Fungal communities in semiarid grassland soil aggregates

Livestock removal commonly alters biodiversity and nutrient cycling at the ecosystem level. However, its long-term effects on soil microbial communities and nutrient dynamics at the smaller scale of microhabitats, e.g., within the soil aggregates, as well as their linkage to ecological sustainability of grasslands remain highly uncertain. We related the composition and functions of aggregate-associated microbial community to nutrient accumulation within grazing exclusion gradient in a semiarid grassland.