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Latebreaking Poster

Session: Communities (Latebreaking)

LB 9-83 - Soil microbial community patterns across successional dune habitats of a barrier island

Thursday, August 10, 2023
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM PDT
Location: ESA Exhibit Hall
From aiding in biogeochemical processes like nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, and the development of soil structure, to influencing plant productivity, nutrient acquisition, and the regulation of plant diversity, soil microbes are an integral component of ecosystem function. Yet, the main drivers of soil microbial diversity and composition are less well understood. While some studies have found evidence that abiotic factors such as pH, organic matter, moisture availability, and climate act as primary drivers of soil microbial diversity and composition, growing evidence that community-level plant attributes such as diversity and cover also play an important role in regulating soil microbial community structure. We sought to disentangle these effects by assessing soil characteristics, plant, and soil microbial communities across successional coastal dune habitats of a barrier island at St. George Island, Florida, United States. Coastal sand dunes have a unique set of characteristics that result in varying levels of biotic and abiotic complexity, making them an ideal study system to assess potential interdependencies associated with soil microbiomes. The aim of this study was to determine (1) the patterns of change in the composition and diversity of soil bacterial, archaeal, and fungal communities; (2) whether there are consistent patterns in the coupling of soil microbial and plant communities, and whether characteristic microbial groups would emerge at different successional stages of the plant community; and (3) how soil microbial community characteristics are related to soil abiotic properties. Overall, we found that soil bacterial and archaeal community richness was highest in mid-successional habitats, a trend consistent with the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis. Surprisingly, we saw no considerable difference in fungal community richness across levels of succession. However, there were distinct microbial communities at each successional habitat type. Comparing these patterns of microbial diversity with plant community composition and soil physicochemical property data will provide deeper insight into the mechanistic drivers of microbial community assembly.