Environmental Filtering of Microbial Communities in Agricultural Soil Shifts with Crop Growth.

ABSTRACT: Plant and soil properties cooperatively structure soil microbial communities, with implications for ecosystem functioning. However, the extent to which each factor contributes to community structuring is not fully understood. To quantify the influence of plants and soil properties on microbial diversity and composition in an agricultural context, we conducted an experiment within a corn-based annual cropping system and a perennial switchgrass cropping system across three topographic positions. We sequenced barcoded 16S ribosomal RNA genes from whole soil three times throughout a single growing season and across two years in July. To target the belowground effects of plants, we also sampled rhizosphere soil in July. We hypothesized that microbial community α-diversity and composition (β-div

SUBMITTER: Hargreaves SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4520589 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature