High Microbial Diversity Promotes Soil Ecosystem Functioning.

ABSTRACT: In soil, the link between microbial diversity and carbon transformations is challenged by the concept of functional redundancy. Here, we hypothesized that functional redundancy may decrease with increasing carbon source recalcitrance and that coupling of diversity with C cycling may change accordingly. We manipulated microbial diversity to examine how diversity decrease affects the decomposition of easily degradable (i.e., allochthonous plant residues) versus recalcitrant (i.e., autochthonous organic matter) C sources. We found that a decrease in microbial diversity (i) affected the decomposition of both autochthonous and allochthonous carbon sources, thereby reducing global CO₂ emission by up to 40%, and (ii) shaped the source of CO₂ emission toward preferential deco

SUBMITTER: Maron PA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5930326 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature