Impact of inundation on soil microbiology

Timothy J. Ralph; Tsuyoshi Kobayashi

doi:10.1071/MA23052

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Impact of inundation on soil microbiology

Timothy J. Ralph

^A and Tsuyoshi Kobayashi

^A ^B ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2019, Australia.

^B Science, Economics and Insights Division, NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Lidcombe, NSW 2141, Australia.

Tim Ralph is Senior Lecturer at Macquarie University. He has been studying the geomorphology and ecology of rivers and wetlands for >20 years.

Tsuyoshi (Yoshi) Kobayashi is Senior Research Scientist at the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. He has been studying the ecology of microbial communities (plankton and bacteria) in freshwater systems for >25 years.

^* Correspondence to: yoshi.kobayashi@environment.nsw.gov.au

Microbiology Australia 44(4) 181-184 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA23052

Submitted: 8 August 2023 Accepted: 22 September 2023 Published: 31 October 2023

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the ASM. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Genetic sequencing as well as culture-based studies have revealed diverse aerobic and anaerobic microbes across a range of aquatic environments in floodplain wetlands. Hydrological conditions related to riverine inundation are a predominant factor determining the structure and function of soil bacterial communities in floodplain wetlands. Despite their complex mosaics of topography, landforms and aquatic habitats, some consistent response patterns are observed among soil bacterial communities with changing inundation patterns and history. Considering hydrological events and changes as a form of disturbance, Connell’s ‘intermediate disturbance hypothesis’ has been used to explain the observed bell-shaped response of soil microbial communities with varying hydrological conditions. Further application and testing of general ecological theories and hypotheses may help advance our understanding and predictive modelling capability for the dynamics of floodplain soil bacterial communities with changing hydrological conditions.

Keywords: Actinobacteria, Cyanobacteria, flooding, floodplain microbes, floodplain wetlands, fluvial geomorphology, hydrological regimes, Proteobacteria, relative abundances, taxonomic and functional diversity.

Biographies

Tim Ralph is Senior Lecturer at Macquarie University. He has been studying the geomorphology and ecology of rivers and wetlands for >20 years.

Tsuyoshi (Yoshi) Kobayashi is Senior Research Scientist at the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. He has been studying the ecology of microbial communities (plankton and bacteria) in freshwater systems for >25 years.

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