Abstract Detail

Mycology

Dea, Hannah I. [1], Kazarina, Anna [2], Ary, Evie [1], Urban, Abigail [3], Loeke, Terry [4], Houseman, Greg [3], Greer, Mitchell J. [5], Sikes, Ben [4], Lee, Sonny [1], Platt, Tom [1], Jumpponen, Ari [1].

The interactive impact of annual precipitation and land use history on leaf, root, and soil microbial communities.

Microbial communities are essential drivers of ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and decomposition. Microbes dictate plant health and productivity due to their role in nutrient fixation and acquisition. Microbes also, play an important role in soil aggregate formation and stability making them key to soil health. Though the importance of microbial communities to plant and soil health is well established, little is known of how anthropocentric environmental change shifts microbial diversity, richness, and composition. With the human population growing, there is a greater need to sustainably increase agricultural production – for this, optimizing microbial services is a primary focus. Additionally, the difference/similarity between prairie restoration and remnant prairie microbial communities helps to assess how effectively restoration projects reach the goal of re-establishing and maintaining ecosystem functions. This study aims to understand how land use history and changes in climate (specifically precipitation) impact plant and soil microbial communities. We sampled the leaves, roots, and soils in paired native and post-agricultural, restored prairies across the precipitation gradient in Kansas, USA. Using Illumina MiSeq, we analyzed the bacterial and fungal community composition, diversity, and richness. We found that increasing Mean Annual Precipitation (MAP) impacts leaf, root, and soil bacterial richness, diversity, and composition differentially and this impact depends on the land use history. Understanding how climate change and land use impact plant and soil microbial communities will allow us to make management decisions to maintain and optimize ecosystem functions.

1 - Kansas State University, Biology
2 - Kansas State University, Division of Biology, 119 Anderson Hall. 919 Mid-Campus Dr. North., Manhattan, Kansas, 66502, United States
3 - Wichita State University, Biological Sciences
4 - University of Kansas, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
5 - Fort Hays State University, Biological Sciences

Keywords:
environmental gradient
climate change
Microbiome
land-use history
mean annual precipitation
prairie
agriculture
restoration
plant microbiome
Mycology.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: MY1, Mycology: Ecology and Conservation
Location: /
Date: Monday, July 19th, 2021
Time: 12:45 PM(EDT)
Number: MY1007
Abstract ID:965
Candidate for Awards:MSA Best Oral Presentation Award by a Graduate Student