Linking Nitrogen Load to the Structure and Function of Wetland Soil and Rhizosphere Microbial Communities.

Wetland ecosystems are important reservoirs of biodiversity and significantly contribute to emissions of the greenhouse gases CO2, N2O, and CH4. High anthropogenic nitrogen (N) inputs from agriculture and fossil fuel combustion have been recognized as a severe threat to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, such as control of greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, it is important to understand how increased N input into pristine wetlands affects the composition and activity of microorganisms, especially in interaction with dominant wetland plants. In a series of incubations analyzed over 90 days, we disentangled the effects of N fertilization on the microbial community in bulk soil and the rhizosphere of Juncus acutiflorus, a common and abundant graminoid wetland plant. We observed an increase in greenhouse gas emissions when N is increased in incubations with J. acutiflorus, changing the system from a greenhouse gas sink to a source. Using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, we determined that the bacterial orders Opitutales, subgroup 6 Acidobacteria, and Sphingobacteriales significantly responded to high N availability. Based on metagenomic data, we hypothesize that these groups are contributing to the increased greenhouse gas emissions. These results indicated that increased N input leads to shifts in microbial activity within the rhizosphere, altering N cycling dynamics. Our study provides a framework for connecting environmental conditions of wetland bulk and rhizosphere soil to the structure and metabolic output of microbial communities. IMPORTANCE Microorganisms living within the rhizospheres of wetland plants significantly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Understanding how microbes produce these gases under conditions that have been imposed by human activities (i.e., nitrogen pollution) is important to the development of future management strategies. Our results illustrate that within the rhizosphere of the wetland plant Juncus acutiflorus, physiological differences associated with nitrogen availability can influence microbial activity linked to greenhouse gas production. By pairing taxonomic information and environmental conditions like nitrogen availability with functional outputs of a system such as greenhouse gas fluxes, we present a framework to link certain taxa to both nitrogen load and greenhouse gas production. We view this type of combined information as essential in moving forward in our understanding of complex systems such as rhizosphere microbial communities.

New insights into phosphorus mobilisation from sulphur-rich sediments: time-dependent effects of salinisation.

Internal phosphorus (P) mobilisation from aquatic sediments is an important process adding to eutrophication problems in wetlands. Salinisation, a fast growing global problem, is thought to affect P behaviour. Although several studies have addressed the effects of salinisation, interactions between salinity changes and nutrient cycling in freshwater systems are not fully understood. To tackle eutrophication, a clear understanding of the interacting effects of sediment characteristics and surface water quality is vital. In the present study, P release from two eutrophic sediments, both characterized by high pore water P and very low pore water iron (Fe(2+)) concentrations, was studied in a long-term aquarium experiment, using three salinity levels. Sediment P release was expected to be mainly driven by diffusion, due to the eutrophic conditions and low iron availability. Unexpectedly, this only seemed to be the driving mechanism in the short term (0-10 weeks). In the long term (>80 weeks), P mobilisation was absent in most treatments. This can most likely be explained by the oxidation of the sediment-water interface where Fe(2+) immobilises P, even though it is commonly assumed that free Fe(2+) concentrations need to be higher for this. Therefore, a controlling mechanism is suggested in which the partial oxidation of iron-sulphides in the sediment plays a key role, releasing extra Fe(2+) at the sediment-water interface. Although salinisation was shown to lower short-term P mobilisation as a result of increased calcium concentrations, it may increase long-term P mobilisation by the interactions between sulphate reduction and oxygen availability. Our study showed time-dependent responses of sediment P mobilisation in relation to salinity, suggesting that sulphur plays an important role in the release of P from FeSx-rich sediments, its biogeochemical effect depending on the availability of Fe(2+) and O2.

Microbial transformations of nitrogen, sulfur, and iron dictate vegetation composition in wetlands: a review.

The majority of studies on rhizospheric interactions focus on pathogens, mycorrhizal symbiosis, or carbon transformations. Although the biogeochemical transformations of N, S, and Fe have profound effects on vegetation, these effects have received far less attention. This review, meant for microbiologists, biogeochemists, and plant scientists includes a call for interdisciplinary research by providing a number of challenging topics for future ecosystem research. Firstly, all three elements are plant nutrients, and microbial activity significantly changes their availability. Secondly, microbial oxidation with oxygen supplied by radial oxygen loss from roots in wetlands causes acidification, while reduction using alternative electron acceptors leads to generation of alkalinity, affecting pH in the rhizosphere, and hence plant composition. Thirdly, reduced species of all three elements may become phytotoxic. In addition, Fe cycling is tightly linked to that of S and P. As water level fluctuations are very common in wetlands, rapid changes in the availability of oxygen and alternative terminal electron acceptors will result in strong changes in the prevalent microbial redox reactions, with significant effects on plant growth. Depending on geological and hydrological settings, these interacting microbial transformations change the conditions and resource availability for plants, which are both strong drivers of vegetation development and composition by changing relative competitive strengths. Conversely, microbial composition is strongly driven by vegetation composition. Therefore, the combination of microbiological and plant ecological knowledge is essential to understand the biogeochemical and biological key factors driving heterogeneity and total (i.e., microorganisms and vegetation) community composition at different spatial and temporal scales.

Exploring rock fissures: does a specialized root morphology explain endemism on granite outcrops?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Worldwide, many plant species are confined to open, shallow-soil, rocky habitats. Although several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this habitat specificity, none has been convincing. We suggest that the high level of endemism on shallow soils is related to the edaphic specialization needed to survive in these often extremely drought-prone habitats. Previous research has shown that species endemic to ironstone communities in SW Australia have a specialized root morphology that enhances their chance to access fissures in the underlying rock. Here we test the generality of these findings for species that are confined to a shallow-soil habitat that is of much greater global significance: granite outcrops. METHODS: We compared temporal and spatial root growth and allocation of three endemic woody perennials of SW Australian granite outcrop communities with those of congeners occurring on nearby deeper soils. Seedlings of all species were grown in 1·2 m long custom-made containers with a transparent bottom that allowed monitoring of root growth over time. KEY RESULTS: The granite outcrop endemics mostly differed in a predictable way from their congeners from deeper soils. They generally invested a larger portion of their biomass in roots, distributed their roots faster and more evenly over the container and had a lower specific root length. In different species pairs the outcrop endemics achieved their apparent advantage by a different combination of the aforementioned traits. CONCLUSIONS: Our results are consistent with earlier work, indicating that species restricted to different types of drought-prone shallow-soil communities have undergone similar selection pressures. Although adaptive in their own habitat in terms of obtaining access to fissures in the underlying rock, these root system traits are likely to be maladaptive in deeper soil habitats. Therefore, our results may provide an explanation for the narrow endemism of many shallow-soil endemics.