Short-Term Effects of Experimental Warming and Precipitation Manipulation on Soil Microbial Biomass C and N, Community Substrate Utilization Patterns and Community Composition
Abstract
Soil microorganisms are major drivers of soil carbon (C) cycling; however, the response of these microorganisms to climate change remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated how 18 months of multifactor climate treatments (warmed air temperature by 3 °C and decreased or increased precipitation manipulation by 30%) affected soil microbial biomass C and nitrogen (N), community substrate utilization patterns, and community composition. Decreased and increased precipitation significantly reduced microbial biomass C by 13.5% and 24.9% and microbial biomass N by 22.9% and 17.6% in unwarmed plots, respectively (P < 0.01). Warming enhanced community substrate utilization by 89.8%, 20.4%, and 141.4% in the natural, decreased, and increased precipitation plots, respectively. Particularly, warming significantly enhanced the utilization of amine and carboxylic acid substrates among all precipitation manipulation plots. Compared with the natural air temperature with natural precipitation treatment, other treatments affected fungal community richness by −0.9% to 33.6% and reduced the relative abundance of the dominant bacterial and fungal groups by 0.5% to 6.8% and 4.3% to 10.7%, respectively. The warming and/or precipitation manipulation treatments significantly altered Zygomycota abundance (P < 0.05). Our results indicate that climate change drivers and their interactions may cause changes in soil microbial biomass C and N, community substrate utilization patterns, and community composition, particularly for the fungal community, and shifts in the microorganism community may further shape the ecosystems function.
Collections
- Biological & Environmental Sciences [780 items ]
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Sense of Community in Al-Wakrah City: Strategies for the Development of Sustainable Communities in Qatar
Alfaraidy, Maryam; Furlan, Raffaello ( Scholars Middle East Publishers , 2017 , Article)In the State of Qatar, the intense and rapid urban development based on hosting upcoming mega events, as envisioned by Qatar‟s National Vision (QNV- 2030), have raised concern about community stability as it faces ... -
Sense of Community in Gated Communities in Doha: The Case of Al-Ein Compound in Ein Khaled Neighborhood
El-Ekhteyar, El-Shaimaa; Furlan, Raffaello ( Scientific & Academic Publishing , 2016 , Article)Neighborhoods are designed to contribute towards establishing and maintaining community bonds. Gated communities, a recognizable form of housing developments in the Gulf Region, have an impact on neighborhoods and cities’ ... -
Urban Form and Sense of Community: Exploring Catalysts for Community Sustainability within Al-Wakrah Neighborhood in Qatar
Alfaraidy, Maryam; Raffaello, Furlan ( Scientific & Academic Publishing , 2017 , Article)Urban planners seek to create a sense of community by effectively interfacing urban form and community development. In Qatar, community change has become a matter of public concern amid intense development activities. ...