Fungal-bacterial diversity and microbiome complexity predict ecosystem functioning

Wagg, Cameron; Schlaeppi, Klaus; Banerjee, Samiran; Kuramae, Eiko E.; van der Heijden, Marcel G. A. (2019). Fungal-bacterial diversity and microbiome complexity predict ecosystem functioning. Nature communications, 10(1) Nature Publishing Group 10.1038/s41467-019-12798-y

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The soil microbiome is highly diverse and comprises up to one quarter of Earth’s diversity. Yet, how such a diverse and functionally complex microbiome influences ecosystem functioning remains unclear. Here we manipulated the soil microbiome in experimental grassland ecosystems and observed that microbiome diversity and microbial network complexity positively influenced multiple ecosystem functions related to nutrient cycling (e.g. multifunctionality). Grassland microcosms with poorly developed microbial networks and reduced microbial richness had the lowest multifunctionality due to fewer taxa present that support the same function (redundancy) and lower diversity of taxa that support different functions (reduced functional uniqueness). Moreover, different microbial taxa explained different ecosystem functions pointing to the significance of functional diversity in microbial communities. These findings indicate the importance of microbial interactions within and among fungal and bacterial communities for enhancing ecosystem performance and demonstrate that the extinction of complex ecological associations belowground can impair ecosystem functioning.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS) > Biotic Interactions
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS)

UniBE Contributor:

Schläppi, Klaus Bernhard

Subjects:

500 Science > 580 Plants (Botany)

ISSN:

2041-1723

Publisher:

Nature Publishing Group

Language:

English

Submitter:

Peter Alfred von Ballmoos-Haas

Date Deposited:

06 Nov 2019 09:58

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:31

Publisher DOI:

10.1038/s41467-019-12798-y

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.134558

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/134558

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