Friday, August 12, 2016
ESA Exhibit Hall, Ft Lauderdale Convention Center
Kyrstin Lulow, Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, Aspen T. Reese, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Department, Duke University and Justin P. Wright, Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC
Background/Question/Methods Soil microbial communities furnish important ecosystem services, but much remains unknown about what drives the assembly of these critical communities. Our current understanding is limited in particular by the fact that it is primarily derived from observational studies which have correlated underlying environmental conditions with variation in the microbial communities. Previous studies have indicated that soil characteristics are generally predictive of soil microbial community diversity and composition, but it is also possible that plant communities have effects independent from soil since they serve as a main source of nutrients for microbes. Here we sought to experimentally assess the relative importance of climate, soil, and vegetation for driving bacterial community structure. We conducted 16s rDNA amplicon sequencing on soils collected from old-field microcosms constructed to vary in location (30.44-43.05°N), soil characteristics (100%-25% topsoil), and plant cover (grass or forb dominated).Results/Conclusions
We found that all factors played some role in predicting the final composition of soil microbial communities. Soil characteristics (treated here as factors but analyzable as continuous changes in moisture, pH, and cation/anion composition) were most important. Previous studies have found associations between microbial community composition and both microbial and plant productivity, therefore this new understanding the drivers of assembly for microbes may help predict or guide development of ecosystems during succession.
