Consistent predictors of microbial community composition across spatial scales in grasslands reveal low context‐dependency

Environmental circumstances shaping soil microbial communities have been studied extensively. However, due to disparate study designs, it has been difficult to resolve whether a globally consistent set of predictors exists, or context-dependency prevails. Here, we used a network of 18 grassland sites (11 of those containing regional plant productivity gradients) to examine (i) if similar abiotic or biotic factors predict both large-scale (across sites) and regional-scale (within sites) patterns in bacterial and fungal community composition, and (ii) if microbial community composition differs consistently at two levels of regional plant productivity (low vs. high). Our results revealed that bacteria were associated with particular soil properties (such as base saturation) and both bacteria and fungi were associated with plant community composition across sites and within the majority of sites. Moreover, a discernible microbial community signal emerged, clearly distinguishing high and low-productivity soils across different grasslands independent of their location in the world. Hence, regional productivity differences may be typified by characteristic soil microbial communities across the grassland biome. These results could encourage future research aiming to predict the general effects of global changes on soil microbial community composition in grasslands and to discriminate fertile from infertile systems using generally applicable microbial indicators

Consistent predictors of microbial community composition across spatial scales in grasslands reveal low context-dependency

Environmental circumstances shaping soil microbial communities have been studied extensively. However, due to disparate study designs, it has been difficult to resolve whether a globally consistent set of predictors exists, or context-dependency prevails. Here, we used a network of 18 grassland sites (11 of those containing regional plant productivity gradients) to examine (i) if similar abiotic or biotic factors predict both large-scale (across sites) and regional-scale (within sites) patterns in bacterial and fungal community composition, and (ii) if microbial community composition differs consistently at two levels of regional plant productivity (low vs. high). Our results revealed that bacteria were associated with particular soil properties (such as base saturation) and both bacteria and fungi were associated with plant community composition across sites and within the majority of sites. Moreover, a discernible microbial community signal emerged, clearly distinguishing high and low-productivity soils across different grasslands independent of their location in the world. Hence, regional productivity differences may be typified by characteristic soil microbial communities across the grassland biome. These results could encourage future research aiming to predict the general effects of global changes on soil microbial community composition in grasslands and to discriminate fertile from infertile systems using generally applicable microbial indicators.Fil: Radujkovic, Dajana. Universiteit Antwerp; BélgicaFil: Vicca, Sara. Universiteit Antwerp; BélgicaFil: van Rooyen, Margaretha. University Of Pretoria; SudáfricaFil: Wilfahrt, Peter. University of Minnesota; Estados Unidos. University of Bayreuth; AlemaniaFil: Brown, Leslie. University Of South Africa; SudáfricaFil: Jentsch, Anke. University of Bayreuth; AlemaniaFil: Reinhart, Kurt O.. United States Department Of Agriculture; Estados UnidosFil: Brown, Charlotte. University of Arizona; Estados Unidos. University of Alberta; CanadáFil: De Gruyter, Johan. Universiteit Antwerp; BélgicaFil: Jurasinski, Gerald. ERNST MORITZ ARNDT UNIVERSITÄT GREIFSWALD (UG); . Universität Rostock; AlemaniaFil: Askarizadeh, Diana. University Of Tehran; IránFil: Bartha, Sandor. Institute Of Ecology And Botany; HungríaFil: Beck, Ryan. Lethbridge Research Centre; CanadáFil: Blenkinsopp, Theodore. University of Alberta; CanadáFil: Cahill, James. University of Alberta; CanadáFil: Campetella, Giandiego. Universita Degli Di Camerino; ItaliaFil: Canullo, Roberto. Universita Degli Di Camerino; ItaliaFil: Chelli, Stefano. Universita Degli Di Camerino; ItaliaFil: Enrico, Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Fraser, Lauchlan. Thompson Rivers University; CanadáFil: Hao, Xiying. Lethbridge Research Centre; CanadáFil: Henry, Hugh A. L.. Western University; CanadáFil: Hohn, Maria. Hungarian University Of Agriculture And Life Sciences; HungríaFil: Jouri, Mohammad Hassan. Islamic Azad University; IránFil: Koch, Marian. Universität Rostock; AlemaniaFil: Lawrence Lodge, Rachael. University Of Otago; Nueva ZelandaFil: Li, Frank Yonghong. Inner Mongolia University China; ChinaFil: Lord, Janice M.. University Of Otago; Nueva ZelandaFil: Milligan, Patrick. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Minggagud, Hugjiltu. Inner Mongolia University China; ChinaFil: Palmer, Todd. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Schröder, Birgit. Universität Rostock; AlemaniaFil: Szabó, Gábor. Hungarian University Of Agriculture And Life Sciences; HungríaFil: Zhang, Tongrui. Inner Mongolia University China; ChinaFil: Zimmermann, Zita. Institute Of Ecology And Botany; HungríaFil: Verbruggen, Erik. Universiteit Antwerp; Bélgic

