Temporal turnover of the soil microbiome composition is guild-specific

Area of Science:

• Microbial Ecology
• Environmental Microbiology
• Community Dynamics

Background:

• Spatial and temporal variations are key factors structuring microbial communities.
• Quantifying temporal turnover rates for fungi and bacteria has been limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify temporal turnover rates of bacterial and fungal communities.
• To describe patterns and rates of microbial temporal change over multiple years.
• To investigate how temporal development varies across different microbial guilds and phyla.

Main Methods:

• Repeated resampling of bacterial and fungal communities at specific locations over several years.
• Analysis of temporal turnover using Sorensen similarity metrics.
• Comparison of turnover rates between fungi and bacteria in soil and litter environments.

Main Results:

• Microbial communities exhibit temporal change at rates of 0.010-0.025 per year (Sorensen similarity).
• Fungal communities show slightly faster turnover in soil compared to bacterial communities.
• Bacterial communities exhibit more rapid turnover in litter than in soil.
• Temporal development varies significantly across fungal guilds and bacterial phyla with different ecologies.
• Some microbial guilds display consistent responses across locations, while others show site-specific, less generalizable patterns.

Conclusions:

• Guild-level resolution is crucial for understanding microbial community assembly and dynamics.
• Microbial community responses to environmental factors are dependent on guild-specific ecologies.
• Temporal turnover rates provide insights into microbial community stability and resilience.