Rhizospheric microbial community associated with Araucaria araucana in the China Muerta National Reserve, Chile

The effects of fire on microbial communities associated with Araucaria araucana seedlings were evaluated in a forest affected by wildfires, in order to understand how these communities respond to disturbance and what role they may play in seedling recovery processes. To achieve this, a comparative analysis between sites was conducted using a metabarcoding approach. The rhizospheric soil microbiome associated with A. araucana seedlings growing in an area affected by a moderate-severity wildfire that occurred in 2015 was compared with that of an unburned control site. In addition, bulk soil samples were included in the study to assess differences between microbial communities directly associated with the roots and those present in non-rhizospheric soil.