Consistent predictors of microbial community composition across spatial scales in grasslands reveal low context-dependency

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The data and the R script describing the steps of the analyses are deposited in the Dryad repository doi:10.5061/dryad.0k6djhb4z. Raw bacterial and fungal sequences are deposited in NCBI SRA database with the following accession numbers PRJNA966933 and PRJNA970213, respectively.Environmental circumstances shaping soil microbial communities have been studied extensively. However, due to disparate study designs, it has been difficult to resolve whether a globally consistent set of predictors exists, or context-dependency prevails. Here, we used a network of 18 grassland sites (11 of those containing regional plant productivity gradients) to examine (i) if similar abiotic or biotic factors predict both large-scale (across sites) and regional-scale (within sites) patterns in bacterial and fungal community composition, and (ii) if microbial community composition differs consistently at two levels of regional plant productivity (low vs. high). Our results revealed that bacteria were associated with particular soil properties (such as base saturation) and both bacteria and fungi were associated with plant community composition across sites and within the majority of sites. Moreover, a discernible microbial community signal emerged, clearly distinguishing high and low-productivity soils across different grasslands independent of their location in the world. Hence, regional productivity differences may be typified by characteristic soil microbial communities across the grassland biome. These results could encourage future research aiming to predict the general effects of global changes on soil microbial community composition in grasslands and to discriminate fertile from infertile systems using generally applicable microbial indicators.European Research Council grant; GINOP- 2.3.2- 15-2016-00019 project; Methusalem funding of the Research Council UA; Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO).http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/mec2024-10-24hj2024Plant Production and Soil ScienceNon

Not a melting pot : plant species aggregate in their non-native range

AIM : Plant species continue to be moved outside of their native range by human activities. Here, we aim to determine whether, once introduced, plants assimilate into native communities or whether they aggregate, thus forming mosaics of native- and alien-rich communities. Alien species might aggregate in their non-native range owing to shared habitat preferences, such as their tendency to establish in high-biomass, species-poor areas. LOCATION : Twenty-two herbaceous grasslands in 14 countries, mainly in the temperate zone. TIME PERIOD : 2012–2016. MAJOR TAXA STUDIED : Plants. METHODS : We used a globally coordinated survey. Within this survey, we found 46 plant species, predominantly from Eurasia, for which we had co-occurrence data in their native and non-native ranges. We tested for differences in co-occurrence patterns of 46 species between their native (home) and non-native (away) range. We also tested whether species had similar habitat preferences, by testing for differences in total biomass and species richness of the patches that species occupy in their native and non-native ranges. RESULTS : We found the same species to show different patterns of association depending on whether they were in their native or non-native range. Alien species were negatively associated with native species; instead, they aggregated with other alien species in species-poor, high-biomass communities in their non-native range compared with their native range. MAIN CONCLUSIONS : The strong differences between the native (home) and non-native (away) range in species co-occurrence patterns are evidence that the way in which species associate with resident communities in their non-native range is not species dependent, but is instead a property of being away from their native range. These results thus highlight that species might undergo important ecological changes when introduced away from their native range. Overall, we show origin-dependent associations that result in novel communities, in which alien-rich patches exist within a mosaic of native-dominated communities.Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Taylor Family-Asia Foundation Endowed Chair in Ecology and Conservation Biology; GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00019 project; U.S. National Science Foundation; Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Fundação Grupo Boticário; National Science Foundation; Asia Foundation; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico; Estonian Research Council and European Regional Development Fund.http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/gebhj2021Plant Production and Soil Scienc

Worldwide evidence of a unimodal relationship between productivity and plant species richness

The search for predictions of species diversity across environmental gradients has challenged ecologists for decades. The humped-back model (HBM) suggests that plant diversity peaks at intermediate productivity; at low productivity few species can tolerate the environmental stresses, and at high productivity a few highly competitive species dominate. Over time the HBM has become increasingly controversial, and recent studies claim to have refuted it. Here, by using data from coordinated surveys conducted throughout grasslands worldwide and comprising a wide range of site productivities, we provide evidence in support of the HBM pattern at both global and regional extents. The relationships described here provide a foundation for further research into the local, landscape, and historical factors that maintain biodiversity

Data from: Worldwide evidence of a unimodal relationship between productivity and plant species richness

The search for predictions of species diversity across environmental gradients has challenged ecologists for decades. The humped-back model (HBM) suggests that plant diversity peaks at intermediate productivity; at low productivity few species can tolerate the environmental stresses, and at high productivity a few highly competitive species dominate. Over time the HBM has become increasingly controversial, and recent studies claim to have refuted it. Here, by using data from coordinated surveys conducted throughout grasslands worldwide and comprising a wide range of site productivities, we provide evidence in support of the HBM pattern at both global and regional extents. The relationships described here provide a foundation for further research into the local, landscape, and historical factors that maintain biodiversity