Arid Ecosystem Vegetation Canopy-Gap Dichotomy: Influence on Soil Microbial Composition and Nutrient Cycling Functional Potential
Priyanka Kushwaha, Julia W. Neilson, Albert Barberán, Yongjian Chen, Catherine G. Fontana, Bradley J. Butterfield, Raina M. Maier
Abstract
Increasing aridity will drive a shift in desert vegetation and interspace gap (microsite) structure toward gap expansion. To evaluate the impact of gap expansion, we assess microsite effects on soil nutrients, microbiome community composition and functional capacity, and the potential of gap soils to serve as microbial reservoirs for plant root-associated microbiomes in an arid ecosystem.
Topics & Concepts
MicrositeAridEcosystemEnvironmental scienceNutrient cycleVegetation (pathology)EcologyBiological soil crustCyclingSoil waterNutrientBiologyAgronomySoil scienceGeographyMedicinePathologyArchaeologySeedlingBiocrusts and Microbial EcologySoil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsMycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions