Microbial Taxa Distribution Is Associated with Ecological Trophic Cascades along an Elevation Gradient.

ABSTRACT: The elevational pattern of soil microbial diversity along mountain slopes has received considerable interest over the last decade. An increasing amount of taxonomic data on soil microbial community composition along elevation gradients have been collected, however the trophic patterns and environmental drivers of elevational changes remain largely unclear. Here, we examined the distribution patterns of major soil bacterial and fungal taxa along the northern slope of Changbai Mountain, Northeast China, at five typical vegetation types located between 740 and 2,691 m above sea level. Elevational patterns of the relative abundance of specific microbial taxa could be partially explained by the oligotrophic-copiotrophic theory. Specifically, two dark-coniferous forests, located at mid-elevation

SUBMITTER: Yao F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5663944 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature