Publication

Temporal Variations in Soil Water Wetness Enhance Microbial Diversity

Dani Or
2005
Conference Papers

Abstract

Surface soils host unparalleled number of microbial species even in small volumes, serving as the richest storage of microbial genus in the biosphere. Spatial and temporal heterogeneity and multitude of niches and microhabitats in the vadose zone are believed to play key roles in fostering such diversity. In this study, a simple network model is constructed to simulate heterogeneous water distribution on a rough surface providing diffusional pathways supporting microbial activity. Because liquid may redistribute according to temporal variations in water potential (soil wetness), the resulting diffusion pathways and connectivity also vary with time. Local capillary properties on the surface and water contents may response differently to the overall water potential variations. Simulations are carried out using the network model as well as random walkers representing microbial activity, and reaction-diffusion model for nutrient transport and consumption. Results show that long term microbial growth is strongly determined by local conditions (location, microtopography) rather than its physiology. This is critical for fostering coexistence of different species and enhancing diversity.

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/49419f72-3f94-4ac9-a698-781699f1c141

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Dani Or
2005
Conference Papers

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/49419f72-3f94-4ac9-a698-781699f1c141

About this result

Related concepts (32)

Microbial consortium

A microbial consortium or microbial community, is two or more bacterial or microbial groups living symbiotically. Consortiums can be endosymbiotic or ectosymbiotic, or occasionally may be both. The protist Mixotricha paradoxa, itself an endosymbiont of the Mastotermes darwiniensis termite, is always found as a consortium of at least one endosymbiotic coccus, multiple ectosymbiotic species of flagellate or ciliate bacteria, and at least one species of helical Treponema bacteria that forms the basis of Mixotricha protists' locomotion.

Vadose zone

The vadose zone, also termed the unsaturated zone, is the part of Earth between the land surface and the top of the phreatic zone, the position at which the groundwater (the water in the soil's pores) is at atmospheric pressure ("vadose" is from the Latin word for "shallow"). Hence, the vadose zone extends from the top of the ground surface to the water table. Water in the vadose zone has a pressure head less than atmospheric pressure, and is retained by a combination of adhesion (funiculary groundwater), and capillary action (capillary groundwater).

Role-playing video game

A role-playing video game, commonly referred to as a role-playing game (RPG) or computer role-playing game (CRPG), is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immersed in some well-defined world, usually involving some form of character development by way of recording statistics. Many role-playing video games have origins in tabletop role-playing games and use much of the same , settings and game mechanics.

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