Shifts in plant functional groups associated with climate change have the potential to influence peatland carbon storage by altering the amount and composition of organic matter available to aquatic microbial biofilms. The goal of this study was to evaluate the potential for plant subsidies to regulate ecosystem carbon flux (CO2) by governing the relative proportion of primary producers (microalgae) and heterotrophic decomposers (heterotrophic bacteria) during aquatic biofilm development in an Alaskan fen. We evaluated biofilm composition and CO2flux inside mesocosms with and without nutrients (both nitrogen and phosphorus), organic carbon (glucose), and leachates from common peatland plants (moss, sedge, shrub, horsetail). Experimental mesocosms were exposed to either natural sunlight or placed under a dark canopy to evaluate the response of decomposers to nutrients and carbon subsidies with and without algae, respectively. Algae were limited by inorganic nutrients and heterotrophic bacteria were limited by organic carbon. The quality of organic matter varied widely among plants and leachate nutrient content, more so than carbon quality, influenced biofilm composition. By alleviating nutrient limitation of algae, plant leachates shifted the biofilm community toward autotrophy in the light-transparent treatments, resulting in a significant reduction in CO2emissions compared to the control. Without the counterbalance from algal photosynthesis, a heterotrophic biofilm significantly enhanced CO2emissions in the presence of plant leachates in the dark. These results show that plants not only promote carbon uptake directly through photosynthesis, but also indirectly through a surrogate, the phototrophic microbes.
Producer–decomposer interactions within aquatic biofilms can range from mutualistic associations to competition depending on available resources. The outcomes of such interactions have implications for biogeochemical cycling and, as such, may be especially important in northern peatlands, which are a global carbon sink and are expected to experience changes in resource availability with climate change. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of nutrients and organic carbon on the relative proportion of primary producers (microalgae) and heterotrophic decomposers (bacteria and fungi) during aquatic biofilm development in a boreal peatland. Given that decomposers are often better competitors for nutrients than primary producers in aquatic ecosystems, we predicted that labile carbon subsidies would shift the biofilm composition towards heterotrophy owing to the ability of decomposers to outcompete primary producers for available nutrients in the absence of carbon limitation. We manipulated nutrients (nitrate and phosphate) and organic carbon (glucose) in a full factorial design using nutrient‐diffusing substrates in an Alaskan fen. Heterotrophic bacteria were limited by organic carbon and algae were limited by inorganic nutrients. However, the outcomes of competitive interactions depended on background nutrient levels. Heterotrophic bacteria were able to outcompete algae for available nutrients when organic carbon was elevated and nutrient levels remained low, but not when organic carbon and nutrients were both elevated through enrichment. Fungal biomass was significantly lower in the presence of glucose alone, possibly owing to antagonistic interactions with heterotrophic bacteria. In contrast to bacteria, fungi were stimulated along with algae following nutrient enrichment. The decoupling of algae and heterotrophic bacteria in the presence of glucose alone shifted the biofilm trophic status towards heterotrophy. This effect was overturned when nutrients were enriched along with glucose, owing to a subsequent increase in algal biomass in the absence of nutrient limitation. By measuring individual components of the biofilm and obtaining data on the trophic status, we have begun to establish a link between resource availability and biofilm formation in northern peatlands. Our results show that labile carbon subsidies from outside sources have the potential to disrupt microbial coupling and shift the metabolic balance in favour of heterotrophy. The extent to which this occurs in the future will probably depend on the timing and composition of bioavailable nutrients delivered to surface waters with environmental change (e.g. permafrost thaw).
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10453229
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Freshwater Biology
- Volume:
- 66
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0046-5070
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 589-598
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Summary Dissolved organic matter (
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