Data from: Prolonged exposure to manure from livestock administered antibiotics decreases ecosystem carbon-use efficiency and alters nitrogen cycling

Microbial communities drive soil ecosystem function but are also
susceptible to environmental disturbances. We investigated whether
exposure to manure sourced from cattle either administered or not
administered antibiotics affected microbially-mediated terrestrial
ecosystem function. We quantified changes in microbial community
composition via amplicon sequencing, and terrestrial elemental cycling via
a stable isotope pulse-chase. Exposure to manure from antibiotic-treated
cattle caused: i) changes in microbial community structure; and ii)
alterations in elemental cycling throughout the terrestrial system. This
exposure caused changes in fungal:bacterial, as well as changes in
bacterial community structure. Additionally, exposure to manure from
cattle treated with pirlimycin resulted in an approximate two-fold
increase in ecosystem respiration of recently fixed-carbon, and a greater
proportion of recently-added nitrogen in plant and soil pools compared to
the control manure. Manure from antibiotic-treated cattle therefore
affects terrestrial ecosystem function via the soil microbiome, causing
decreased ecosystem carbon use efficiency, and altered nitrogen cycling.