Open AccessEffect of soil properties and hydrology on A rchaeal community composition in three temperate grasslands on peat
Author(s) -
Görres CarolynMonika,
Conrad Ralf,
Petersen Søren O.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
fems microbiology ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.377
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1574-6941
pISSN - 0168-6496
DOI - 10.1111/1574-6941.12115
Subject(s) - peat , bog , biology , soil water , grassland , temperate climate , ecology , terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism , soil science , agronomy , environmental science , restriction fragment length polymorphism , polymerase chain reaction , biochemistry , gene
Grasslands established on drained peat soils are regarded as negligible methane ( CH 4 ) sources; however, they can still exhibit considerable soil CH 4 dynamics. We investigated archaeal community composition in two different fen peat soils and one bog peat soil under permanent grassland in Denmark. We used terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism ( T ‐ RFLP ) fingerprinting and clone libraries to characterize the soils' archaeal community composition to gain a better understanding of relationships between peat properties and land use, respectively, and CH 4 dynamics. Samples were taken at three different depths and at four different seasons. Archaeal community composition varied considerably between the three peatlands and, to a certain degree, also with peat depth, but seemed to be quite stable at individual sampling depths throughout the year. Archaeal community composition was mainly linked to soil p H . No methanogens were detected at one fen site with soil p H ranging from 3.2 to 4.4. The methanogenic community of the bog (soil pH 3.9–4.6) was dominated by hydrogenotrophs, whereas the second fen site (soil p H 5.0–5.3) comprised both aceticlastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogens. Overall, there seemed to be a significant coupling between peat type and archaeal community composition, with local hydrology modifying the strength of this coupling.