Identity of plant, lichen and moss species connects with microbial abundance and soil functioning in maritime Antarctica

Background and aims We lack studies evaluating how the identity of plant, lichen and moss species relates to microbial abundance and soil functioning on Antarctica. If species identity is associated with soil functioning, distributional changes of key species, linked to climate change, could signifi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant and soil 2018-08, Vol.429 (1/2), p.35-52
Main Authors: Benavent-González, Alberto, Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel, Fernández-Brun, Laura, Singh, Brajesh K., Maestre, Fernando T., Sancho, Leopoldo G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Analysis
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Climate change
Comparative studies
Ecology
Identification and classification
Lichens
Life Sciences
Microorganisms
Moss
Mosses
Nutrient availability
Phenols
Phosphatases
Plant Physiology
Plant Sciences
Plants
Regular Article
Soil microbiology
Soil nutrients
Soil Science & Conservation
Soils
Spatial distribution
Species
Terrestrial ecosystems
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Summary:Background and aims We lack studies evaluating how the identity of plant, lichen and moss species relates to microbial abundance and soil functioning on Antarctica. If species identity is associated with soil functioning, distributional changes of key species, linked to climate change, could significantly affect Antarctic soil functioning. Methods We evaluated how the identity of six Antarctic plant, lichen and moss species relate to a range of soil attributes (C, N and P cycling), microbial abundance and structure in Livingston Island, Maritime Antarctica. We used an effect size metric to predict the association between species (vs. bare soil) and the measured soil attributes. Results We observed species-specific effects of the plant and biocrust species on soil attributes and microbial abundance. Phenols, phosphatase and β-D-cellobiosidase activities were the most important attributes characterizing the observed patterns. We found that the evaluated species positively correlated with soil nutrient availability and microbial abundance vs. bare soil. Conclusions We provide evidence, from a comparative study, that plant and biocrust identity is associated with different levels of soil functioning and microbial abundance in Maritime Antarctica. Our results suggest that changes in the spatial distribution of these species linked to climate change could potentially entail changes in the functioning of Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems.
ISSN:0032-079X
1573-5036
DOI:10.1007/s11104-018-3721-7