Depth-related changes in community structure of culturable mineral weathering bacteria and in weathering patterns caused by them along two contrasting soil profiles.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria play important roles in mineral weathering and soil formation. However, few reports of mineral weathering bacteria inhabiting subsurfaces of soil profiles have been published, raising the question of whether the subsurface weathering bacteria are fundamentally distinct from those in surface communities. To address this question, we isolated and characterized mineral weathering bacteria from two contrasting soil profiles with respect to their role in the weathering pattern evolution, their place in the community structure, and their depth-related changes in these two soil profiles. The effectiveness and pattern of bacterial mineral weathering were different in the two profiles and among the horizons within the respective profiles. The abundance of highly effective mineral weatherin

SUBMITTER: Huang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3911020 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature