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Environmental Drivers of Microbial Functioning in Mediterranean Forest Soils

  • Soil Microbiology
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Abstract

Mediterranean forests own distinct characteristics resulting from climate, soil, and vegetation that affect soil microbial communities’ assembly and their associated functions. We initiated a multi-scalar analysis of environmental drivers of soil functioning to (1) identify pertinent factorial scales and (2) determine the relative importance of soil, vegetation, and geoclimate influences in shaping soil microbial functions across the French Mediterranean forests. Soil samples (0–15 cm) were collected from 60 forest sites and soil physicochemical and microbiological properties were assessed across different factorial scales i.e., bioclimates, slope exposures, and forest stands. Patterns in microbial catabolic potential (i.e., extracellular enzymes and microbial respiration) and carbon (C) source utilization (i.e., catabolic-level physiological profiling) were partitioned between vegetation cover, soil characteristics, and geoclimate components. Our results reveal that the catabolic potential of soil microbes was strongly influenced by the forest stands and mainly relied on ammonium and nitrate contents. In contrast, variation in C source utilization was mainly explained by vegetation cover. Soil metabolic capacities of microorganisms and resulting C dynamics were largely constrained by climate parameters, which suggests potentially important consequences for soil C storage. Our study revealed diverse structuration patterns between the catabolic potential and the carbon source utilization of soil microbial communities, and gives insights into the underlying mechanisms of soil microbial functioning in Mediterranean forests.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Florence Ruaudel, Fabio Ziarelli, and Sebastien Milanesio for their technical assistance and are grateful to the Forest Property Regional Center (CRPF) for their contribution, especially to Olivier Martineau for his valuable support in determining the selected sites.

Funding

The project received funding from the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) and Region Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur (France).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mediterranean Institute of Marine and Continental Biodiversity and Ecology, IMBE, Aix Marseille Université, UMR CNRS 7263, IRD, Avignon Université, Campus l’Etoile, Av. Escadrille Normandie Niemen, 13397, Cedex 20, Marseille, France

    Caroline Brunel, Anne-Marie Farnet Da Silva & Raphael Gros

  2. IRD, IPME, 911 Avenue Agropolis, BP 64501, 34394, Montpellier, France

    Caroline Brunel

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  1. Caroline Brunel
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Brunel, C., Da Silva, AM.F. & Gros, R. Environmental Drivers of Microbial Functioning in Mediterranean Forest Soils. Microb Ecol 80, 669–681 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-020-01518-5

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