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Microbial Communities, Functional Genes, and Nitrogen Cycling Processes as Affected by Tree Species

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Soil Biological Communities and Ecosystem Resilience

Part of the book series: Sustainability in Plant and Crop Protection ((SUPP))

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Abstract

Tree species influence soils through direct and indirect inputs above- and belowground through leaf litter and root inputs. Soil microbial communities can in turn influence tree growth and development through processes such decomposition and chemical transformation of nutrients in soils. In this chapter we will provide an overview of the mechanisms by which trees influence soil microbial communities and nitrogen cycling processes. Specifically, we explore the effects of tree species on ammonification and nitrification processes in forest floor soils, and relate those to functional genetic markers for ammonia-oxidation by archaea and bacteria (amoA AOA and AOB) bacterial denitrification (nirS and nirK). We will cover the use of complementary laboratory methods used to investigate these relationships, including the use of molecular techniques such as quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to target gene abundances in soils, and 15N tracing experiments to understand the production and consumption of nitrogen. We will also address some of the benefits and drawbacks of these approaches, with special focus on the types of research questions that can be answered using these approaches. The chapter will wrap up with an example study in a common garden tree species trial in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, which demonstrated tree species effects on soil microbial communities and nitrogen cycling dynamics.

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Acknowledgements

Authors acknowledge the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, the University of Copenhagen, and Bangor University for facilities and support during the preparation of this chapter. R. Ribbons acknowledges FONASO for the doctoral research fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Relena R. Ribbons & Lars Vesterdal

  2. School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, UK

    Relena R. Ribbons & Morag A. Mcdonald

Authors
  1. Relena R. Ribbons
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  2. Morag A. Mcdonald
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  3. Lars Vesterdal
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Correspondence to Relena R. Ribbons .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom

    Martin Lukac

  2. National Research Council, Water Research Institute, CNR-IRSA, Rome, Italy

    Paola Grenni

  3. Department of Biology, Agriculture and Food Sciences, CNR, Rome, Italy

    Mauro Gamboni

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Ribbons, R.R., Mcdonald, M.A., Vesterdal, L. (2017). Microbial Communities, Functional Genes, and Nitrogen Cycling Processes as Affected by Tree Species. In: Lukac, M., Grenni, P., Gamboni, M. (eds) Soil Biological Communities and Ecosystem Resilience. Sustainability in Plant and Crop Protection. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63336-7_13

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