Impacts of edaphic factors on communities of ammonia-oxidizing archaea, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and nitrification in tropical soils.

ABSTRACT: Nitrification is a key process in soil nitrogen (N) dynamics, but relatively little is known about it in tropical soils. In this study, we examined soils from Trinidad to determine the edaphic drivers affecting nitrification levels and community structure of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) in non-managed soils. The soils were naturally vegetated, ranged in texture from sands to clays and spanned pH 4 to 8. The AOA were detected by qPCR in all soils (ca. 10(5) to 10(6) copies archaeal amoA g(-1) soil), but AOB levels were low and bacterial amoA was infrequently detected. AOA abundance showed a significant negative correlation (p<0.001) with levels of soil organic carbon, clay and ammonium, but was not correlated to pH. Structures of AOA and AOB communiti

SUBMITTER: de Gannes V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3938500 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature