Soil depth matters: shift in composition and inter-kingdom co-occurrence patterns of microorganisms in forest soils.

ABSTRACT: Soil depth represents a strong physiochemical gradient that greatly affects soil-dwelling microorganisms. Fungal communities are typically structured by soil depth, but how other microorganisms are structured is less known. Here, we tested whether depth-dependent variation in soil chemistry affects the distribution and co-occurrence patterns of soil microbial communities. This was investigated by DNA metabarcoding in conjunction with network analyses of bacteria, fungi, as well as other micro-eukaryotes, sampled in four different soil depths in Norwegian birch forests. Strong compositional turnover in microbial assemblages with soil depth was detected for all organismal groups. Significantly greater microbial diversity and fungal biomass appeared in the nutrient-rich organic layer, with sh

SUBMITTER: Mundra S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7948073 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature