Global homogenization of the structure and function in the soil microbiome of urban greenspaces
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Date
Authors
Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel
Eldridge, David J.
Liu, Yu-Rong
Sokoya, Blessing
Wang, Jun-Tao
Hu, Hang-Wei
He, Ji-Zheng
Bastida, Felipe
Moreno, José L.
Bamigboye, Adebola R.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Abstract
The structure and function of the soil microbiome of urban greenspaces remain largely undetermined. We conducted a global field survey in urban greenspaces and neighboring natural ecosystems across 56 cities from six
continents, and found that urban soils are important hotspots for soil bacterial, protist and functional gene diversity, but support highly homogenized microbial communities worldwide. Urban greenspaces had a greater
proportion of fast-growing bacteria, algae, amoebae, and fungal pathogens, but a lower proportion of ectomycorrhizal fungi than natural ecosystems. These urban ecosystems also showed higher proportions of genes
associated with human pathogens, greenhouse gas emissions, faster nutrient cycling, and more intense abiotic
stress than natural environments. City affluence, management practices, and climate were fundamental drivers of
urban soil communities. Our work paves the way toward a more comprehensive global-scale perspective on
urban greenspaces, which is integral to managing the health of these ecosystems and the well-being of human
populations.
Description
Keywords
Soil microbiome, Urban greenspaces, Homogenization
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Delgado-Baquerizo, M., Eldridge, D.J., Liu, Y.R. et al. 2021, 'Global homogenization of the structure and function in the soil microbiome of urban greenspaces', Science Advances, vol. 7, no. 28, art. eabg5809, pp. 1-14, doi : 10.1126/sciadv.abg5809.