Plant genotype controls wetland soil microbial functioning in response to sea-level rise

<p>Climate change can strongly alter soil microbial functioning via plant–microbe interactions, often with important consequences for ecosystem carbon and nutrient cycling. Given the high degree of intraspecific trait variability in plants, it has been hypothesized that genetic shifts within p...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: H. Tang, S. Liebner, S. Reents, S. Nolte, K. Jensen, F. Horn, P. Mueller
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Copernicus Publications 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/554b6c16886d442bb49a1c335f163c12
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
id oai:doaj.org-article:554b6c16886d442bb49a1c335f163c12
record_format dspace
spelling oai:doaj.org-article:554b6c16886d442bb49a1c335f163c122021-11-30T11:56:11ZPlant genotype controls wetland soil microbial functioning in response to sea-level rise10.5194/bg-18-6133-20211726-41701726-4189https://doaj.org/article/554b6c16886d442bb49a1c335f163c122021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://bg.copernicus.org/articles/18/6133/2021/bg-18-6133-2021.pdfhttps://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189<p>Climate change can strongly alter soil microbial functioning via plant–microbe interactions, often with important consequences for ecosystem carbon and nutrient cycling. Given the high degree of intraspecific trait variability in plants, it has been hypothesized that genetic shifts within plant species yield a large potential to control the response of plant–microbe interactions to climate change. Here we examined if sea-level rise and plant genotype interact to affect soil microbial communities in an experimental coastal wetland system, using two known genotypes of the dominant salt-marsh grass <i>Elymus athericus</i> characterized by differences in their sensitivity to flooding stress – i.e., a tolerant genotype from low-marsh environments and an intolerant genotype from high-marsh environments. Plants were exposed to a large range of flooding frequencies in a factorial mesocosm experiment, and soil microbial activity parameters (exo-enzyme activity and litter breakdown) and microbial community structure were assessed. Plant genotype mediated the effect of flooding on soil microbial community structure and determined the presence of flooding effects on exo-enzyme activities and belowground litter breakdown. Larger variability in microbial community structure, enzyme activities, and litter breakdown in soils planted with the intolerant plant genotype supported our general hypothesis that effects of climate change on soil microbial activity and community structure can depend on plant intraspecific genetic variation. In conclusion, our data suggest that adaptive genetic variation in plants could suppress or facilitate the effects of sea-level rise on soil microbial communities. If this finding applies more generally to coastal wetlands, it yields important implications for our understanding of ecosystem–climate feedbacks in the coastal zone.</p>H. TangH. TangS. LiebnerS. LiebnerS. ReentsS. NolteS. NolteK. JensenF. HornP. MuellerP. MuellerCopernicus PublicationsarticleEcologyQH540-549.5LifeQH501-531GeologyQE1-996.5ENBiogeosciences, Vol 18, Pp 6133-6146 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Ecology
QH540-549.5
Life
QH501-531
Geology
QE1-996.5
spellingShingle Ecology
QH540-549.5
Life
QH501-531
Geology
QE1-996.5
H. Tang
H. Tang
S. Liebner
S. Liebner
S. Reents
S. Nolte
S. Nolte
K. Jensen
F. Horn
P. Mueller
P. Mueller
Plant genotype controls wetland soil microbial functioning in response to sea-level rise
description <p>Climate change can strongly alter soil microbial functioning via plant–microbe interactions, often with important consequences for ecosystem carbon and nutrient cycling. Given the high degree of intraspecific trait variability in plants, it has been hypothesized that genetic shifts within plant species yield a large potential to control the response of plant–microbe interactions to climate change. Here we examined if sea-level rise and plant genotype interact to affect soil microbial communities in an experimental coastal wetland system, using two known genotypes of the dominant salt-marsh grass <i>Elymus athericus</i> characterized by differences in their sensitivity to flooding stress – i.e., a tolerant genotype from low-marsh environments and an intolerant genotype from high-marsh environments. Plants were exposed to a large range of flooding frequencies in a factorial mesocosm experiment, and soil microbial activity parameters (exo-enzyme activity and litter breakdown) and microbial community structure were assessed. Plant genotype mediated the effect of flooding on soil microbial community structure and determined the presence of flooding effects on exo-enzyme activities and belowground litter breakdown. Larger variability in microbial community structure, enzyme activities, and litter breakdown in soils planted with the intolerant plant genotype supported our general hypothesis that effects of climate change on soil microbial activity and community structure can depend on plant intraspecific genetic variation. In conclusion, our data suggest that adaptive genetic variation in plants could suppress or facilitate the effects of sea-level rise on soil microbial communities. If this finding applies more generally to coastal wetlands, it yields important implications for our understanding of ecosystem–climate feedbacks in the coastal zone.</p>
format article
author H. Tang
H. Tang
S. Liebner
S. Liebner
S. Reents
S. Nolte
S. Nolte
K. Jensen
F. Horn
P. Mueller
P. Mueller
author_facet H. Tang
H. Tang
S. Liebner
S. Liebner
S. Reents
S. Nolte
S. Nolte
K. Jensen
F. Horn
P. Mueller
P. Mueller
author_sort H. Tang
title Plant genotype controls wetland soil microbial functioning in response to sea-level rise
title_short Plant genotype controls wetland soil microbial functioning in response to sea-level rise
title_full Plant genotype controls wetland soil microbial functioning in response to sea-level rise
title_fullStr Plant genotype controls wetland soil microbial functioning in response to sea-level rise
title_full_unstemmed Plant genotype controls wetland soil microbial functioning in response to sea-level rise
title_sort plant genotype controls wetland soil microbial functioning in response to sea-level rise
publisher Copernicus Publications
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/554b6c16886d442bb49a1c335f163c12
work_keys_str_mv AT htang plantgenotypecontrolswetlandsoilmicrobialfunctioninginresponsetosealevelrise
AT htang plantgenotypecontrolswetlandsoilmicrobialfunctioninginresponsetosealevelrise
AT sliebner plantgenotypecontrolswetlandsoilmicrobialfunctioninginresponsetosealevelrise
AT sliebner plantgenotypecontrolswetlandsoilmicrobialfunctioninginresponsetosealevelrise
AT sreents plantgenotypecontrolswetlandsoilmicrobialfunctioninginresponsetosealevelrise
AT snolte plantgenotypecontrolswetlandsoilmicrobialfunctioninginresponsetosealevelrise
AT snolte plantgenotypecontrolswetlandsoilmicrobialfunctioninginresponsetosealevelrise
AT kjensen plantgenotypecontrolswetlandsoilmicrobialfunctioninginresponsetosealevelrise
AT fhorn plantgenotypecontrolswetlandsoilmicrobialfunctioninginresponsetosealevelrise
AT pmueller plantgenotypecontrolswetlandsoilmicrobialfunctioninginresponsetosealevelrise
AT pmueller plantgenotypecontrolswetlandsoilmicrobialfunctioninginresponsetosealevelrise
_version_ 1718406622030594048