Functional resilience of soil microbial communities depends on both soil structure and microbial community composition

The effects of soil structure and microbial community composition on microbial resistance and resilience to stress were found to be interrelated in a series of experiments. The initial ability of Pseudomonas fluorescens to decompose added plant residues immediately after a copper or heat stress (res...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology and fertility of soils 2008-05, Vol.44 (5), p.745-754
Main Authors: Griffiths, B. S, Hallett, P. D, Kuan, H. L, Gregory, A. S, Watts, C. W, Whitmore, A. P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agriculture
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Clay
Community composition
Community structure
Decomposition
degradation
Heat tolerance
Life Sciences
Loam
Microbial activity
Microbial community composition
Microbiology
Original Paper
Pseudomonas fluorescens
Resilience
Resistance
Soil fertility
Soil Science & Conservation
Soil structure
Soil types
Water content
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Summary:The effects of soil structure and microbial community composition on microbial resistance and resilience to stress were found to be interrelated in a series of experiments. The initial ability of Pseudomonas fluorescens to decompose added plant residues immediately after a copper or heat stress (resistance) depended significantly on which of 26 sterile soils it was inoculated into. Subsequent studies showed that both the resistance and subsequent recovery in the ability of P. fluorescens to decompose added plant residues over 28 days after stress (resilience) varied significantly between a sandy and a clay-loam soil. Sterile, sandy and clay-loam soil was then inoculated with a complex microbial community extracted from either of the soils. The resulting microbial community structure depended on soil type rather than the source of inoculum, whilst the resistance and resilience of decomposition was similarly governed by the soil and not the inoculum source. Resilience of the clay-loam soil to heat stress did not depend on the water content of the soil at the time of stress, although the physical condition of the soil when decomposition was measured did affect the outcome. We propose that soil functional resilience is governed by the physico-chemical structure of the soil through its effect on microbial community composition and microbial physiology.
ISSN:0178-2762
1432-0789
DOI:10.1007/s00374-007-0257-z