The Effects of Soil Bacterial Community Structure on Decomposition in a Tropical Rain Forest |
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Authors: | Jonathan W Leff Diana R Nemergut A Stuart Grandy Sean P O’Neill Kyle Wickings Alan R Townsend Cory C Cleveland |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812, USA;(2) Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research and Environmental Study Program, University of Colorado, Campus Box 450, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA;(3) Department of Natural Resources and Environment, University of New Hampshire, G66 James Hall Durham, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA;(4) Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Campus Box 450, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA;(5) Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Study Program, University of Colorado, Campus Box 450, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA; |
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Abstract: | Soil microorganisms are key drivers of terrestrial biogeochemical cycles, yet it is still unclear how variations in soil microbial
community composition influence many ecosystem processes. We investigated how shifts in bacterial community composition and
diversity resulting from differences in carbon (C) availability affect organic matter decomposition by conducting an in situ
litter manipulation experiment in a tropical rain forest in Costa Rica. We used bar-coded pyrosequencing to characterize soil
bacterial community composition in litter manipulation plots and performed a series of laboratory incubations to test the
potential functional significance of community shifts on organic matter decomposition. Despite clear effects of the litter
manipulation on soil bacterial community composition, the treatments had mixed effects on microbial community function. Distinct
communities varied in their ability to decompose a wide range of C compounds, and functional differences were related to both
the relative abundance of the two most abundant bacterial sub-phyla (Acidobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria) and to variations
in bacterial alpha-diversity. However, distinct communities did not differ in their ability to decompose native dissolved
organic matter (DOM) substrates that varied in quality and quantity. Our results show that although resource-driven shifts
in soil bacterial community composition have the potential to influence decomposition of specific C substrates, those differences
may not translate to differences in DOM decomposition rates in situ. Taken together, our results suggest that soil bacterial
communities may be either functionally dissimilar or equivalent during decomposition depending on the nature of the organic
matter being decomposed. |
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