeny of the photobionts and mycobionts based on a direct sequencing and microphotography approach, metabarcoding and determination of chlorophylla+b contents. Metabarcoding showed that yet undescribed lichens within the Caliciaceae dominated the biocrust together with Trebouxia as the most abundant eukaryote in all plots. Together with high mean chlorophylla+b contents exceeding 410 mg m-2, this distinguished the symbiotic algae Trebouxia as the main driver of the grit crust ecosystem. The trebouxioid photobionts could be assigned to the I (T. impressa/gelatinosa) and A (T. arboricola) clades and represented several lineages containing five potential species candidates, which were identified based on the unique phylogenetic position, morphological features, and developmental cycles of the corresponding isolates. These results designate the grit crust as the only known coherent soil layer with significant landscape covering impact of at least 440 km2, predominantly ruled by a single symbiotic algal genus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Jung
- Department of Integrative Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, Germany.
| | - Rebekah Brand
- Department of Integrative Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, Germany
| | - Laura Briegel-Williams
- Department of Integrative Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, Germany
| | - Lina Werner
- Department of Integrative Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, Germany
| | - Emily Jost
- Department of Integrative Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, Germany
| | - Guillaume Lentendu
- Laboratory of Soil Biodiversity, Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - David Singer
- Soil Science and Environment Group, Changins, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Nyon, Switzerland
| | - Rujuta Athavale
- Institute for Experimental Physics, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dennis J Nürnberg
- Institute for Experimental Physics, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Dahlem Centre of Plant Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Fernando D Alfaro
- GEMA Center for Genomics, Ecology and Environment, Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Burkhard Büdel
- Biology, Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University Kaiserslautern Landau, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Michael Lakatos
- Department of Integrative Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, Germany
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Xu L, Li X, Tang X, Kou Y, Li C, Li J, Yao M, Zhang B, Wang L, Xu H, You C, Li H, Liu S, Zhang L, Liu Y, Huang X, Tu L, Tan B, Xu Z. Consistent community assembly but contingent species pool effects drive β-diversity patterns of multiple microbial groups in desert biocrust systems. Mol Ecol 2024; 33:e17386. [PMID: 38751195 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
One of the key goals of ecology is to understand how communities are assembled. The species co-existence theory suggests that community β-diversity is influenced by species pool and community assembly processes, such as environmental filtering, dispersal events, ecological drift and biotic interactions. However, it remains unclear whether there are similar β-diversity patterns among different soil microbial groups and whether all these mechanisms play significant roles in mediating β-diversity patterns. By conducting a broad survey across Chinese deserts, we aimed to address these questions by investing biological soil crusts (biocrusts). Through amplicon-sequencing, we acquired β-diversity data for multiple microbial groups, that is, soil total bacteria, diazotrophs, phoD-harbouring taxa, and fungi. Our results have shown varying distance decay rates of β-diversity across microbial groups, with soil total bacteria showing a weaker distance-decay relationship than other groups. The impact of the species pool on community β-diversity varied across microbial groups, with soil total bacteria and diazotrophs being significantly influenced. While the contributions of specific assembly processes to community β-diversity patterns varied among different microbial groups, significant effects of local community assembly processes on β-diversity patterns were consistently observed across all groups. Homogenous selection and dispersal limitation emerged as crucial processes for all groups. Precipitation and soil C:P were the key factors mediating β-diversity for all groups. This study has substantially advanced our understanding of how the communities of multiple microbial groups are structured in desert biocrust systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Xu
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiangzhen Li
- Engineering Research Centre of Soil Remediation of Fujian Province University, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Xin Tang
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yongping Kou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
| | - Chaonan Li
- Ecological Security and Protection Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Mianyang Normal University, Mianyang, China
| | - Jiabao Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
| | - Minjie Yao
- Engineering Research Centre of Soil Remediation of Fujian Province University, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Bingchang Zhang
- Shanxi Normal University, School of Geographical Sciences, Taiyuan, China
| | - Lixia Wang
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Hongwei Xu
