Aridity Threshold Induces Abrupt Change of Soil Abundant and Rare Bacterial Biogeography in Dryland Ecosystems
Haibo Pan, Hang Gao, Ziheng Peng, Beibei Chen, Chen Shi, Yu Liu, Jie Gu, Xiaorong Wei, Weimin Chen, Gehong Wei, Shuo Jiao
Abstract
Aridity, which is increasing worldwide due to climate change, affects the biodiversity and functions of dryland ecosystems. We provided the first statistical evidence for abrupt changes of species coexistence, ecological processes, and niche conservation of abundant and rare soil bacteria triggered by diversity to abrupt increases in aridity. The abrupt threshold of soil bacterial community response to aridity is spatially heterogeneous at the local scale and should be specified according to local conditions for buffering and for building effective adaptation and mitigation measures aimed at maintaining the capacity of drylands for basic ecosystem functioning.