Functional diversity of soil microbial communities increases with ecosystem development

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Soil Science
• Microbiology

Background:

• Land abandonment is a major driver of land-use change in the Global North, leading to forest succession and afforestation.
• Assessing the impacts of land abandonment on soil microbial communities is crucial for understanding ecosystem dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of land abandonment and subsequent forest succession on soil microbial structure and function.
• To track changes in microbial taxonomic and functional diversity, nutrient cycling, and genetic redundancy along a successional gradient.

Main Methods:

• Established a nationwide successional gradient of paired grassland and forest sites.
• Analyzed soil microbial communities to assess structure, functioning, and genetic repertoires for carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) cycling.

Main Results:

• Soil microbes exhibited threshold dynamics, with increasing functional diversity but decreasing taxonomic diversity during succession.
• Succession led to specialized microbial nutrient cycling repertoires and reduced genetic redundancy.
• Fungal functional diversity was linked to higher microbial carbon cycling capacity, and litter quality mediated plant-microbial links.

Conclusions:

• Land abandonment and forest succession create a trade-off between functional diversity and redundancy in soil microbial communities.
• Understanding the complex development of soil microbial communities and their plant interactions is essential for managing land abandonment impacts.