Influence of predictors and assembly processes in the structure of microbial communities in disturbed soil ecosystems
The environmental factors and assembly processes influencing microbial community structure and dynamics help with understanding the trajectories followed by these communities after disturbance or along restoration projects. This study analyzed the predictors associated with variability in microbial...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25006077 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850118140936060928 |
|---|---|
| author | J.A. Cabrera-Hernandez M.D. MacKenzie B.D. Lanoil |
| author_facet | J.A. Cabrera-Hernandez M.D. MacKenzie B.D. Lanoil |
| author_sort | J.A. Cabrera-Hernandez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The environmental factors and assembly processes influencing microbial community structure and dynamics help with understanding the trajectories followed by these communities after disturbance or along restoration projects. This study analyzed the predictors associated with variability in microbial communities of soils that were stockpiled for later use as a reclamation substrate for post-mining sites in Alberta, Canada. We applied a null model operational framework to shed light on the assembly processes influencing β-diversity in the microbial communities of stockpiled soil in a chronosequence of 0.5 to 28 years and from 0 to 300 cm depth.. Microbial communities of disturbed and undisturbed soils were significantly different. Some of the conditions that characterized the disturbed soils (i.e., Increase in non-native plant groups and soil nutrients), were positively correlated with microbial diversity and with the microbial taxa that accounted for the difference between stockpiled and reference soils. However, only ∼1/5 of microbial community variability was explained by the environmental predictors assessed in our study. Overall, stochastic factors exerted the most important influence over community assembly processes in microbes (Bacteria, Archaea, and fungi). Homogenizing dispersal and dispersal limitation were the most important processes influencing the structure of bacterial communities, whereas the fungi were mainly governed by drift. Nevertheless, the relative influence of specific stochastic processesvaried depending on soil depth, storage time, and taxa abundance. Our results provide insights into microbial groups that may be indicators of soil disturbance and reveal that selective pressures promoted by environmental filters or legacy effects may not be as important as usually described in the literature for the structuring and variability of the microbial communities in stockpiled soils. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-676cee473ea54c1ebe378979bb4d3e4c |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj-art-676cee473ea54c1ebe378979bb4d3e4c2025-08-20T02:35:56ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-07-0117611367710.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113677Influence of predictors and assembly processes in the structure of microbial communities in disturbed soil ecosystemsJ.A. Cabrera-Hernandez0M.D. MacKenzie1B.D. Lanoil2University of Alberta, Department of Biological Sciences, Edmonton, AB CANADA; Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, Facultad de Ciencias, DOMINICAN REPUBLICUniversity of Alberta, Department of Renewable Resources, Edmonton, AB CANADAUniversity of Alberta, Department of Biological Sciences, Edmonton, AB CANADA; Corresponding author.The environmental factors and assembly processes influencing microbial community structure and dynamics help with understanding the trajectories followed by these communities after disturbance or along restoration projects. This study analyzed the predictors associated with variability in microbial communities of soils that were stockpiled for later use as a reclamation substrate for post-mining sites in Alberta, Canada. We applied a null model operational framework to shed light on the assembly processes influencing β-diversity in the microbial communities of stockpiled soil in a chronosequence of 0.5 to 28 years and from 0 to 300 cm depth.. Microbial communities of disturbed and undisturbed soils were significantly different. Some of the conditions that characterized the disturbed soils (i.e., Increase in non-native plant groups and soil nutrients), were positively correlated with microbial diversity and with the microbial taxa that accounted for the difference between stockpiled and reference soils. However, only ∼1/5 of microbial community variability was explained by the environmental predictors assessed in our study. Overall, stochastic factors exerted the most important influence over community assembly processes in microbes (Bacteria, Archaea, and fungi). Homogenizing dispersal and dispersal limitation were the most important processes influencing the structure of bacterial communities, whereas the fungi were mainly governed by drift. Nevertheless, the relative influence of specific stochastic processesvaried depending on soil depth, storage time, and taxa abundance. Our results provide insights into microbial groups that may be indicators of soil disturbance and reveal that selective pressures promoted by environmental filters or legacy effects may not be as important as usually described in the literature for the structuring and variability of the microbial communities in stockpiled soils.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25006077Soil stockpilingCommunity assembly processesMicrobial communitiesStochastic processesIndicator taxa |
| spellingShingle | J.A. Cabrera-Hernandez M.D. MacKenzie B.D. Lanoil Influence of predictors and assembly processes in the structure of microbial communities in disturbed soil ecosystems Ecological Indicators Soil stockpiling Community assembly processes Microbial communities Stochastic processes Indicator taxa |
| title | Influence of predictors and assembly processes in the structure of microbial communities in disturbed soil ecosystems |
| title_full | Influence of predictors and assembly processes in the structure of microbial communities in disturbed soil ecosystems |
| title_fullStr | Influence of predictors and assembly processes in the structure of microbial communities in disturbed soil ecosystems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of predictors and assembly processes in the structure of microbial communities in disturbed soil ecosystems |
| title_short | Influence of predictors and assembly processes in the structure of microbial communities in disturbed soil ecosystems |
| title_sort | influence of predictors and assembly processes in the structure of microbial communities in disturbed soil ecosystems |
| topic | Soil stockpiling Community assembly processes Microbial communities Stochastic processes Indicator taxa |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25006077 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jacabrerahernandez influenceofpredictorsandassemblyprocessesinthestructureofmicrobialcommunitiesindisturbedsoilecosystems AT mdmackenzie influenceofpredictorsandassemblyprocessesinthestructureofmicrobialcommunitiesindisturbedsoilecosystems AT bdlanoil influenceofpredictorsandassemblyprocessesinthestructureofmicrobialcommunitiesindisturbedsoilecosystems |