Degradation Reduces Microbial Richness and Alters Microbial Functions in an Australian Peatland.

ABSTRACT: Peatland ecosystems cover only 3% of the world's land area; however, they store one-third of the global soil carbon (C). Microbial communities are the main drivers of C decomposition in peatlands, yet we have limited knowledge of their structure and function. While the microbial communities in the Northern Hemisphere peatlands are well documented, we have limited understanding of microbial community composition and function in the Southern Hemisphere peatlands, especially in Australia. We investigated the vertical stratification of prokaryote and fungal communities from Wellington Plains peatland in the Australian Alps. Within the peatland complex, bog peat was sampled from the intact peatland and dried peat from the degraded peatland along a vertical soil depth gradient (i.e., acrotelm, m

SUBMITTER: Birnbaum C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10156627 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature