Links between plant and fungal communities across a deforestation chronosequence in the Amazon rainforest.
Understanding the interactions among microbial communities, plant communities and soil properties following deforestation could provide insights into the long-term effects of land-use change on ecosystem functions, and may help identify approaches that promote the recovery of degraded sites. We combined high-throughput sequencing of fungal rDNA and molecular barcoding of plant roots to estimate fungal and plant community composition in soil sampled across a chronosequence of deforestation. We found significant effects of land-use change on fungal community composition, which was more closely correlated to plant community composition than to changes in soil properties or geographic distance, providing evidence for strong links between above- and below-ground communities in tropical forests.
Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA.
Rebecca C
RC
Mueller
Institute of Oceanography, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Fabiana S
FS
Paula
Department of Biology, University of Texas, Arlington, TX, USA.
Babur S
BS
Mirza
Department of Biology, University of Texas, Arlington, TX, USA.
Jorge L M
JL
Rodrigues
Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA.
Klaus
K
Nüsslein
Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA.
Brendan J M
BJ
Bohannan
D001938:Brazil; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D058893:DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics*; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D014197:Trees / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D014329:Tropical Climate
D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal