Speaker
Description
In soil microbiomes, the interplay between dispersal, biotic, and abiotic selection is scale-dependent, but the impact of sampling design on biodiversity estimates is often overlooked. To address this, we studied the effects of spatial sampling designs, including commonly-practiced homogenization (or sample pooling), on microbial diversity estimates by sampling soil microbiomes at 54 sites across grasslands and forests in Germany.
Using 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding, we explored how variations in sample size and distribution within plots influence diversity estimates. We assessed the effects of sample extent, aggregation, and sample number on alpha, beta, gamma, and zeta diversity estimates, comparing these to homogenized soil samples from the same locations.
Our findings provide valuable insights into the effects of spatial sampling designs on microbial diversity estimates in soils. It underscores the importance of preserving soil cores rather than homogenizing samples, thereby contributing to the development of more robust sampling methodologies.
| Status Group | Doctoral Researcher |
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