Legume–microbiome interactions unlock mineral nutrients in regrowing tropical forests


Citation
Epihov et al. (2021). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118 (11)
Names (2)
Abstract
Significance Symbiotic dinitrogen (N 2 )-fixing trees fulfill a critical function in tropical forests by bringing in new nitrogen, yet it remains unclear how they overcome constraints by highly weathered, nutrient-poor tropical soils. We advance forest biogeochemistry and microbial ecology with the discovery from field trials in Panama that fast-growing N 2 -fixing trees in tropical forests exhibit accelerated mineral weathering and distinctive soil metagenomes that improve their access to inorganic nutrients in nutrient-poor soils. Furthermore, we show that N 2 -fixing trees exert similar effects on non-N 2 –fixing trees nearby thus having previously overlooked community-wide effects on tropical forest nutrient cycling. These results offer insights into the role of N 2 -fixing trees and their associated microbiomes in safeguarding the function of tropical forests within the global biosphere.
Authors
Publication date
2021-03-16
DOI
10.1073/pnas.2022241118

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