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Urbanization pressures alter tree rhizosphere microbiomes.

Carl L Rosier1, Shawn W Polson2,3, Vincent D'Amico4

  • 1Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA. crosier@udel.edu.

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|May 4, 2021
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Urbanization alters soil microbial communities (SMC), making them more similar between tree species like beech and yellow poplar. This shift is driven by soil chemistry, not biodiversity loss, highlighting environmental impacts on forest ecosystems.

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Soil Science
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Soil microbial communities (SMC) are vital for ecosystem services like nutrient cycling and soil formation.
  • Trees influence SMC structure through litter, root exudates, and canopy effects, but this is modulated by climate and landscape context.
  • Urban environments provide a unique setting to disentangle plant-specific effects from broader environmental drivers on SMC.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how urbanization influences the soil microbial community structure in relation to specific tree species.
  • To compare the SMC of American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) across an urban-rural gradient.
  • To identify key soil chemical factors driving SMC composition under varying urbanization pressures.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized next-generation high-throughput sequencing to characterize the soil microbial community.
  • Sampled SMC associated with Fagus grandifolia and Liriodendron tulipifera along an urban-to-rural gradient.
  • Analyzed soil chemistry (pH, Ca+, organic matter) to correlate with microbial community structure.

Main Results:

  • Rural forests exhibited distinct SMC profiles for each tree species, indicating species-specific control.
  • Increased urbanization led to higher SMC similarity between tree species, characterized by greater overlap in shared taxa.
  • Soil pH, calcium (Ca+), and organic matter content were identified as primary drivers of SMC relative abundance across the gradient.

Conclusions:

  • Urbanization homogenizes soil microbial communities, reducing tree species-specific signatures.
  • The observed increase in microbial similarity in urban settings is attributed to shared taxa driven by soil chemistry, not a loss of overall biodiversity.
  • Soil chemical properties are critical mediators of tree-SMC interactions, particularly under the influence of urban environmental conditions.