Climate controls on subsoil microbiome

To understand the impact of climate on microbial community composition and activity throughout the soil profile, we collected soil samples from each genetic horizon (A to C horizons) in soil pits along two elevational-bioclimatic gradients (Figure 1A). These samples were analyzed for prokaryote and fungal community composition (16S rRNA and ITS gene, respectively), potential activity (using extracellular enzyme activity assays), and soil chemistry. The overall goal of our study is to provide a greater understanding of microbial communities and depth and to elucidate their patterns as they relate to climate. Such an understanding would contribute to our overall development of microbial ecological theory.