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Responses of soil microbial communities to water stress: results from a meta-analysis.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Manzoni, S; Schimel, JP; Porporato, A
Published in: Ecology
April 2012

Soil heterotrophic respiration and nutrient mineralization are strongly affected by environmental conditions, in particular by moisture fluctuations triggered by rainfall events. When soil moisture decreases, so does decomposers' activity, with microfauna generally undergoing stress sooner than bacteria and fungi. Despite differences in the responses of individual decomposer groups to moisture availability (e.g., bacteria are typically more sensitive than fungi to water stress), we show that responses of decomposers at the community level are different in soils and surface litter, but similar across biomes and climates. This results in a nearly constant soil-moisture threshold corresponding to the point when biological activity ceases, at a water potential of about -14 MPa in mineral soils and -36 MPa in surface litter. This threshold is shown to be comparable to the soil moisture value where solute diffusion becomes strongly inhibited in soil, while in litter it is dehydration rather than diffusion that likely limits biological activity around the stress point. Because of these intrinsic constraints and lack of adaptation to different hydro-climatic regimes, changes in rainfall patterns (primary drivers of the soil moisture balance) may have dramatic impacts on soil carbon and nutrient cycling.

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Published In

Ecology

DOI

EISSN

1939-9170

ISSN

0012-9658

Publication Date

April 2012

Volume

93

Issue

4

Start / End Page

930 / 938

Related Subject Headings

  • Water
  • Soil Microbiology
  • Oxygen Consumption
  • Fungi
  • Ecosystem
  • Ecology
  • Bacteria
  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3103 Ecology
 

Citation

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Manzoni, S., Schimel, J. P., & Porporato, A. (2012). Responses of soil microbial communities to water stress: results from a meta-analysis. Ecology, 93(4), 930–938. https://doi.org/10.1890/11-0026.1
Manzoni, Stefano, Joshua P. Schimel, and Amilcare Porporato. “Responses of soil microbial communities to water stress: results from a meta-analysis.Ecology 93, no. 4 (April 2012): 930–38. https://doi.org/10.1890/11-0026.1.
Manzoni S, Schimel JP, Porporato A. Responses of soil microbial communities to water stress: results from a meta-analysis. Ecology. 2012 Apr;93(4):930–8.
Manzoni, Stefano, et al. “Responses of soil microbial communities to water stress: results from a meta-analysis.Ecology, vol. 93, no. 4, Apr. 2012, pp. 930–38. Epmc, doi:10.1890/11-0026.1.
Manzoni S, Schimel JP, Porporato A. Responses of soil microbial communities to water stress: results from a meta-analysis. Ecology. 2012 Apr;93(4):930–938.
Journal cover image

Published In

Ecology

DOI

EISSN

1939-9170

ISSN

0012-9658

Publication Date

April 2012

Volume

93

Issue

4

Start / End Page

930 / 938

Related Subject Headings

  • Water
  • Soil Microbiology
  • Oxygen Consumption
  • Fungi
  • Ecosystem
  • Ecology
  • Bacteria
  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3103 Ecology