The role of land management and elevation in shaping soil microbial communities: Insights from the Central European Alps

摘要

In the last 100 years, climate warming has been affecting the European Alps faster and more severely than globally observed temperature patterns. Temperature changes are known to affect soil properties and microbial community structures, and land-use change in Europe is an expected socio-economic consequence of climate change. However, few studies have simultaneously investigated how land-use and climate-related changes shape microbial (prokaryotic and fungal) communities in this region. Therefore, here we have investigated sites within a Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) area in South-Tyrol (Italian Alps), characterizing soil properties and microbial communities and diversities. We investigated three important land-use types (forests, hay meadows, and pastures) at 1500 m above sea level (a.s.l.), as well as an elevational gradient (1000, 1500, and 2000 m a.s.l.) of pastures.