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Local community assembly mechanisms shape soil bacterial β diversity patterns along a latitudinal gradient
Xiao Zhang1,2, Shirong Liu3, Jingxin Wang4
1Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, China's State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China.
Nature Communications
|October 28, 2020
Summary
Local ecological processes, not regional species, shape soil bacterial diversity across latitudes. Environmental factors mediate selection, influencing community assembly and biodiversity patterns.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Microbial Ecology
- Biodiversity Research
Background:
- Geographical gradients influence biodiversity patterns through regional species pools and local community assembly.
- Distinguishing local ecological mechanisms from regional species pool variations in bacterial diversity remains challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and differentiate the roles of local community assembly mechanisms versus regional species pools in shaping soil bacterial diversity patterns.
- To analyze bacterial community assembly along a latitudinal gradient in eastern China.
Main Methods:
- Compared soil bacterial community assembly mechanisms across 660 plots in 11 distinct regions.
- Analyzed diversity patterns along a latitudinal gradient, accounting for regional species pool variations.
Main Results:
- Beta diversity (β diversity) did not correlate with gamma diversity (γ diversity).
- Local community assembly mechanisms explained variations in β diversity, independent of regional species pools.
- Environmental variations along the latitudinal gradient mediated heterogeneous selection, impacting β diversity.
Conclusions:
- Local community assembly processes are crucial drivers of geographical patterns in soil bacterial β diversity.
- Heterogeneous selection, influenced by environmental conditions, plays a key role in mediating these patterns.
