Fungal Communities on Standing Litter Are Structured by Moisture Type and Constrain Decomposition in a Hyper-Arid Grassland.

ABSTRACT: Non-rainfall moisture (fog, dew, and water vapor; NRM) is an important driver of plant litter decomposition in grasslands, where it can contribute significantly to terrestrial carbon cycling. However, we still do not know whether microbial decomposers respond differently to NRM and rain, nor whether this response affects litter decomposition rates. To determine how local moisture regimes influence decomposer communities and their function, we examined fungal communities on standing grass litter at an NRM-dominated site and a rain-dominated site 75 km apart in the hyper-arid Namib Desert using a reciprocal transplant design. Dominant taxa at both sites consisted of both extremophilic and cosmopolitan species. Fungal communities differed between the two moisture regimes with environment havi

SUBMITTER: Logan JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7943874 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature