A decade of nutrient enrichment significantly increased rates of oxygen uptake and nitrate reduction in sediment. Surprisingly, the proportion of the dormant microbial population increased (overall composition of the microbial community remained unchanged). This response to a perturbation may reflect the microbial community’s strategy for maintaining diversity in a highly dynamic environment.
For Further Reading:
Kearns, PJ et al. 2016. Nutrient enrichment induces dormancy and decreases diversity of active bacteria in salt marsh sediments. Nature Communications. doi: 10.1038/ncomms12881
Koop-Jakobsen, K and AE Giblin. 2010. The effect of increased nitrate loading on nitrate reduction via denitrification and DNRA in salt marsh sediments. Limnol. Oceanogr. doi: 10.4319/lo.2010.55.2.0789
Bulseco AN, Giblin AE, Tucker J, et al. Nitrate addition stimulates microbial decomposition of organic matter in salt marsh sediments. Glob Change Biol. 2019;25:3224–3241. https ://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14726
Ashley N. Bulseco, Joseph H. Vineis, Anna E. Murphy, Amanda C. Spivak, Anne E. Giblin, Jane Tucker, Jennifer L. Bowen 2020. Metagenomics coupled with biogeochemical rates measurements provide evidence that nitrate addition stimulates respiration in saltmarsh sediments Limnol. Oceanogr.65, 2020, S321–S339 doi: 10.1002/lno.11326
Kearns, P. J., A. N. Bulseco‐McKim, H. Hoyt, J. H. Angell, and J. L. Bowen. 2018. Nutrient enrichment alters salt marsh fungal communities and promotes putative fungal denitrifiers. Microb. Ecol. 77: 358–369. doi:10.1007/s00248-018-1223-z
