The soil microbiomes of forest ecosystems in Kenya: their diversity and environmental drivers.

ABSTRACT: Soil microbiomes in forest ecosystems act as both nutrient sources and sinks through a range of processes including organic matter decomposition, nutrient cycling, and humic compound incorporation into the soil. Most forest soil microbial diversity studies have been performed in the northern hemisphere, and very little has been done in forests within African continent. This study examined the composition, diversity and distribution of prokaryotes in Kenyan forests top soils using amplicon sequencing of V4-V5 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene. Additionally, soil physicochemical characteristics were measured to identify abiotic drivers of prokaryotic distribution. Different forest soils were found to have statistically distinct microbiome compositions, with Proteobacteria and Crenarc

SUBMITTER: Onyango LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10154314 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature