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Harvard Forest Symposium Abstract 2016

  • Title: Changes in soil biodiversity and ecosystem function in a chronosequence of long-term experimental forest soil warming experiments revealed by community RNA
  • Primary Author: Jeffrey Blanchard (University of Massachusetts - Amherst )
  • Additional Authors: Lauren Alteio (University of Massachusetts - Amherst ); Andrew Billings (University of Massachusetts - Amherst ); Kristen DeAngelis (University of Massachusetts Amherst); Serita Frey (University of New Hampshire - Main Campus); Jerry Melillo (Marine Biological Laboratory); William Rodríguez-Reillo (University of Massachusetts - Amherst ); Rebecca Varney (University of Massachusetts Amherst); Linda van Diepen (University of New Hampshire - Main Campus)
  • Abstract:

    Three Harvard Forest long-term experimental warming plots Prospect Hill, Barre Woods and SWaN with respective start dates of 1991, 2003 and 2006 form a chronosequence. To test changes in soil biodiversity and ecosystem function community RNA was extracted from 48 soil samples and sequenced through a Joint Genome Institute Community Sequencing Program award. The sequencing results included a surprisingly diverse representation of soil organismal community including RNA viruses, archaea, bacteria, protists, fungi, invertebrates and plants. Eukaryotic sequences comprise ~30% of the community RNA in the organic layers. In both the organic and mineral soil horizons warming has resulted in a significant decrease in eukaryotic transcripts relative to bacteria. With relative losses in transcript abundance in classes of ascomycetes, basidomycetes and arthropoda and increases in bacterial taxa involved carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. Cellular and ecosystem functions have been effected related to protein stability, selfish genetic elements, toxin resistance, and N and S cycling have been effected by warming. Increased expression of chitinase by Acidobacteria suggests a role for higher turnover of fungal biomass. The number of differential expressed genes increased over the chronosequence, suggesting an ongoing change in community structure and ecosystem function. These experiments exhort a need for broad approaches toward determining the organismal contributions to soil respiration.

  • Research Category: Biodiversity Studies
    Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics