Biological Soil Crust Bacterial Communities Vary Along Climatic and Shrub Cover Gradients Within a Sagebrush Steppe Ecosystem.

ABSTRACT: Numerous studies have examined bacterial communities in biological soil crusts (BSCs) associated with warm arid to semiarid ecosystems. Few, however, have examined bacterial communities in BSCs associated with cold steppe ecosystems, which often span a wide range of climate conditions and are sensitive to trends predicted by relevant climate models. Here, we utilized Illumina sequencing to examine BSC bacterial communities with respect to climatic gradients (elevation), land management practices (grazing vs. non-grazing), and shrub/intershrub patches in a cold sagebrush steppe ecosystem in southwestern Idaho, United States. Particular attention was paid to shifts in bacterial community structure and composition. BSC bacterial communities, including keystone N-fixing taxa, shifted dramatica

SUBMITTER: You Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8134670 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature