ALBERT

Description: The rewetting of drained peatlands alters peat geochemistry and often leads to sustained elevated methane emission. Although this methane is produced entirely by microbial activity, the distribution and abundance of methane-cycling microbes in rewetted peatlands, especially in fens, is rarely described. In this study, we compare the community composition and abundance of methane-cycling microbes in relation to peat porewater geochemistry in two rewetted fens in northeastern Germany, a coastal brackish fen and a freshwater riparian fen, with known high methane fluxes. We utilized 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) on 16S rRNA, mcrA, and pmoA genes to determine microbial community composition and the abundance of total bacteria, methanogens, and methanotrophs. Electrical conductivity (EC) was more than 3 times higher in the coastal fen than in the riparian fen, averaging 5.3 and 1.5 mS cm−1, respectively. Porewater concentrations of terminal electron acceptors (TEAs) varied within and among the fens. This was also reflected in similarly high intra- and inter-site variations of microbial community composition. Despite these differences in environmental conditions and electron acceptor availability, we found a low abundance of methanotrophs and a high abundance of methanogens, represented in particular by Methanosaetaceae, in both fens. This suggests that rapid (re)establishment of methanogens and slow (re)establishment of methanotrophs contributes to prolonged increased methane emissions following rewetting.

Description: Warming of the Arctic led to an increase in permafrost temperatures by about 0.3 ∘C during the last decade. Permafrost warming is associated with increasing sediment water content, permeability, and diffusivity and could in the long term alter microbial community composition and abundance even before permafrost thaws. We studied the long-term effect (up to 2500 years) of submarine permafrost warming on microbial communities along an onshore–offshore transect on the Siberian Arctic Shelf displaying a natural temperature gradient of more than 10 ∘C. We analysed the in situ development of bacterial abundance and community composition through total cell counts (TCCs), quantitative PCR of bacterial gene abundance, and amplicon sequencing and correlated the microbial community data with temperature, pore water chemistry, and sediment physicochemical parameters. On timescales of centuries, permafrost warming coincided with an overall decreasing microbial abundance, whereas millennia after warming microbial abundance was similar to cold onshore permafrost. In addition, the dissolved organic carbon content of all cores was lowest in submarine permafrost after millennial-scale warming. Based on correlation analysis, TCC, unlike bacterial gene abundance, showed a significant rank-based negative correlation with increasing temperature, while bacterial gene copy numbers showed a strong negative correlation with salinity. Bacterial community composition correlated only weakly with temperature but strongly with the pore water stable isotopes δ18O and δD, as well as with depth. The bacterial community showed substantial spatial variation and an overall dominance of Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Gemmatimonadetes, and Proteobacteria, which are amongst the microbial taxa that were also found to be active in other frozen permafrost environments. We suggest that, millennia after permafrost warming by over 10 ∘C, microbial community composition and abundance show some indications for proliferation but mainly reflect the sedimentation history and paleoenvironment and not a direct effect through warming.

Description: Warming of the Arctic led to an increase of permafrost temperatures by about 0.3 °C during the last decade. Permafrost warming is associated with increasing sediment water content, permeability and diffusivity and could on the long-term alter microbial community composition and abundance even before permafrost thaws. We studied the long-term effect (up to 2500 years) of submarine permafrost warming on microbial communities along an onshore-offshore transect on the Siberian Arctic Shelf displaying a natural temperature gradient of more than 10 °C. We analysed the in-situ development of bacterial abundance and community composition through total cell counts (TCC), quantitative PCR of bacterial gene abundance and amplicon sequencing, and correlated the microbial community data with temperature, pore water chemistry and sediment physicochemical parameters. On time-scales of centuries, permafrost warming coincided with an overall decreasing microbial abundance while millennia after warming microbial abundance was similar to cold onshore permafrost and DOC content was least. Based on correlation analysis TCC unlike bacterial gene abundance showed a significant rank-based negative correlation with increasing temperature while both TCC and bacterial gene copy numbers showed a negative correlation with salinity. Bacterial community composition correlated only weakly with temperature but strongly with pore-water stable isotope signatures and depth, while it showed no correlation with salinity. Microbial community composition showed substantial spatial variation and an overall dominance of Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Gemmatimonadetes and Proteobacteria which are amongst the microbial taxa that were found to be active in other frozen permafrost environments as well. We suggest that, millennia after permafrost warming by over 10 °C, microbial community composition and abundance show some indications for proliferation but mainly reflect the sedimentation history and paleo-environment and not a direct effect through warming.

