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1. Rapid differentiation of soil and root microbiomes in response to plant composition and biodiversity in the field

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s43705-023-00237-5  

   Burrill, Haley M. ; Wang, Guangzhou ; Bever, James D. ( April 2023 , ISME Communications)

   Research suggests that microbiomes play a major role in structuring plant communities and influencing ecosystem processes, however, the relative roles and strength of change of microbial components have not been identified. We measured the response of fungal, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF), bacteria, and oomycete composition 4 months after planting of field plots that varied in plant composition and diversity. Plots were planted using 18 prairie plant species from three plant families (Poaceae, Fabaceae, and Asteraceae) in monoculture, 2, 3, or 6 species richness mixtures and either species within multiple families or one family. Soil cores were collected and homogenized per plot and DNA were extracted from soil and roots of each plot. We found that all microbial groups responded to the planting design, indicating rapid microbiome response to plant composition. Fungal pathogen communities were strongly affected by plant diversity. We identified OTUs from genera of putatively pathogenic fungi that increased with plant family, indicating likely pathogen specificity. Bacteria were strongly differentiated by plant family in roots but not soil. Fungal pathogen diversity increased with planted species richness, while oomycete diversity, as well as bacterial diversity in roots, decreased. AMF differentiation in roots was detected with individual plant species, butmore »not plant family or richness. Fungal saprotroph composition differentiated between plant family composition in plots, providing evidence for decomposer home-field advantage. The observed patterns are consistent with rapid microbiome differentiation with plant composition, which could generate rapid feedbacks on plant growth in the field, thereby potentially influencing plant community structure, and influence ecosystem processes. These findings highlight the importance of native microbial inoculation in restoration.

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2. Higher Soil Respiration Rate Beneath Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Trees in a Northern Hardwood Forest is Driven by Associated Soil Properties

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-019-00466-7  

   Lang, Ashley K. ; Jevon, Fiona V. ; Ayres, Matthew P. ; Hatala Matthes, Jaclyn ( December 2019 , Ecosystems)

   Soil respiration is the dominant pathway by which terrestrial carbon enters the atmosphere. Many abiotic and biotic processes can influence soil respiration, including soil microbial community composition. Mycorrhizal fungi are a particularly important microbial group because they are known to influence soil chemistry and nutrient cycling, and, because the type of mycorrhizal fungi in an ecosystem can be assessed based on the plant species present, they may be easier than other soil microbes to incorporate into ecosystem models. We tested how the type of mycorrhizal fungi—arbuscular (AM) or ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi—associated with the dominant tree species in a mixed hardwood forest was related to soil respiration rate. We measured soil respiration, root biomass, and surface area, and soil chemical and physical characteristics during the growing season in plots dominated by ECM-associated trees, AM-associated trees, and mixtures with both. We found rates of soil respiration that were 29% and 32% higher in AM plots than in ECM and mixed plots, respectively. These differences are likely explained by the slightly higher nitrogen concentrations and deeper organic horizons in soil within AM plots compared with soil in ECM and mixed plots. Our results highlight the importance of considering mycorrhizal associations of dominant vegetationmore »as predictors of carbon cycling processes. Key words: Soil respiration; Mycorrhizal fungi; Carbon; Microbial activity; CO2; Northern hardwood forest.« less
3. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Tree Communities Have Greater Soil Fungal Diversity and Relative Abundances of Saprotrophs and Pathogens than Ectomycorrhizal Tree Communities

   https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01782-21  

   Eagar, Andrew C. ; Mushinski, Ryan M. ; Horning, Amber L. ; Smemo, Kurt A. ; Phillips, Richard P. ; Blackwood, Christopher B. ( January 2022 , Applied and Environmental Microbiology)

