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Radujković D, Vicca S, van Rooyen M, Wilfahrt P, Brown L, Jentsch A, Reinhart KO, Brown C, De Gruyter J, Jurasinski G, Askarizadeh D, Bartha S, Beck R, Blenkinsopp T, Cahill J, Campetella G, Canullo R, Chelli S, Enrico L, Fraser L, Hao X, Henry HAL, Hohn M, Jouri MH, Koch M, Lawrence Lodge R, Li FY, Lord JM, Milligan P, Minggagud H, Palmer T, Schröder B, Szabó G, Zhang T, Zimmermann Z, Verbruggen E. Consistent predictors of microbial community composition across spatial scales in grasslands reveal low context-dependency. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:6924-6938. [PMID: 37873915 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17178] [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: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Environmental circumstances shaping soil microbial communities have been studied extensively. However, due to disparate study designs, it has been difficult to resolve whether a globally consistent set of predictors exists, or context-dependency prevails. Here, we used a network of 18 grassland sites (11 of those containing regional plant productivity gradients) to examine (i) if similar abiotic or biotic factors predict both large-scale (across sites) and regional-scale (within sites) patterns in bacterial and fungal community composition, and (ii) if microbial community composition differs consistently at two levels of regional plant productivity (low vs. high). Our results revealed that bacteria were associated with particular soil properties (such as base saturation) and both bacteria and fungi were associated with plant community composition across sites and within the majority of sites. Moreover, a discernible microbial community signal emerged, clearly distinguishing high and low-productivity soils across different grasslands independent of their location in the world. Hence, regional productivity differences may be typified by characteristic soil microbial communities across the grassland biome. These results could encourage future research aiming to predict the general effects of global changes on soil microbial community composition in grasslands and to discriminate fertile from infertile systems using generally applicable microbial indicators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dajana Radujković
- Department of Biology, Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), Universiteitsplein 1, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Sara Vicca
- Department of Biology, Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), Universiteitsplein 1, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Margaretha van Rooyen
- Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Peter Wilfahrt
- Department of Disturbance Ecology, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - Leslie Brown
- Applied Behavioural Ecology & Ecosystem Research Unit, Dept. Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa, Florida, South Africa
| | - Anke Jentsch
- Department of Disturbance Ecology, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Kurt O Reinhart
- United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (or USDA-ARS), Fort Keogh Livestock& Range Research Laboratory, Miles City, Montana, USA
| | - Charlotte Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Johan De Gruyter
- Department of Biology, Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), Universiteitsplein 1, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Gerald Jurasinski
- Landscape Ecology, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Diana Askarizadeh
- Department of Rehabilitation of Arid and Mountainous Regions, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sandor Bartha
- Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Ryan Beck
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Theodore Blenkinsopp
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - James Cahill
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Giandiego Campetella
- Unit of Plant Diversity and Ecosystems Management, School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - Roberto Canullo
- Unit of Plant Diversity and Ecosystems Management, School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - Stefano Chelli
- Unit of Plant Diversity and Ecosystems Management, School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - Lucas Enrico
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (CONICET-UNC) and FCEFyN, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Lauchlan Fraser
- Department of Natural Resource Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Xiying Hao
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Hugh A L Henry
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Maria Hohn
- Department of Botany, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - Marian Koch
- Soil Physics, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | | | - Frank Yonghong Li
- School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Janice M Lord
- Department of Botany - Te Tari Huaota, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Patrick Milligan
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Hugjiltu Minggagud
- School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Todd Palmer
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | | | - Gábor Szabó
- Environmental Sciences Doctoral School, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Gödöllő, Hungary
| | - Tongrui Zhang
- School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Zita Zimmermann
- Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Erik Verbruggen
- Department of Biology, Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), Universiteitsplein 1, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
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