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Higher resistance and resilience of bacterial growth to drought in grasslands with historically lower precipitation

Tang, Yuqian LU ; Winterfeldt, Sara LU orcid ; Brangarí, Albert C. LU ; Hicks, Lettice C. LU and Rousk, Johannes LU (2023) In Soil Biology and Biochemistry 177.
Abstract

Climate change is expected to alter precipitation regimes, resulting in longer periods of drought and heavier precipitation events. Even though the direct effect of water availability on soil microbial processes is well documented, the influence of precipitation legacy on microbial resistance and resilience to drought remains unclear. Using soils from a natural mean annual precipitation (MAP) gradient (∼550–950 mm yr−1) equipped with long-term (>8 yr) rain-out shelters, we investigated how the history of precipitation influenced microbial ‘resistance’ (tolerance to drying) and ‘resilience’ (ability to recover growth rates following rewetting) to drought. We found that bacterial growth was more resistant and resilient to... (More)

Climate change is expected to alter precipitation regimes, resulting in longer periods of drought and heavier precipitation events. Even though the direct effect of water availability on soil microbial processes is well documented, the influence of precipitation legacy on microbial resistance and resilience to drought remains unclear. Using soils from a natural mean annual precipitation (MAP) gradient (∼550–950 mm yr−1) equipped with long-term (>8 yr) rain-out shelters, we investigated how the history of precipitation influenced microbial ‘resistance’ (tolerance to drying) and ‘resilience’ (ability to recover growth rates following rewetting) to drought. We found that bacterial growth was more resistant and resilient to drought in sites with lower MAP. In contrast, the precipitation-reduction treatments had no detectable influence on microbial drought resistance or resilience. The microbial carbon-use efficiency immediately after rewetting was higher in soils from lower precipitation sites. In contrast, the steady-state microbial growth rates and respiration (under standardized moisture conditions) were consistent along the precipitation gradient. The variation in microbial drought resistance and resilience across the precipitation gradient was linked to the microbial community structure. Taken together, our results suggest that historical precipitation regimes – and the associated differences in exposure to drought – had selected for bacterial communities that were more resistant and resilient to drought.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Drying-rewetting, Legacy effect, Microbial growth, Moisture dependence, Precipitation gradient
in
Soil Biology and Biochemistry
volume
177
article number
108889
pages
12 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85143737537
ISSN
0038-0717
DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108889
project
Can active land-use management be used to make soil microbial functions resilient to drought?
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Funding Information: We thank the Swedish Throughfall Network (Krondroppsnätet) and the local landowners for access to their network of sites. Y.T. was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42101069) and National Science and Technology Basic Resources Survey Program of China (2019FY0101301). The research was supported by the Swedish research council (Vetenskapsrådet grant no 2020-03858, 2020–04083), the Swedish research council Formas (grant no 2018-01315), the Oscar and Lili Lamm Foundation (grant no FO2019-0038), the Knut and Alice Wallenberg's Foundation (grant no KAW 2017.0171) and The Royal Physiographic Society of Lund. This research is also a contribution to the strategic research area Biodiversity and Ecosystems in a Changing Climate (BECC) at Lund University. Funding Information: We thank the Swedish Throughfall Network (Krondroppsnätet) and the local landowners for access to their network of sites. Y.T. was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China ( 42101069 ) and National Science and Technology Basic Resources Survey Program of China ( 2019FY0101301 ). The research was supported by the Swedish research council (Vetenskapsrådet grant no 2020-03858 , 2020–04083 ), the Swedish research council Formas (grant no 2018-01315 ), the Oscar and Lili Lamm Foundation (grant no FO2019-0038 ), the Knut and Alice Wallenberg's Foundation (grant no KAW 2017.0171) and The Royal Physiographic Society of Lund . This research is also a contribution to the strategic research area Biodiversity and Ecosystems in a Changing Climate (BECC) at Lund University. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Elsevier Ltd
id
18e695ea-1ac4-4278-9418-9262291d738d
date added to LUP
2022-12-25 20:15:28
date last changed
2024-06-11 11:19:47
@article{18e695ea-1ac4-4278-9418-9262291d738d,
  abstract     = {{<p>Climate change is expected to alter precipitation regimes, resulting in longer periods of drought and heavier precipitation events. Even though the direct effect of water availability on soil microbial processes is well documented, the influence of precipitation legacy on microbial resistance and resilience to drought remains unclear. Using soils from a natural mean annual precipitation (MAP) gradient (∼550–950 mm yr<sup>−1</sup>) equipped with long-term (&gt;8 yr) rain-out shelters, we investigated how the history of precipitation influenced microbial ‘resistance’ (tolerance to drying) and ‘resilience’ (ability to recover growth rates following rewetting) to drought. We found that bacterial growth was more resistant and resilient to drought in sites with lower MAP. In contrast, the precipitation-reduction treatments had no detectable influence on microbial drought resistance or resilience. The microbial carbon-use efficiency immediately after rewetting was higher in soils from lower precipitation sites. In contrast, the steady-state microbial growth rates and respiration (under standardized moisture conditions) were consistent along the precipitation gradient. The variation in microbial drought resistance and resilience across the precipitation gradient was linked to the microbial community structure. Taken together, our results suggest that historical precipitation regimes – and the associated differences in exposure to drought – had selected for bacterial communities that were more resistant and resilient to drought.</p>}},
  author       = {{Tang, Yuqian and Winterfeldt, Sara and Brangarí, Albert C. and Hicks, Lettice C. and Rousk, Johannes}},
  issn         = {{0038-0717}},
  keywords     = {{Drying-rewetting; Legacy effect; Microbial growth; Moisture dependence; Precipitation gradient}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Soil Biology and Biochemistry}},
  title        = {{Higher resistance and resilience of bacterial growth to drought in grasslands with historically lower precipitation}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108889}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108889}},
  volume       = {{177}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}