RT Journal Article
T1 Soil microbial carbon consumption affected by tree and mammal diversity
A1 Losada, María
A1 Sobral Bernal, Mª Mar
A1 Martínez Cortizas, Antonio
A1 Cerri, Carlos E. P.
A1 Deangelis, Kristen M.
A1 Varela, Sara
A1 Fragoso, José M. V.
A1 Silvius, Kirsten M.
K1 Carbon cycle
K1 Mammal functional diversity
K1 Soil microbial community
K1 Soil organic carbon composition
K1 Tree richness
K1 Tropical soil
AB Trees, mammals, and microbes relate to soil carbon (C) cycle. Trees capture C, and mammals consume plants and other animals, both contributing to organic remains that are then degraded by soil microbes. This organic C can be stored in soils or released into the atmosphere through microbial mineralization. Yet, the simultaneous effects of mammals and trees on C consumption by soil microbes have not been investigated. For 30 sampling sites in a mixed forest-savanna environment in southern Guyana, we jointly analyzed observational data of mammal and tree communities along with soil organic matter (SOM) composition (using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy combined with attenuated total reflectance, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, and CNH elemental analyzer) and soil microbial C consumption (using Biolog EcoPlates). It was found that higher mammal functional richness (FRic) and functional evenness (FEve) were related to reduced overall C consumption by soil microbes (for FRic: regression coefficient (β) = -0.010, standard error (SE) = 0.005, P = 0.034; for FEve: β = -0.012, SE = 0.005, P = 0.010) with the coefficient of determination (R2) value of 0.359, explaining 36% of the variance in average well color development values, whereas a higher tree richness was associated with a reduced diversity of C sources consumed by soil microbial communities (β = -0.353, SE = 0.172, P = 0.041) with the R2 value of 0.290, explaining 29% of the variance in Shannon diversity index values. Our results indicate that mammal and tree communities have complementary effects on soil microbial C consumption, improving our understanding of the functioning of C cycle in the high-diversity Amazon biome. These findings are crucial in elucidating the intricate connections between above- and belowground biodiversity that influence the accumulation and stabilization of soil organic C.
PB Elsevier
YR 2025
FD 2025-08-22
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/45775
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/45775
LA eng
NO Pedosphere Volume 35, Issue 6, December 2025, Pages 945-956
NO The authors thank the Guyana Environmental Protection Agency and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs for permission issued to work in the Rupununi region of Guyana. The National Science Foundation (NSF; No. BE/CNH 05 08094) and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation provided funding for the overall project, while Stanford University provided administrative support in the context of the multinational project in which this study was framed. Funding for much of the soil analysis in the present work and for support for some researchers came from Xunta de Galicia (Spain) under the grant I2C (No. ED481D 2019/024) and the grant Consolidation 2021 GRC GI-1553 EcoPast (No. ED431C 2021/32) and from the European Research Council (ERC) under the MAPAS ERC Starting Grant 2020–2025 (No. 947921). We thank the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation, the North Rupununi District Development Board, and the Deep South Toshaos’ Council for their support during fieldwork. K. Epps, D. Turner, and E. Kurten collaborated with soil sampling and CNH analysis and T. K. Raab performed ED-XRF analysis and soil curation.
DS Minerva
RD 21 may 2026