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Chengming You
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Han Li
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Sining Liu
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Li Zhang
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yang Liu
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiong Huang
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Lihua Tu
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Bo Tan
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Zhenfeng Xu
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
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Root HT, Chan J, Ponzetti J, Pyke DA, McCune B. Long-term biocrust responses to wildfires in Washington, USA. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2023; 110:e16261. [PMID: 38031439 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Dryland ecosystems in the western United States are affected by invasive species, wildfires, livestock grazing, and climate change in ways that are difficult to distinguish. Biocrusts perform important ecological roles in these systems and are sensitive to all of these pressures. METHODS We revisited a Washington, USA, site sampled for biocrusts in 1999 to focus on effects of exotic annual grass invasion and wildfires in the absence of livestock grazing. We examined changes between 1999 and 2020 using a Bayesian directed acyclic graph (DAG) to interpret direct and indirect causal impacts of wildfire on perennial bunchgrasses, exotic annual grasses, and biocrusts. RESULTS Between 1999 and 2020, exotic annual grass cover increased in all plots and in unburned plots by 16% and 18%, respectively, bunchgrass cover decreased by 21% and 25%, and biocrust cover decreased by 8.9% and 9.8%. Our DAG suggested that decreases in bunchgrass increased exotic annual grass, which reduced biocrust cover. Wildfires did not directly influence changes in bunchgrass, exotic annual grass, or biocrust cover. Areas dominated by exotic annual grass had less abundant and diverse biocrusts than areas with less exotic annual grass. CONCLUSIONS Biocrust community changes were more strongly related to increasing exotic annual grasses than to wildfires. Changes may relate to other soil disturbances or broad-scale changes in climate or air quality. The minimal influence of wildfire on exotic annual grass and biocrusts suggests that apparent negative impacts of wildfire at other sites may be due to exacerbation by livestock grazing or other surface disturbance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather T Root
- Department of Botany and Plant Ecology, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 84401, USA
| | - Julian Chan
- Department of Mathematics, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 84401, USA
| | | | - David A Pyke
- U.S. Geological Survey, Forest & Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, Oregon, 97330, USA
| | - Bruce McCune
- Department of Botany & Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, 2082 Cordley Hall, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331, USA
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Jech SD, Havrilla CA, Barger NN. The influence of disturbance scale on the natural recovery of biological soil crusts on the Colorado Plateau. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1176760. [PMID: 37601344 PMCID: PMC10434622 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1176760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Up to 35% of global drylands have experienced degradation due to anthropogenic impacts, including physical disturbances like trampling and soil removal. These physical disturbances can result in the loss of soil communities known as biological soil crusts (biocrusts) and the important functions they provide, such as soil stability and fertility. The reestablishment of biocrust organisms after disturbance is determined by many factors, including propagule availability, climate, and vascular plant community structure. The role of these factors in natural recovery may be intensified by the extent (or size) of a disturbance. For example, large disturbances can result in reduced propagule availability or enhanced erosion, which impact both the dispersal and establishment of biocrust organisms on disturbed soils, leading to a slower natural recovery. To test how disturbance extent impacts biocrust's natural recovery, we installed four disturbance extents by completely removing biocrust from the mineral soil in plots ranging from 0.01 m2 to 1 m2 and measured productivity and erosion resistance. We found that small disturbance extents did not differ in chlorophyll a content, total exopolysaccharide content, or soil stability after 1.5 years of natural recovery. However, the concentration of glycocalyx exopolysaccharide was higher in the smallest disturbances after the recovery period. Our results indicate that disturbances <1 m2 in scale recover at similar rates, with soil stability returning to high levels in just a few years after severe disturbance. Our findings align with prior work on biocrust natural recovery in drylands and highlight the opportunity for future work to address (1) cyanobacteria, moss, and lichen propagule dispersal; (2) rates and mechanisms of biocrust succession; and (3) the role of wind or water in determining biocrust colonization patterns as compared to lateral growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sierra D. Jech
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States
| | - Caroline A. Havrilla
- Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Nichole N. Barger
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States
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Richardson AD, Kong GV, Taylor KM, Le Moine JM, Bowker MA, Barber JJ, Basler D, Carbone MS, Hayer M, Koch GW, Salvatore MR, Sonnemaker AW, Trilling DE. Soil-atmosphere fluxes of CO2, CH4, and N2O across an experimentally-grown, successional gradient of biocrust community types. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:979825. [PMID: 36225383 PMCID: PMC9549369 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.979825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are critical components of dryland and other ecosystems worldwide, and are increasingly recognized as novel model ecosystems from which more general principles of ecology can be elucidated. Biocrusts are often diverse communities, comprised of both eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms with a range of metabolic lifestyles that enable the fixation of atmospheric carbon and nitrogen. However, how the function of these biocrust communities varies with succession is incompletely characterized, especially in comparison to more familiar terrestrial ecosystem types such as forests. We conducted a greenhouse experiment to investigate how community composition and soil-atmosphere trace gas fluxes of CO2, CH4, and N2O varied from early-successional light cyanobacterial biocrusts to mid-successional dark cyanobacteria biocrusts and late-successional moss-lichen biocrusts and as biocrusts of each successional stage matured. Cover type richness increased as biocrusts developed, and richness was generally highest in the late-successional moss-lichen biocrusts. Microbial community composition varied in relation to successional stage, but microbial diversity did not differ significantly among stages. Net photosynthetic uptake of CO2 by each biocrust type also increased as biocrusts developed but tended to be moderately greater (by up to ≈25%) for the mid-successional dark cyanobacteria biocrusts than the light cyanobacterial biocrusts or the moss-lichen biocrusts. Rates of soil C accumulation were highest for the dark cyanobacteria biocrusts and light cyanobacteria biocrusts, and lowest for the moss-lichen biocrusts and bare soil controls. Biocrust CH4 and N2O fluxes were not consistently distinguishable from the same fluxes measured from bare soil controls; the measured rates were also substantially lower than have been reported in previous biocrust studies. Our experiment, which uniquely used greenhouse-grown biocrusts to manipulate community composition and accelerate biocrust development, shows how biocrust function varies along a dynamic gradient of biocrust successional stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew D. Richardson
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
- *Correspondence: Andrew D. Richardson,
| | - Gary V. Kong
- Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
- University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Katrina M. Taylor
- Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, United States
| | - James M. Le Moine
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
| | - Matthew A. Bowker
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
| | - Jarrett J. Barber
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
| | - David Basler
- Department of Environmental Sciences–Botany, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Mariah S. Carbone
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
| | - Michaela Hayer
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
| | - George W. Koch
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
| | - Mark R. Salvatore
- Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
| | - A. Wesley Sonnemaker
- Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
- Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
| | - David E. Trilling
- Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
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Oliveira MF, Maciel-Silva AS. Biological soil crusts and how they might colonize other worlds: insights from these Brazilian ecosystem engineers. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2022; 73:4362-4379. [PMID: 35522077 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erac162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
When bryophytes, lichens, eukaryotic algae, cyanobacteria, bacteria, and fungi live interacting intimately with the most superficial particles of the soil, they form a complex community of organisms called the biological soil crust (BSC or biocrust). These biocrusts occur predominantly in drylands, where they provide important ecological services such as soil aggregation, moisture retention, and nitrogen fixation. Unfortunately, many BSC communities remain poorly explored, especially in the tropics. This review summarizes studies about BSCs in Brazil, a tropical megadiverse country, and shows the importance of ecological, physiological, and taxonomic knowledge of biocrusts. We also compare Brazilian BSC communities with others around the world, describe why BSCs can be considered ecosystem engineers, and propose their use in the colonization of other worlds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateus Fernandes Oliveira
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Laboratório de Sistemática Vegetal, Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Adaíses Simone Maciel-Silva
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Laboratório de Sistemática Vegetal, Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil
