Study of microenvironmental effects on soil microbial diversity across different land uses

Soil microbial biodiversity is the driving force behind several soil processes that play a key role in nature's contributions to people, and it is highly affected by land use change. Although there is growing interest in developing soil quality indicators based on soil microbial biodiversity, little is known about how soil microbial communities vary within micro-environmental gradients (soil depth, spatial distance, heterogeneity) across different land uses, which is critical for designing field sampling protocols. The study's goal was to assess soil depth and spatial patterns of soil microbial community variability under different land uses derived from native forest in Patagonia, Argentina. This knowledge is key to designing field sampling protocols for adequate monitoring of soil biodiversity.

土壤微生物多样性是支撑诸多在自然对人类贡献中发挥关键作用的土壤生态过程的核心驱动力，且其极易受土地利用变化的影响。尽管学界对基于土壤微生物多样性构建土壤质量指标的关注度与日俱增，但针对不同土地利用类型下，土壤微生物群落如何沿微环境梯度（土壤深度、空间距离、异质性）产生变异的认知仍较为匮乏，而该认知对于制定野外采样方案至关重要。本研究旨在评估阿根廷巴塔哥尼亚原生林衍生的不同土地利用类型下，土壤微生物群落变异的土壤深度特征与空间分布模式。该研究成果可为制定科学合理的土壤生物多样性监测野外采样方案提供关键依据。