ORCID Profile
0000-0003-0186-0056
Current Organisations
Flinders University
,
Universidad Central del Ecuador
,
Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil Facultad de Ciencias Médicas
,
University of Adelaide
,
Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE
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Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2022
DOI: 10.1111/REC.13635
Abstract: The global bio ersity and land degradation crises have brought about an urgent need and great demand for restoration actions. However, restoration outcomes are often less than ideal, indicating a need for improved restoration practices. Soil microbiota are extremely erse and functionally important and should be further considered in restoration. However, despite their importance, there remains a gap in understanding of how soil microbiota respond following native plant revegetation. Several studies have used cross‐sectional study designs of restoration chronosequences to infer that revegetation causes the recovery of soil microbiota, but it is near‐impossible to determine cause and effect relationships with cross‐sectional study designs. Here we used high‐throughput licon sequencing of the bacterial 16s rRNA gene from soil s les collected at two timepoints, 6 years apart, at a revegetation chronosequence in South Australia. Our results show some indications of recovery but not the additional recovery in bacterial community composition toward the reference sites as expected after this 6‐year period—a result that appears at odds to the expected patterns of revegetation causing recovery of soil microbiota. Spatially dependent factors (e.g. soil chemistry), biotic and abiotic barriers, seasonal differences in s ling, and variability among the ecological reference sites could each help explain this apparent lack of additional microbial recovery. More detailed longitudinal and/or experimental manipulation work is required to further examine the cause‐effect relationships. Our study contributes important new information and highlights knowledge gaps in how soil microbiota respond to revegetation, and we urge caution when attempting to infer causation from cross‐sectional chronosequence studies.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-04-2023
DOI: 10.1111/REC.13687
Abstract: Environmental microbiota are becoming more conventional components of restoration ecology studies due to their functional importance in ecosystems. Studying these microbiota offers insight into how they respond to, and potentially drive, ecosystem restoration. However, microbes are everywhere and therefore they pose a risk to s le integrity via uncontrolled contamination, and many of these risks are introduced before entering a molecular facility. Field ecologists who have limited experience in microbial and/or molecular studies may lack the knowledge on how to mitigate microbial contamination risks and, accordingly, may find rigorous collection of microbial s les a daunting task. Here, we present a practical guide that builds on our previous paper to help manage the risks of microbial contamination when undertaking a microbiota restoration study prior to entering a molecular facility. We cover study design and planning, undertaking field s ling, and s le transport and storage. We hope to provide a useful and practical guide to restoration ecologists who wish to include a microbiota component in their studies. If done well, this inclusion offers improved research quality and ultimately enhanced restoration outcomes.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-03-2021
DOI: 10.1111/REC.13358
Abstract: Many restoration ecology studies now incorporate an environmental microbiome component, made possible mainly via advanced DNA sequencing technologies. Environmental microbiomes are important for successful restoration as they support many ecosystem functions and services that are a target of restoration interventions. However, since microbes are ubiquitous in most environments, including laboratories and researchers, there are contamination risks. If these risks are not adequately managed, the conclusions drawn from these microbiome restoration studies could be compromised. Here, we provide a user guide for restoration ecologists on how to navigate microbiome contamination risks at each stage of a study, from planning and s ling to data analysis and publishing. The two main categories of contamination we discuss are cross‐contamination —contamination between s les—and external contamination —contamination from reagents and environmental sources. We also consider the impact of batch effects , where s ling and/or processing order could leave a signal in the data. Without adequate control, these contamination issues can undermine the results of microbiome restoration studies. We hope that this guide will help minimize the effect of contamination and improve the quality of data and studies going forward.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2021
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-01-2023
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.13275
Abstract: Inoculating soils with microbiota that benefit the germination and growth of endangered plant species could improve their revegetation success and conservation status. While ecosystem degradation can disrupt beneficial plant–soil‐microbial interactions, the prospect of reintroducing native plant‐associated soil microbiota during revegetation could help to restore these important ecological links and assist the recovery of key species. We address the role of soil microbiota on germination and seedling fitness traits of the endangered Acacia whibleyana (Fabaceae) through a 17‐week greenhouse experiment. Soil treatments included local soil, potting medium, three inoculation ratios (3:1, 1:1, 1:3 local soil: potting medium), sterilized local soil and sterilized potting medium. Soil sterilization reduced the time to first seed germination, indicating a role of soil microbiota on germination. The 1:1 whole soil inoculation saw reduced germination rates compared with either pure local or potting‐medium treatments, and the slower germination times observed in live soils confirmed the strong influence of soil microbiota on the timing of germination. We report evidence that poor inoculation strategies can adversely impact germination of this endangered Acacia . Furthermore, our findings suggest that careful assessment of microbiota associated with A. whibleyana could help to improve germination and recruitment during its revegetation and conservation management.
Location: Ecuador
No related grants have been discovered for Christian Cando Dumancela.