Rapid peat accumulation favours the occurrence of both fen and bog microbial communities within a Mediterranean, free-floating peat island.

ABSTRACT: The unique environment of a 4m-thick, free-floating peat island within the Posta Fibreno lake (Central Italy) was analyzed using DNA-based techniques to assess bacterial and fungal community members identity and abundance. Two depths were sampled at 41 and 279 cm from the surface, the former corresponding to an emerged portion of Sphagnum residues accumulated less than 30 yrs ago, and the latter mainly consisting of silty peat belonging to the deeply submerged part of the island, dating back to 1520-1660 AD. The corresponding communities were very diverse, each of them dominated by a different member of the Delta-proteobacteria class for prokaryotes. Among Eukaryotes, Ascomycota prevailed in the shallow layer while Basidiomycota were abundant in the deep sample. The identity of taxa partit

SUBMITTER: Concheri G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5561117 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature