Divergent responses of forest soil microbial communities under elevated CO2 in different depths of upper soil layers.

This study revealed a positive feedback of eCO2 in forest soils microbial communities which may provide a new insight for further understanding of forest ecosystem responses to global CO2 increases.IMPORTANCE The concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is continuously increasing since the industrial revolution. Understanding the response of soil microbial communities to elevated atmospheric CO2 (eCO2) is important for predicting the contribution of forest ecosystem to global atmospheric change. This study analyzed the effect of eCO2 on microbial communities at two soil depths (0-5cm and 5-15cm) in a forest ecosystem. Our findings suggest that the compositional and functional structure of microbial communities shifted under eCO2 at both soil depths. More functional genes involved in carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling were stimulated under eCO2 in the soil depth of 0-5cm than in the depth of 5-15 cm. PMID: 29079614 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Appl Environ Microbiol Source Type: research