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Integrative effects of increasing aridity and biotic cover on soil attributes and functioning in coastal dune ecosystems
Publication . Fernández-Alonso, Maria José; Rodriguez, Alexandra; Garcia-Velásquez, Laura; Santos, Everaldo; Almeida, Luciana; Lafuente, Angela; Wang, Jun-Tao; Singh, Brajesh; Fangueiro, David; Durán, J.
Climate change-driven increases in aridity will lead to dryland expansion worldwide. In the Atlantic and Mediterranean
biogeographic regions, coastal dunes are priority conservation areas highly sensitive to aridification
where plants and biological soil crusts may play a key role maintaining ecosystem services. However, we still
need further insights into the balance between the effects of increasing aridity and the influence of local vegetation
on the soil attributes and functioning of these systems, particularly in transitional areas between humid
and arid climatic zones. We sampled 24 dune systems distributed along a natural climate gradient including
humid, dry-subhumid and arid environments in the Atlantic coastline of the Iberian Peninsula and investigated
(i) how aridity drives the vegetation community structure, soil biotic and abiotic properties and functions in dune
ecosystems at a regional scale; and (ii) to what extent soil attributes differ locally under diverse surface
microsites (i.e. plants, biocrust and bare soil). Increasing aridity in coastal dunes decreased total biotic cover and
favoured the formation of shrub-dominated patches. Vegetation shifts were accompanied by declines in soil
microbial diversity, organic matter, nutrient contents and reduced rates of N mineralization. Soil bacterial
communities were more sensitive to aridity than fungal communities. Microsites were essential regulators of soil
attributes, and their effects were dependent on the degree of aridity. In drylands, shrub microsites were associated
to higher soil organic C, microbial (bacterial and fungal) abundance, fungal diversity and potential heterotrophic
respiration than bare microsites, likely due to enhanced litter and sediment redistribution. However,
at humid and transition systems, microsites controlled soil N pools and microbial diversity, suggesting tight
linkages between vegetation patches and soil microorganisms responsible for N availability. These findings
provide evidence of the strong negative impacts of aridification on vegetation attributes and nutrient cycling in
coastal dunes and highlight the role of the biotic cover in preserving soil fertility, microbial diversity and
functioning, particularly in the most arid sites
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Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
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9471 - RIDTI
Número da atribuição
151417