Plant Species Richness and Nitrogen Deposition can Alter Microbial Assimilation of New Photosynthate

Microbial assimilation of recent photosynthate was analyzed in a 6-year-long field experiment to determine how plant species richness impacts microbial metabolism of new photosynthate, and how this may be modified by atmospheric N deposition. Our study was conducted at the BioCON (Biodiversity, CO2, and Nitrogen) FACE (Free-Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment) experiment located at the Cedar Creek Natural History area in Minnesota, USA. In this experiment, plant species richness, atmospheric N deposition, and atmospheric CO2 concentration were manipulated in concert. The depleted δ13C of fumigation CO2 enabled us to investigate the effect of plant species richness and atmospheric N deposition on the metabolism of soil microbial communities in the elevated CO2 treatment. We determined the δ13C of bacterial, actinobacterial, and fungal phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA). In the elevated CO2 conditions of this study, the δ13C of bacterial PLFAs (i15:0, i16:0, 16:1ω7c, 16:1ω9c, 10Me16:0, and 10Me18:0) and the fungal PLFA 18:1ω9c was significantly lower in species-rich plant communities than in species-poor plant communities, indicating that microbial incorporation of new C increased with plant species richness. Despite an increase in plant production, total PLFA decreased under N deposition by 27%. Moreover, N deposition also decreased fungal relative abundance in species-rich plant communities. In our study, plant species richness directly increased microbial incorporation of new photosynthate, providing a mechanistic link between greater plant detritus production in species-rich plant communities and larger and more active soil microbial community.