Experimental drought reduces the transfer of recently fixed plant carbon to soil microbes and alters the bacterial community composition in a mountain meadow.

ABSTRACT: Drought affects plants and soil microorganisms, but it is still not clear how it alters the carbon (C) transfer at the plant-microbial interface. Here, we tested direct and indirect effects of drought on soil microbes and microbial turnover of recent plant-derived C in a mountain meadow. Microbial community composition was assessed using phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs); the allocation of recent plant-derived C to microbial groups was analysed by pulse-labelling of canopy sections with (13) CO2 and the subsequent tracing of the label into microbial PLFAs. Microbial biomass was significantly higher in plots exposed to a severe experimental drought. In addition, drought induced a shift of the microbial community composition, mainly driven by an increase of Gram-positive bacteria. Drought red

SUBMITTER: Fuchslueger L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3908363 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature