Litter microbiome affected by litter type, soil source and microbial legacy effects.. Litter microbiome

We examine fungal community composition on three leaf litter types in three soil types to study how fungal composition is affected by the origin of the soil, the selection for specific fungi by litter types, or the historical contingency of fungal communities on leaf litter. We collected litters and associated soil samples from three different habitats with contrasting litter and soil chemical properties along a gradient of vegetation succession, ranging from recently abandoned ex-arable fields to forest. We performed a 12-month full-factorial reciprocal litter transplant experiment in greenhouse conditions with unsterilized and sterilized leaf litter (representing different historical contingencies). After 12 months we measured litter mass loss and determined fungal composition on the litter by using 454 pyrosequencing.