Climate-Driven Reduction of Genetic Variation in Plant Phenology Alters Soil Communities and Nutrient Pools
Ware IM, Van Nuland ME, Schweitzer JA, Yang Z, Schadt CW, Sidak-Loftis LC, Stone NE, Busch JD, Wagner DM, Bailey JK
2019, Global Change Biology, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14553
Abstract
We examined the hypothesis that climate-driven evolution of plant traits will influence associated soil microbiomes and ecosystem function across the landscape. Using a foundation tree species, Populus angustifolia, observational and common garden approaches, and a base population genetic collection that spans 17 river systems in the western United States, from AZ to MT, we show that (a) as mean annual temperature (MAT) increases, genetic and phenotypic variation for bud break phenology decline; (b) soil microbiomes, soil nitrogen (N), and soil carbon (C) vary in response to MAT and conditioning by trees; and (c) with losses of genetic variation due to warming, population-level regulation of community and ecosystem functions strengthen. These results demonstrate a relationship between the potential evolutionary response of populations and subsequent shifts in ecosystem function along a large temperature gradient.
Citation
Ware IM, Van Nuland ME, Schweitzer JA, Yang Z, Schadt CW, Sidak-Loftis LC, Stone NE, Busch JD, Wagner DM, Bailey JK. (2019) Climate-Driven Reduction of Genetic Variation in Plant Phenology Alters Soil Communities and Nutrient Pools. Global Change Biology. DOI:10.1111/gcb.14553