Temperature mediates continental-scale diversity of microbes in forest soils

Jizhong Zhou (), Ye Deng (), Lina Shen, Chongqing Wen, Qingyun Yan, Daliang Ning, Yujia Qin, Kai Xue, Liyou Wu, Zhili He, James W. Voordeckers, Joy D. Van Nostrand, Vanessa Buzzard, Sean T. Michaletz, Brian J. Enquist, Michael D. Weiser, Michael Kaspari, Robert Waide, Yunfeng Yang and James H. Brown
Additional contact information
Jizhong Zhou: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University
Ye Deng: Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma
Lina Shen: Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma
Chongqing Wen: Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma
Qingyun Yan: Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma
Daliang Ning: Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma
Yujia Qin: Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma
Kai Xue: Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma
Liyou Wu: Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma
Zhili He: Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma
James W. Voordeckers: Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma
Joy D. Van Nostrand: Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma
Vanessa Buzzard: University of Arizona
Sean T. Michaletz: University of Arizona
Brian J. Enquist: University of Arizona
Michael D. Weiser: EEB Graduate Program, University of Oklahoma
Michael Kaspari: EEB Graduate Program, University of Oklahoma
Robert Waide: University of New Mexico
Yunfeng Yang: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University
James H. Brown: University of New Mexico

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Climate warming is increasingly leading to marked changes in plant and animal biodiversity, but it remains unclear how temperatures affect microbial biodiversity, particularly in terrestrial soils. Here we show that, in accordance with metabolic theory of ecology, taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of soil bacteria, fungi and nitrogen fixers are all better predicted by variation in environmental temperature than pH. However, the rates of diversity turnover across the global temperature gradients are substantially lower than those recorded for trees and animals, suggesting that the diversity of plant, animal and soil microbial communities show differential responses to climate change. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating that the diversity of different microbial groups has significantly lower rates of turnover across temperature gradients than other major taxa, which has important implications for assessing the effects of human-caused changes in climate, land use and other factors.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12083

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