Species identity, richness and developmental stage of morphology affect enzymatic activity of the soil microorganisms in arid Patagonia, Argentina

AMBROSINO M.L.; PALOMO I. R.; CARDILLO D.S.; TORRES Y.A.; BUSSO C.A.; ITHURRART L.S.

Biodiversity International Journal

MedCrave Group

Lugar: Novi; Año: 2019 vol. 3 p. 121 - 130

Microbial communities are a key for terrestrial ecosystem functioning. However, their responses to changes in plant species identity and richness, and stages of developmental morphology have been rarely investigated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the identity, richness and stage of developmental morphology of plant species on soil microbial communities throughout the enzymatic activity of the dehydrogenase. Studies were conducted under wild, field conditions, and on field experimental plots having different species richness. Treatments included a control (intraspecific monocultures) or combinations of 2, 4, or 6 species pertaining to different functional groups (i.e., perennial either grasses or herbaceous dicots or shrubs). The grass Nassella tenuis and the shrub Larrea divaricata showed a lower (p