Functional Diversity of Soil Microbial Communities in the Vicinity of Panicum urvilleanum and Neosparton aphyllumin a Semi-arid Environment at La Payunia Provincial Reserve, North Patagonia

JUN YU; SHERMAN CHEN; CARMANCHAHI, PABLO.; SUAREZ, ADRIANA; STEINBERGER, YOSEF; PANEBIANCO ANTONELLA; GREGORIO PABLO

Journal of Applied Microbiological Research

Innovation Info

Año: 2019 vol. 1 p. 33 - 42

2581-7566

Vegetation cover is an important factor in soil microbial communitycomposition and activity. We compared the effects of dominant plantspecies cover in a semi-arid scrub environment in northern Patagonia.We compared indicators of a microbial community and activity underareas of Panicum urvilleanumand Neosparton aphyllumin La PayuniaProvincial Reserve, Argentina. Soil parameters differed in theirphysicochemical components, playing an important role determining soilbiotic compartments. Microbial community biomass and CO2 evolution react to changes in substrate availability determined by plant cover andsoil pedological components. Our study showed that soil heterogeneity? plant cover ? grazing activity interplay may be a main factor affectingsoil microbial community function and is accountable to nutrient supplyand soil stability. The high utilization of carboxylic acids, carbohydrates,and amino acids, and the difference in the ratio between them - aredifficult to explain. The effect of plant cover, water-holding capacity,organic matter, pH, and soil properties on a soil microbial communitycould improve our understanding of the latter in low-production grazingareas. Better understanding of the patterns of soil characteristics andactivity can facilitate environmental monitoring of the effects of wildguanaco (Lama guanicoe) populations, enhancing effective reservemanagement practices.