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Shrub-Interspace Dynamics Alter Relationships Between Microbial Community Composition And Belowground Ecosystem Characteristics, Rebecca E. Drenovsky, Z. T. Aanderud, M. I. Shuldman, J. H. Richards

Biology

In desert ecosystems, belowground characteristics are influenced chiefly by the formation and persistence of “shrub-islands of fertility” in contrast to barren plant interspaces. If soil microbial communities are exclusively compared between these two biogeochemically distinct soil types, the impact of characteristics altered by shrub species, especially soil C and N, are likely to be overemphasized and overshadow the role of other characteristics in structuring microbial composition. To determine how belowground characteristics influence microbial community composition, and if the relative importance of these characteristics shifts across the landscape (i.e., between and within shrub and interspace soils), changes in microbial communities across …