   Druzhinina, Irina S. (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT Trees associating with different mycorrhizas often differ in their effects on litter decomposition, nutrient cycling, soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics, and plant-soil interactions. For example, due to differences between arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) tree leaf and root traits, ECM-associated soil has lower rates of C and N cycling and lower N availability than AM-associated soil. These observations suggest that many groups of nonmycorrhizal fungi should be affected by the mycorrhizal associations of dominant trees through controls on nutrient availability. To test this overarching hypothesis, we explored the influence of predominant forest mycorrhizal type and mineral N availability on soil fungal communities using next-generation amplicon sequencing. Soils from four temperate hardwood forests in southern Indiana, United States, were studied; three forests formed a natural gradient of mycorrhizal dominance (100% AM tree basal area to 100% ECM basal area), while the fourth forest contained a factorial experiment testing long-term N addition in both dominant mycorrhizal types. We found that overall fungal diversity, as well as the diversity and relative abundance of plant pathogenic and saprotrophic fungi, increased with greater AM tree dominance. Additionally, tree community mycorrhizal associations explained more variation in fungal community composition than abiotic variables, including soilmore »depth, SOM content, nitrification rate, and mineral N availability. Our findings suggest that tree mycorrhizal associations may be good predictors of the diversity, composition, and functional potential of soil fungal communities in temperate hardwood forests. These observations help explain differing biogeochemistry and community dynamics found in forest stands dominated by differing mycorrhizal types. IMPORTANCE Our work explores how differing mycorrhizal associations of temperate hardwood trees (i.e., arbuscular [AM] versus ectomycorrhizal [ECM] associations) affect soil fungal communities by altering the diversity and relative abundance of saprotrophic and plant-pathogenic fungi along natural gradients of mycorrhizal dominance. Because temperate hardwood forests are predicted to become more AM dominant with climate change, studies examining soil communities along mycorrhizal gradients are necessary to understand how these global changes may alter future soil fungal communities and their functional potential. Ours, along with other recent studies, identify possible global trends in the frequency of specific fungal functional groups responsible for nutrient cycling and plant-soil interactions as they relate to mycorrhizal associations.« less
4. Fast-decaying plant litter enhances soil carbon in temperate forests but not through microbial physiological traits

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28715-9  

   Craig, Matthew E. ; Geyer, Kevin M. ; Beidler, Katilyn V. ; Brzostek, Edward R. ; Frey, Serita D. ; Stuart Grandy, A. ; Liang, Chao ; Phillips, Richard P. ( March 2022 , Nature Communications)

   Conceptual and empirical advances in soil biogeochemistry have challenged long-held assumptions about the role of soil micro-organisms in soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics; yet, rigorous tests of emerging concepts remain sparse. Recent hypotheses suggest that microbial necromass production links plant inputs to SOC accumulation, with high-quality (i.e., rapidly decomposing) plant litter promoting microbial carbon use efficiency, growth, and turnover leading to more mineral stabilization of necromass. We test this hypothesis experimentally and with observations across six eastern US forests, using stable isotopes to measure microbial traits and SOC dynamics. Here we show, in both studies, that microbial growth, efficiency, and turnover are negatively (not positively) related to mineral-associated SOC. In the experiment, stimulation of microbial growth by high-quality litter enhances SOC decomposition, offsetting the positive effect of litter quality on SOC stabilization. We suggest that microbial necromass production is not the primary driver of SOC persistence in temperate forests. Factors such as microbial necromass origin, alternative SOC formation pathways, priming effects, and soil abiotic properties can strongly decouple microbial growth, efficiency, and turnover from mineral-associated SOC.
5. Wildfire impacts on root‐associated fungi and predicted plant–soil feedbacks in the boreal forest: Research progress and recommendations

   https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14205  

   Hewitt, Rebecca E. ; Day, Nicola J. ; DeVan, M. Rae ; Taylor, D. Lee ( October 2022 , Functional Ecology)

   Root-associated fungi play a critical role in plant ecophysiology, growth and subsequent responses to disturbances, so they are thought to be particularly instrumental in shaping vegetation dynamics after fire in the boreal forest. Despite increasing data on the distribution of fungal taxonomic diversity through space and time in boreal ecosystems, there are knowledge gaps with respect to linking these patterns to ecosystem function and process. Here we explore what is currently known about postfire root-associated fungi in the boreal forest. We focus on wildfire impacts on mycorrhizal fungi and the relationships between plant–fungal interactions and forest recovery in an effort to explore whether postfire mycorrhizal dynamics underlie plant–soil feedbacks that may influence fire-facilitated vegetation shifts. We characterize the mechanisms by which wildfire influences root-associated fungal community assembly. We identify scenarios of postfire plant–fungal interactions that represent putative positive and negative plant–soil feedbacks that may impact successional trajectories. We highlight the need for empirical field observations and experiments to inform our ability to translate patterns of postfire root-associated fungal diversity to ecological function and application in models. We suggest that understanding postfire interactions between root-associated fungi and plants is critical to predict fire effects on vegetation patterns, ecosystem function, future landscapemore »flammability and feedbacks to climate.« less