Urban greenspaces shape soil protist communities in a location-specific manner.

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Soil Science
• Microbiology

Background:

• Urbanization significantly alters ecosystems, with aboveground biodiversity impacts well-documented.
• While soil microbial responses to urbanization are studied, soil protist communities remain under-investigated.
• Understanding protist responses is crucial for soil health in urban environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of urbanization and different urban greenspaces on soil protist communities.
• To identify the key drivers influencing protist diversity (alpha and beta diversity) across various urban land uses.
• To compare protist community composition and drivers in urban settings versus natural and agricultural ecosystems.

Main Methods:

• Amplicon sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene was employed.
• Soil samples were collected from five types of urban greenspaces (parks, greenbelts, industrial, residential, hospital lawns) in Ningbo, China.
• Comparative analysis included neighboring natural forests and agricultural ecosystems.

Main Results:

• Urban greenspaces exhibited higher protist alpha-diversity compared to forests.
• Protist beta-diversity showed a gradient from agricultural systems to urban greenspaces to forests.
• Soil bacterial diversity predicted phagotrophic protist diversity; soil C:N ratio and fungal diversity influenced phototrophic protists.
• Abiotic factors (total phosphorus, C:N ratio) were key predictors for parasitic protist diversity.

Conclusions:

• Soil protist community composition and drivers differ among functional groups and urban ecosystems.
• Urbanization influences soil protist communities, with distinct patterns observed across greenspace types.
• Findings provide a basis for predictable management of soil protist communities and functions in urban greenspaces.