extreme heat fungi elevations seasons

Ecological responses to climate extremes vary drastically in different spatiotemporal contexts. Here, we investigate how soil communities at high- and low-elevation sites respond to extreme heat events at different seasons (spring, summer and autumn). We simulated oneweek heat events based on site-specific climatic history in laboratory experiments using 360 field-collected soil cores, and measured the resistance and recovery of two major groups of soil biota: Collembola and fungi. We found that Collembola communities from low elevations exhibited lowest resistance to extreme heat in spring and summer, with full recovery occurring primarily in spring soils. Fungal communities remained generally stable, though pathogens increased their relative abundances following summer heat events. Network analysis revealed increased connectance of negative associations between Collembola and fungi in response to extreme heat. We provide experimental evidence for how heat events can restructure and destabilize ecological communities depending on spatiotemporal contexts like elevation and seasonality. Full text: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.70225