Description: James Ross Island (JRI) offers the exceptional opportunity to study microbial-driven pedogenesis without the influence of vascular plants or faunal activities (e.g., penguin rookeries). In this study, two soil profiles from JRI (one at Santa Martha Cove – SMC, and another at Brandy Bay – BB) were investigated, in order to gain information about the initial state of soil formation and its interplay with prokaryotic activity, by combining pedological, geochemical and microbiological methods. The soil profiles are similar with respect to topographic position and parent material but are spatially separated by an orographic barrier and therefore represent windward and leeward locations towards the mainly southwesterly winds. These different positions result in differences in electric conductivity of the soils caused by additional input of bases by sea spray at the windward site and opposing trends in the depth functions of soil pH and electric conductivity. Both soils are classified as Cryosols, dominated by bacterial taxa such as Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes and Chloroflexi. A shift in the dominant taxa was observed below 20 cm in both soils as well as an increased abundance of multiple operational taxonomic units (OTUs) related to potential chemolithoautotrophic Acidiferrobacteraceae. This shift is coupled by a change in microstructure. While single/pellicular grain microstructure (SMC) and platy microstructure (BB) are dominant above 20 cm, lenticular microstructure is dominant below 20 cm in both soils. The change in microstructure is caused by frequent freeze–thaw cycles and a relative high water content, and it goes along with a development of the pore spacing and is accompanied by a change in nutrient content. Multivariate statistics revealed the influence of soil parameters such as chloride, sulfate, calcium and organic carbon contents, grain size distribution and pedogenic oxide ratios on the overall microbial community structure and explained 49.9 % of its variation. The correlation of the pedogenic oxide ratios with the compositional distribution of microorganisms as well as the relative abundance certain microorganisms such as potentially chemolithotrophic Acidiferrobacteraceae-related OTUs could hint at an interplay between soil-forming processes and microorganisms.

Description: James Ross Island (JRI) offers the exceptional opportunity to study pedogenesis without the influence of vascular plants or faunal activities (e.g. penguin rookeries) in a landscape marking the transition from maritime to continental Antarctica. Here, primarily microbial communities control soil biological processes and affect soil chemical and physical properties in a semiarid region with mean annual precipitation from 200 to 500 mm and mean air temperature below 0 °C. The impact of climate change on soil forming processes in this part of Antarctica and its related microbial processes is unknown. In this study, two soil profiles from JRI (one at St. Martha Cove – SMC, and another at Brandy Bay – BB) were investigated by combining pedological, geochemical and microbiological methods. The soil profiles are similar in respect to topographic position and parent material but are spatially separated by an orographic barrier and therefore represent lee- and windward locations towards the mainly south-westerly winds. Opposing trends in the depth functions of pH and differences in EC-values are caused by additional input of bases by sea spray at BB, the site close to the Prince Gustav Channel. Both soils are classified as Cryosols, dominated by bacterial taxa such as Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Gemmatimonadates and Chloroflexi. A shift in the dominant taxa in both soils and an increased abundance of multiple operational taxonomic units (OTUs) related to potential chemolithoautotrophic Acidoferrobacteraceae was observed. This shift was accompanied by a change in soil microstructure below 20 cm depth, with potential impact on water availability and matter fluxes. Multivariate statistics revealed correlations between the microbial community structure and soil parameters such as chloride, sulfate, calcium and organic carbon contents, grain size distribution, as well as the pedogenic oxide ratio.

Description: The rewetting of drained peatlands alters peat geochemistry and often leads to sustained elevated methane emission. Although this methane is produced entirely by microbial activity, the distribution and abundance of methane-cycling microbes in rewetted peatlands, especially in fens, is rarely described. In this study, we compare the community composition and abundance of methane-cycling microbes in relation to peat porewater geochemistry in two rewetted fens in northeastern Germany, a coastal brackish fen and a freshwater riparian fen, with known high methane fluxes. We utilized 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction on 16S rDNA, mcrA, and pmoA genes to determine microbial community composition and the abundance of total bacteria, methanogens, and methanotrophs. Electrical conductivity was more than three times higher in the coastal fen than in the riparian fen, averaging 5.3 and 1.5mScm−1, respectively. Porewater concentrations of terminal electron acceptors varied within and among the fens. This was also reflected in similarly high intra- and inter-site variations of microbial community composition. Despite these differences in environmental conditions and electron acceptor availability, we found a low abundance of methanotrophs and a high abundance of methanogens, represented in particular by Methanosaetaceae, in both fens. This suggests that rapid re/establishment of methanogens and slow re/establishment of methanotrophs contributes to prolonged increased methane emissions following rewetting.

Description: Warming of the Arctic led to an increase in permafrost temperatures by about 0.3 �C during the last decade. Permafrost warming is associated with increasing sediment water content, permeability, and diffusivity and could in the long term alter microbial community composition and abundance even before permafrost thaws. We studied the long-term effect (up to 2500 years) of submarine permafrost warming on microbial communities along an onshore–offshore transect on the Siberian Arctic Shelf displaying a natural temperature gradient of more than 10 �C. We analysed the in situ development of bacterial abundance and community composition through total cell counts (TCCs), quantitative PCR of bacterial gene abundance, and amplicon sequencing and correlated the microbial community data with temperature, pore water chemistry, and sediment physicochemical parameters. On timescales of centuries, permafrost warming coincided with an overall decreasing microbial abundance, whereas millennia after warming microbial abundance was similar to cold onshore permafrost. In addition, the dissolved organic carbon content of all cores was lowest in submarine permafrost after millennial-scale warming. Based on correlation analysis, TCC, unlike bacterial gene abundance, showed a significant rank-based negative correlation with increasing temperature, while bacterial gene copy numbers showed a strong negative correlation with salinity. Bacterial community composition correlated only weakly with temperature but strongly with the pore water stable isotopes �18O and �D, as well as with depth. The bacterial community showed substantial spatial variation and an overall dominance of Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Gemmatimonadetes, and Proteobacteria, which are amongst the microbial taxa that were also found to be active in other frozen permafrost environments. We suggest that, millennia after permafrost warming by over 10 �C, microbial community composition and abundance show some indications for proliferation but mainly reflect the sedimentation history and paleoenvironment and not a direct effect through warming.