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Liu YR, Eldridge DJ, Zeng XM, Wang J, Singh BK, Delgado-Baquerizo M. Global diversity and ecological drivers of lichenised soil fungi. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 231:1210-1219. [PMID: 33914920 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Lichens play crucial roles in sustaining the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems; however, the diversity and ecological factors associated with lichenised soil fungi remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we used a global field survey including information on fungal sequences of topsoils from 235 terrestrial ecosystems. We identified 880 lichenised fungal phylotypes across nine biomes ranging from deserts to tropical forests. The diversity and proportion of lichenised soil fungi peaked in shrublands and dry grasslands. Aridity index, plant cover and soil pH were the most important factors associated with the distribution of lichenised soil fungi. Furthermore, we identified Endocarpon, Verrucaria and Rinodina as some of the most dominant lichenised genera across the globe, and they had similar environmental preferences to the lichenised fungal community. In addition, precipitation seasonality and mean diurnal temperature range were also important in predicting the proportion of these dominant genera. Using this information, we were able to create the first global maps of the richness and the proportion of dominant genera of lichenised fungi. This work provides new insight into the global distribution and ecological preferences of lichenised soil fungi, and supports their dominance in drylands across the globe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Rong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
- College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - David J Eldridge
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Xiao-Min Zeng
- College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Juntao Wang
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW, 2753, Australia
| | - Brajesh K Singh
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW, 2753, Australia
- Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation, Western Sydney University, Penrith South DC, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
- Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, 41013, Spain
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Rosentreter R. Biocrust lichen and moss species most suitable for restoration projects. Restor Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.13082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Roger Rosentreter
- Department of BiologyBoise State University 2032 S. Crystal Way Boise ID 83706 U.S.A
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9
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Root HT, Miller JED, Rosentreter R. Grazing disturbance promotes exotic annual grasses by degrading soil biocrust communities. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2020; 30:e02016. [PMID: 31596981 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2019] [Revised: 08/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/11/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Exotic invasive plants threaten ecosystem integrity, and their success depends on a combination of abiotic factors, disturbances, and interactions with existing communities. In dryland ecosystems, soil biocrusts (communities of lichens, bryophytes, and microorganisms) can limit favorable microsites needed for invasive species establishment, but the relative importance of biocrusts for landscape-scale invasion patterns remains poorly understood. We examine effects of livestock grazing in habitats at high risk for invasion to test the hypothesis that disturbance indirectly favors exotic annual grasses by reducing biocrust cover. We present some of the first evidence that biocrusts increase site resistance to invasion at a landscape scale and mediate the effects of disturbance. Biocrust species richness, which is reduced by livestock grazing, also appears to promote native perennial grasses. Short mosses, as a functional group, appear to be particularly valuable for preventing invasion by exotic annual grasses. Our study suggests that maintaining biocrust communities with high cover, species richness, and cover of short mosses can increase resistance to invasion. These results highlight the potential of soil surface communities to mediate invasion dynamics and suggest promising avenues for restoration in dryland ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather T Root
- Botany Department, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 84401, USA
| | - Jesse E D Miller
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94304, USA
| | - Roger Rosentreter
- Biology Department, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, 83725, USA
