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Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity
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Balanced stochastic versus deterministic assembly processes benefit diverse yet uneven ecosystem functions in
Wenjing Liu1,2, Emily B Graham3,4, Yang Dong1,2
1State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China.
Environmental Microbiology
|November 17, 2020
Summary
Microbial community assembly, whether stochastic or deterministic, shapes ecosystem functions like carbon and nutrient cycling. Balancing these processes in agroecosystems is key for optimal soil health and services.
Area of Science:
- Microbial ecology
- Soil science
- Ecosystem functions
Background:
- Microbial communities drive ecosystem functions, including carbon and nutrient cycling.
- The relative roles of stochastic versus deterministic assembly processes in shaping these functions remain debated.
- Agroecosystems offer a valuable model to study these assembly dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how varying degrees of stochastic and deterministic microbial assembly influence carbon and nutrient cycling multifunctionality.
- To associate microbial assembly processes and co-occurrence patterns with enzyme activities related to soil biogeochemical cycles.
- To understand the implications for agroecosystem services.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of three agroecosystems (upland, paddy, flooded) representing a gradient of assembly processes.
- Evaluation of carbon and nutrient cycling multifunctionality using nine key soil enzymes.
- Association of enzyme activities with microbial assembly patterns and ecological group co-occurrence.
Main Results:
- Strong deterministic assembly (upland) favored microorganisms with convergent functions.
- Stochasticity-dominated assembly (flooded) resulted in divergent microbial functions.
- A balance between stochastic and deterministic processes (paddy) preserved diverse functional traits.
Conclusions:
- Balancing stochastic and deterministic microbial assembly is crucial for maintaining diverse functional traits and enhancing agroecosystem services.
- Understanding the interplay between community assembly, composition, and ecosystem functions is essential.
- Further systematic research is needed to confirm these associations.
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