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Limiting resources for soil microbial growth in climate change simulation treatments in the Subarctic

Yuan, Mingyue LU ; Na, Meng LU ; Hicks, Lettice LU and Rousk, Johannes LU (2024) In Ecology 105(1).
Abstract
The microbial use of resources to sustain life and reproduce influences for example, decomposition and plant nutrient provisioning. The study of “limiting factors” has shed light on the interaction between plants and their environment. Here, we investigated whether carbon (C), nitrogen (N), or phosphorus (P) was limiting for soil microorganisms in a subarctic tundra heath, and how changes in resource availability associated with climate change affected this. We studied samples in which changes in resource availability due to climate warming were simulated by the addition of birch litter and/or inorganic N. To these soils, we supplied factorial C (as glucose), N (as NH4NO3), and P (as KH2PO4/K2HPO4) additions (“limiting factor assays,”... (More)
The microbial use of resources to sustain life and reproduce influences for example, decomposition and plant nutrient provisioning. The study of “limiting factors” has shed light on the interaction between plants and their environment. Here, we investigated whether carbon (C), nitrogen (N), or phosphorus (P) was limiting for soil microorganisms in a subarctic tundra heath, and how changes in resource availability associated with climate change affected this. We studied samples in which changes in resource availability due to climate warming were simulated by the addition of birch litter and/or inorganic N. To these soils, we supplied factorial C (as glucose), N (as NH4NO3), and P (as KH2PO4/K2HPO4) additions (“limiting factor assays,” LFA), to determine the limiting factors. The combination of C and P induced large growth responses in all soils and, combined with a systematic tendency for growth increases by C, this suggested that total microbial growth was primarily limited by C and secondarily by P. The C limitation was alleviated by the field litter treatment and strengthened by N fertilization. The microbial growth response to the LFA-C and LFA-P addition was strongest in the field-treatment that combined litter and N addition. We also found that bacteria were closer to P limitation than fungi. Our results suggest that, under a climate change scenario, increased C availability resulting from Arctic greening, treeline advance, and shrubification will reduce the microbial C limitation, while increased N availability resulting from warming will intensify the microbial C limitation. Our results also suggest that the synchronous increase of both C and N availability might lead to a progressive P limitation of microbial growth, primarily driven by bacteria being closer to P limitation. These shifts in microbial resource limitation might lead to a microbial targeting of the limiting element from organic matter, and also trigger competition for nutrients between plants and microorganisms, thus modulating the productivity of the ecosystem. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Ecology
volume
105
issue
1
article number
e4210
publisher
Ecological Society of America
external identifiers
  • scopus:85179355197
  • pmid:37989722
ISSN
0012-9658
DOI
10.1002/ecy.4210
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
af58be7f-bff9-43ad-b480-9d03e6889692
date added to LUP
2023-11-22 14:04:15
date last changed
2024-05-10 07:32:10
@article{af58be7f-bff9-43ad-b480-9d03e6889692,
  abstract     = {{The microbial use of resources to sustain life and reproduce influences for example, decomposition and plant nutrient provisioning. The study of “limiting factors” has shed light on the interaction between plants and their environment. Here, we investigated whether carbon (C), nitrogen (N), or phosphorus (P) was limiting for soil microorganisms in a subarctic tundra heath, and how changes in resource availability associated with climate change affected this. We studied samples in which changes in resource availability due to climate warming were simulated by the addition of birch litter and/or inorganic N. To these soils, we supplied factorial C (as glucose), N (as NH4NO3), and P (as KH2PO4/K2HPO4) additions (“limiting factor assays,” LFA), to determine the limiting factors. The combination of C and P induced large growth responses in all soils and, combined with a systematic tendency for growth increases by C, this suggested that total microbial growth was primarily limited by C and secondarily by P. The C limitation was alleviated by the field litter treatment and strengthened by N fertilization. The microbial growth response to the LFA-C and LFA-P addition was strongest in the field-treatment that combined litter and N addition. We also found that bacteria were closer to P limitation than fungi. Our results suggest that, under a climate change scenario, increased C availability resulting from Arctic greening, treeline advance, and shrubification will reduce the microbial C limitation, while increased N availability resulting from warming will intensify the microbial C limitation. Our results also suggest that the synchronous increase of both C and N availability might lead to a progressive P limitation of microbial growth, primarily driven by bacteria being closer to P limitation. These shifts in microbial resource limitation might lead to a microbial targeting of the limiting element from organic matter, and also trigger competition for nutrients between plants and microorganisms, thus modulating the productivity of the ecosystem.}},
  author       = {{Yuan, Mingyue and Na, Meng and Hicks, Lettice and Rousk, Johannes}},
  issn         = {{0012-9658}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Ecological Society of America}},
  series       = {{Ecology}},
  title        = {{Limiting resources for soil microbial growth in climate change simulation treatments in the Subarctic}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4210}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/ecy.4210}},
  volume       = {{105}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}