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Colesie C, Büdel B, Hurry V, Green TGA. Can Antarctic lichens acclimatize to changes in temperature? GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:1123-1135. [PMID: 29143417 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2017] [Revised: 10/02/2017] [Accepted: 11/05/2017] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The Antarctic Peninsula, a tundra biome dominated by lichens and bryophytes, is an ecozone undergoing rapid temperature shifts. Such changes may demand a high physiological plasticity of the local lichen species to maintain their role as key drivers in this pristine habitat. This study examines the response of net photosynthesis and respiration to increasing temperatures for three Antarctic lichen species with different ecological response amplitudes. We hypothesize that negative effects caused by increased temperatures can be mitigated by thermal acclimation of respiration and/or photosynthesis. The fully controlled growth chamber experiment simulated intermediate and extreme temperature increases over the time course of 6 weeks. Results showed that, in contrast to our hypothesis, none of the species was able to down-regulate temperature-driven respiratory losses through thermal acclimation of respiration. Instead, severe effects on photobiont vitality demonstrated that temperatures around 15°C mark the upper limit for the two species restricted to the Antarctic, and when mycobiont demands exceeded the photobiont capacity they could not survive within the lichen thallus. In contrast, the widespread lichen species was able to recover its homoeostasis by rapidly increasing net photosynthesis. We conclude that to understand the complete lichen response, acclimation processes of both symbionts, the photo- and the mycobiont, have to be evaluated separately. As a result, we postulate that any acclimation processes in lichen are species-specific. This, together with the high degree of response variability and sensitivity to temperature in different species that co-occur spatially close, complicates any predictions regarding future community composition in the Antarctic. Nevertheless, our results suggest that species with a broad ecological amplitude may be favoured with on-going changes in temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Colesie
- Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Burkhard Büdel
- Department of Plant Ecology and Systematics, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Vaughan Hurry
- Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Thomas George Allan Green
- Departamento de Biologia Vegetal II, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
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Williams L, Colesie C, Ullmann A, Westberg M, Wedin M, Büdel B. Lichen acclimation to changing environments: Photobiont switching vs. climate-specific uniqueness in Psora decipiens. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:2560-2574. [PMID: 28428847 PMCID: PMC5395455 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2016] [Revised: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 01/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Unraveling the complex relationship between lichen fungal and algal partners has been crucial in understanding lichen dispersal capacity, evolutionary processes, and responses in the face of environmental change. However, lichen symbiosis remains enigmatic, including the ability of a single fungal partner to associate with various algal partners. Psora decipiens is a characteristic lichen of biological soil crusts (BSCs), across semi-arid, temperate, and alpine biomes, which are particularly susceptible to habitat loss and climate change. The high levels of morphological variation found across the range of Psora decipiens may contribute to its ability to withstand environmental change. To investigate Psora decipiens acclimation potential, individuals were transplanted between four climatically distinct sites across a European latitudinal gradient for 2 years. The effect of treatment was investigated through a morphological examination using light and SEM microscopy; 26S rDNA and rbcL gene analysis assessed site-specific relationships and lichen acclimation through photobiont switching. Initial analysis revealed that many samples had lost their algal layers. Although new growth was often determined, the algae were frequently found to have died without evidence of a new photobiont being incorporated into the thallus. Mycobiont analysis investigated diversity and determined that new growth was a part of the transplant, thus, revealing that four distinct fungal clades, closely linked to site, exist. Additionally, P. decipiens was found to associate with the green algal genus Myrmecia, with only two genetically distinct clades between the four sites. Our investigation has suggested that P. decipiens cannot acclimate to the substantial climatic variability across its environmental range. Additionally, the different geographical areas are home to genetically distinct and unique populations. The variation found within the genotypic and morpho-physiological traits of P. decipiens appears to have a climatic determinant, but this is not always reflected by the algal partner. Although photobiont switching occurs on an evolutionary scale, there is little evidence to suggest an active environmentally induced response. These results suggest that this species, and therefore, other lichen species, and BSC ecosystems themselves may be significantly vulnerable to climate change and habitat loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Williams
- Plant Ecology and SystematicsBiology InstituteUniversity of KaiserslauternKaiserslauternGermany
| | - Claudia Colesie
- Plant Ecology and SystematicsBiology InstituteUniversity of KaiserslauternKaiserslauternGermany
| | - Anna Ullmann
- Plant Ecology and SystematicsBiology InstituteUniversity of KaiserslauternKaiserslauternGermany
| | | | - Mats Wedin
- Department of BotanySwedish Museum of Natural HistoryStockholmSweden
| | - Burkhard Büdel
- Plant Ecology and SystematicsBiology InstituteUniversity of KaiserslauternKaiserslauternGermany
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