Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Heterotrophic microbial communities use ancient carbon following glacial retreat.
AU - Bardgett, Richard D.
AU - Richter, Andreas
AU - Bol, Roland
AU - Garnett, Mark H.
AU - Bäumler, Rupert
AU - Xu, Xingliang
AU - Lopez-Capel, Elisa
AU - Manning, David
AU - Hobbs, Phil J.
AU - Hartley, Ian R.
AU - Wanek, Wolfgang
PY - 2007/10/22
Y1 - 2007/10/22
N2 - When glaciers retreat they expose barren substrates that become colonized by organisms, beginning the process of primary succession. Recent studies reveal that heterotrophic microbial communities occur in newly exposed glacial substrates before autotrophic succession begins. This raises questions about how heterotrophic microbial communities function in the absence of carbon inputs from autotrophs. We measured patterns of soil organic matter development and changes in microbial community composition and carbon use along a 150-year chronosequence of a retreating glacier in the Austrian Alps. We found that soil microbial communities of recently deglaciated terrain differed markedly from those of later successional stages, being of lower biomass and higher abundance of bacteria relative to fungi. Moreover, we found that these initial microbial communities used ancient and recalcitrant carbon as an energy source, along with modern carbon. Only after more than 50 years of organic matter accumulation did the soil microbial community change to one supported primarily by modern carbon, most likely from recent plant production. Our findings suggest the existence of an initial stage of heterotrophic microbial community development that precedes autotrophic community assembly and is sustained, in part, by ancient carbon.
AB - When glaciers retreat they expose barren substrates that become colonized by organisms, beginning the process of primary succession. Recent studies reveal that heterotrophic microbial communities occur in newly exposed glacial substrates before autotrophic succession begins. This raises questions about how heterotrophic microbial communities function in the absence of carbon inputs from autotrophs. We measured patterns of soil organic matter development and changes in microbial community composition and carbon use along a 150-year chronosequence of a retreating glacier in the Austrian Alps. We found that soil microbial communities of recently deglaciated terrain differed markedly from those of later successional stages, being of lower biomass and higher abundance of bacteria relative to fungi. Moreover, we found that these initial microbial communities used ancient and recalcitrant carbon as an energy source, along with modern carbon. Only after more than 50 years of organic matter accumulation did the soil microbial community change to one supported primarily by modern carbon, most likely from recent plant production. Our findings suggest the existence of an initial stage of heterotrophic microbial community development that precedes autotrophic community assembly and is sustained, in part, by ancient carbon.
KW - microbial communities
KW - organic matter
KW - carbon
KW - chronosequence
U2 - 10.1098/rsbl.2007.0242
DO - 10.1098/rsbl.2007.0242
M3 - Journal article
VL - 3
SP - 487
EP - 490
JO - Biology Letters
JF - Biology Letters
SN - 1744-957X
IS - 5
ER -