Community structure of prokaryotes and their functional potential in subsoils is more affected by spatial heterogeneity than by temporal variations

• Published in: Soil biology & biochemistry Vol. 75; pp. 197 - 201
• Main Authors: Uksa, Marie, Fischer, Doreen, Welzl, Gerhard, Kautz, Timo, Köpke, Ulrich, Schloter, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Bacterial community structure; Biochemistry and biology; Biological and medical sciences; Chemical, physicochemical, biochemical and biological properties; Denitrification; Drilosphere; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Nitrification; Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils; Rhizosphere; Soil science; Subsoil; Zoology (interactions between soil fauna and agricultural or forest soils); Subsoil; Denitrification; Rhizosphere; Drilosphere; Bacterial community structure; Nitrification; Community structure; Spatial variability; Time variation; Annelida; Oligochaeta; Earthworm; Heterogeneity; Animal activity; Bacteria; Prokaryote; Soil science; Invertebrata; Microbial community
• ISSN: 0038-0717; 1879-3428
• DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2014.04.018

Spatial and temporal dynamics of microbial community structure and function in subsoils have been rarely studied in the past. In this paper we present data on how bacterial communities as well as selected functional groups of microbes change in the rhizosphere, the drilosphere, and in bulk soil over time in topsoil as well as in subsoil. We show that the overall richness of bacteria and abundance of nitrifiers and denitrifiers decreases in bulk soil with soil depth. However, these effects were not or to a much lower degree observed in the rhizosphere and the drilosphere. Temporal fluctuations contributed by far less than spatial factors to the dynamics of bacterial communities and abundance of nitrifiers and denitrifiers in all compartments independent from the soil depth. •Spatiotemporal fluctuations of bacterial communities, nitrifiers and denitrifiers were investigated in topsoil and subsoil.•Differences between hotspots like drilosphere or rhizosphere and bulk soil are more pronounced in subsoil compared to topsoil.•Temporal fluctuation contributed by far less too the dynamics independent on soil depth.