Record ID No. |
2380 |
Author(s) |
Carolyn Churchland, Sue J. Grayston, Per Bengtson , 2013 |
Affiliation |
Belowground Ecosystem Group, Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada, email:carolyn.churchland@gmail.com |
Title |
Spatial variability of soil fungal and bacterial abundance: Consequences for carbon turnover along a transition from a forested to clear-cut site |
Source. Vol.(no):Page |
Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 63: 5-13p. |
Categories |
Mycorrhiza General |
Subjects |
Biological Interaction |
Sub-subjects |
Soil microorganism |
Host |
Plants |
Organism |
Microbes(Fungi, Bacteria) |
Country |
Canada, N. America |
Abstracts |
Predicted alterations in belowground plant-allocated C as a result of environmental change may cause compositional shifts in soil microbial communities, and it has been hypothesized that such alterations will influence C mitigation in forest ecosystems. In order to investigate to what degree living trees influence the abundance and activity of mycorrhizal fungi, saprotrophic fungi, and bacteria we used a geostatistical approach to examine natural abundance stable-isotope-ratios of soil microbial PLFAs, respired CO2, and different soil organic C pools in a 100 point grid extending from an area of retention trees into a clear-cut area. Labile C from trees was the major source of C for the fungal communities and influenced the composition of the microbial community and soil respiration rates up to ten meters into the clear-cut. When the input of labile plant C decreased, it appeared that microorganisms became increasingly dependent on recycled C released during microbial turnover, resulting in a decrease in soil respiration. Our findings demonstrate that plants not only influence the structure and function of soil microbial communities but also act as important regulators of belowground C flux, soil C sequestration and, ultimately, soil C stocks. |