Pre-exposure to drought increases the resistance of tropical forest soil bacterial communities to extended drought

Bouskill, Nicholas J.; Lim, Hsiao Chien; Borglin, Sharon; Salve, Rohit; Wood, Tana E.; Silver, Whendee L.; Brodie, Eoin L.

doi:10.1038/ismej.2012.113

Cited by 259 publications

(239 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Li and González [44] found significant decreases in total and active fungal and bacterial biomass in the drier season compared to the wetter season working at the same site as Lodge and Ingham [100]. Soil bacteria as well as fungi were found to be highly sensitive to low moisture using a throughfall exclosure experiment, particularly at a low-moisture threshold [101,102]. While canopy trimming in the hurricane simulation experiment decreased litter moisture, soil moisture increased due to reduction of evapotranspiration [14,17,103].…”

Section: Microbial Responses To Disturbancesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Soil Biology Research across Latitude, Elevation and Disturbance Gradients: A Review of Forest Studies from Puerto Rico during the Past 25 Years

González

Lodge

2017

Forests

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Progress in understanding changes in soil biology in response to latitude, elevation and disturbance gradients has generally lagged behind studies of above-ground plants and animals owing to methodological constraints and high diversity and complexity of interactions in below-ground food webs. New methods have opened research opportunities in below-ground systems, leading to a rapid increase in studies of below-ground organisms and processes. Here, we summarize results of forest soil biology research over the past 25 years in Puerto Rico as part of a 75th Anniversary Symposium on research of the USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry. These results are presented in the context of changes in soil and forest floor biota across latitudinal, elevation and disturbance gradients. Invertebrate detritivores in these tropical forests exerted a stronger influence on leaf decomposition than in cold temperate forests using a common substrate. Small changes in arthropods brought about using different litterbag mesh sizes induced larger changes in leaf litter mass loss and nutrient mineralization. Fungi and bacteria in litter and soil of wet forests were surprisingly sensitive to drying, leading to changes in nutrient cycling. Tropical fungi also showed sensitivity to environmental fluctuations and gradients as fungal phylotype composition in soil had a high turnover along an elevation gradient in Puerto Rico. Globally, tropical soil fungi had smaller geographic ranges than temperate fungi. Invertebrate activity accelerates decomposition of woody debris, especially in lowland dry forest, but invertebrates are also important in early stages of log decomposition in middle elevation wet forests. Large deposits of scoltine bark beetle frass from freshly fallen logs coincide with nutrient immobilization by soil microbial biomass and a relatively low density of tree roots in soil under newly fallen logs. Tree roots shifted their foraging locations seasonally in relation to decaying logs. Native earthworms were sensitive to disturbance and were absent from tree plantations, whereas introduced earthworms were found across elevation and disturbance gradients.

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Section: Microbial Responses To Disturbancesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Soil Biology Research across Latitude, Elevation and Disturbance Gradients: A Review of Forest Studies from Puerto Rico during the Past 25 Years

González

Lodge

2017

Forests

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“…The soil was so dry at the beginning of the April sampling that one soil sample did not lose weight on oven drying, and some of the others probably lost water of hydration rather than free water. Fungal biomass [68] and the microbial community [69,70] in wet tropical forest of Puerto Rico were shown to be highly sensitive to drying, though community effects were most evident in the very driest soils.…”

Section: Soil Microbial Biomass Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Hurricane-Felled Tree Trunks on Soil Carbon, Nitrogen, Microbial Biomass, and Root Length in a Wet Tropical Forest

Lodge

Winter

González

et al. 2016

Forests

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Decaying coarse woody debris can affect the underlying soil either by augmenting nutrients that can be exploited by tree roots, or by diminishing nutrient availability through stimulation of microbial nutrient immobilization. We analyzed C, N, microbial biomass C and root length in closely paired soil samples taken under versus 20-50 cm away from large trunks of two species felled by Hugo (1989) and Georges (1998) three times during wet and dry seasons over the two years following the study conducted by Georges. Soil microbial biomass, % C and % N were significantly higher under than away from logs felled by both hurricanes (i.e., 1989 and 1998), at all sampling times and at both depths (0-10 and 10-20 cm). Frass from wood boring beetles may contribute to early effects. Root length was greater away from logs during the dry season, and under logs in the wet season. Root length was correlated with microbial biomass C, soil N and soil moisture (R = 0.36, 0.18, and 0.27, respectively; all p values < 0.05). Microbial biomass C varied significantly among seasons but differences between positions (under vs. away) were only suggestive. Microbial C was correlated with soil N (R = 0.35). Surface soil on the upslope side of the logs had significantly more N and microbial biomass, likely from accumulation of leaf litter above the logs on steep slopes. We conclude that decaying wood can provide ephemeral resources that are exploited by tree roots during some seasons.

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“…The response of soil communities to changes in water resources after exposure to altered climatic conditions has recently been the topic of intense interest (Bouskill et al, 2012;Evans and Wallenstein, 2012;de Vries et al, 2012b;Evans and Wallenstein, 2013;Evans et al, 2014). Climate change models predict changes in precipitation patterns for California, with the wet winter season extending further into spring (Field et al, 1999;Suttle et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing precipitation pattern alters soil microbial community response to wet-up under a Mediterranean-type climate

2014

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A large soil CO 2 pulse is associated with rewetting soils after the dry summer period under a Mediterranean-type climate, significantly contributing to grasslands' annual carbon budget. Rapid reactivation of soil heterotrophs and a pulse of available carbon are both required to fuel the CO 2 pulse. Understanding of the effects of altered summer precipitation on the metabolic state of indigenous microorganisms may be important in predicting changes in carbon cycling. Here, we investigated the effects of extending winter rainfall into the normally dry summer period on soil microbial response to a controlled rewetting event, by following the present (DNA-based) and potentially active (rRNA-based) soil bacterial and fungal communities in intact soil cores (from a California annual grassland) previously subjected to three different precipitation patterns over 4 months (full summer dry season, extended wet season and absent dry season). Phylogenetic marker genes for bacteria and fungi were sequenced before and after rewetting, and the abundance of these genes and transcripts was measured. After having experienced markedly different antecedent water conditions, the potentially active bacterial communities showed a consistent wet-up response. We found a significant positive relation between the extent of change in the structure of the potentially active bacterial community and the magnitude of the CO 2 pulse upon rewetting dry soils. We suggest that the duration of severe dry summer conditions characteristic of the Mediterranean climate is important in conditioning the response potential of the soil microbial community to wet-up as well as in framing the magnitude of the associated CO 2 pulse.

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Pre-exposure to drought increases the resistance of tropical forest soil bacterial communities to extended drought

Cited by 259 publications

References 68 publications

Soil Biology Research across Latitude, Elevation and Disturbance Gradients: A Review of Forest Studies from Puerto Rico during the Past 25 Years

Soil Biology Research across Latitude, Elevation and Disturbance Gradients: A Review of Forest Studies from Puerto Rico during the Past 25 Years

Effects of Hurricane-Felled Tree Trunks on Soil Carbon, Nitrogen, Microbial Biomass, and Root Length in a Wet Tropical Forest

Changing precipitation pattern alters soil microbial community response to wet-up under a Mediterranean-type climate

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