Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162230
Title (Primary) Fate of a biodegradable plastic in forest soil: Dominant tree species and forest types drive changes in microbial community assembly, influence the composition of plastisphere, and affect poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) degradation
Author Tanunchai, B.; Ji, L.; Schröder, O.; Gawol, S.J.; Geissler, A.; Wahdan, S.F.M.; Buscot, F.; Kalkhof, S.; Schulze, E.-D.; Noll, M.; Purahong, W.
Source Titel Science of the Total Environment
Year 2023
Department BOOEK
Volume 873
Page From art. 162230
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Keywords Plastisphere microbiome; Homogenizing dispersal; Ecological drift; Homogeneous selection; Atmospheric dinitrogen fixing bacteria; Microbial keystone taxa
Abstract Poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) degradation and its plastisphere microbiome in cropland soils have been studied; however, such knowledge is limited in the case of forest ecosystems. In this context, we investigated: i) the impact of forest types (conifer and broadleaved forests) on the plastisphere microbiome and its community assembly, ii) their link to PBSA degradation, and iii) the identities of potential microbial keystone taxa. We determined that forest type significantly affected microbial richness (F = 17.04–54.19, P = 0.001 to <0.001) and fungal community composition (R2 = 0.38, P = 0.001) of the plastisphere microbiome, whereas its effects on microbial abundance and bacterial community composition were not significant. The bacterial community was governed by stochastic processes (mainly homogenizing dispersal), whereas the fungal community was driven by both stochastic and deterministic processes (drift and homogeneous selection). The highest molar mass loss was found for PBSA degraded under Pinus sylvestris (26.6 ± 2.6 to 33.9 ± 1.8 % (mean ± SE) at 200 and 400 days, respectively), and the lowest molar mass loss was found under Picea abies (12.0 ± 1.6 to 16.0 ± 0.5 % (mean ± SE) at 200 and 400 days, respectively). Important fungal PBSA decomposers (Tetracladium) and atmospheric dinitrogen (N2)-fixing bacteria (symbiotic: Allorhizobium-Neorhizobium-Pararhizobium-Rhizobium and Methylobacterium and non-symbiotic: Mycobacterium) were identified as potential keystone taxa. The present study is among the first to determine the plastisphere microbiome and its community assembly processes associated with PBSA in forest ecosystems. We detected consistent biological patterns in the forest and cropland ecosystems, indicating a potential mechanistic interaction between N2-fixing bacteria and Tetracladium during PBSA biodegradation.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=24771
Tanunchai, B., Ji, L., Schröder, O., Gawol, S.J., Geissler, A., Wahdan, S.F.M., Buscot, F., Kalkhof, S., Schulze, E.-D., Noll, M., Purahong, W. (2023):
Fate of a biodegradable plastic in forest soil: Dominant tree species and forest types drive changes in microbial community assembly, influence the composition of plastisphere, and affect poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) degradation
Sci. Total Environ. 873 , art. 162230 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162230