currentsinbiology: Microscopic soil creatures could orchestrate...

[SciTechPress]

currentsinbiology:

Microscopic soil creatures could orchestrate massive tree migrations

Warming temperatures are prompting some tree species in the Rocky Mountains to “migrate” to higher elevations in order to survive.                                

Researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have discovered that tiny below-ground organisms play a role in this phenomenon—and could be used to encourage tree migration in order to preserve heat-sensitive species. Their work shows how these invisible biotic communities create “soil highways” for young trees, meaning they could determine how quickly species march uphill, if at all.

The newfound role of the soil microbiome—the collection of microscopic bacteria, fungi and archaea that interact with plant roots—represents a turning point for research aimed at understanding and predicting where important tree species will reside in the future.

Just as human microbiome research is rapidly changing our perspectives on human health and behavior, the interactions between trees and their soil microbiomes may dramatically change how we think about the health and behavior of forests.

The study was recently published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.

Michael E. Van Nuland et al. Divergent plant–soil feedbacks could alter future elevation ranges and ecosystem dynamics, Nature Ecology & Evolution (2017). DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0150

 

via ScitechPress.org