dc.contributor.advisor |
Lear, G |
en |
dc.contributor.author |
Hermans, Syrie |
en |
dc.date.accessioned |
2016-03-01T01:28:45Z |
en |
dc.date.issued |
2015 |
en |
dc.identifier.citation |
2015 |
en |
dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/2292/28334 |
en |
dc.description |
Full text is available to authenticated members of The University of Auckland only. |
en |
dc.description.abstract |
Many of the processes that sustain life on earth are at least partly catalysed by prokaryotes, and within the soil, bacteria carry out important functions. Soil bacterial communities are involved in key soil biochemical cycles, they can affect plant growth and they influence the soil structure. However, there is little knowledge regarding the composition of bacterial communities in New Zealand soils, and more importantly, how these change in response to anthropogenic effects or natural variation in the environment. To determine the relative influences of factors such as geographic distance, soil chemistry, climate and land use on bacterial community structure, soil samples were collected from sites in the Auckland and Waikato regions. DNA was extracted and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was conducted on over 1100 soil samples to determine the composition of the bacterial communities at each site. Firstly, it was shown that both within-site spatial variation along a 50 m transect, as well as temporal variation over 29 months, were smaller than the between-site variation (up to ~300 km). Secondly, soil variables explained more of the variation in community composition and richness than either spatial or climatic variables. Specifically, pH and soil type were important for explaining the variation in community richness, while macroporosity, anaerobically mineralisable nitrogen, aluminium and strontium were important for explaining the variation in community dissimilarity. Lastly, the extent to which bacterial communities in human impacted environments were different to those found in indigenous forests seemed to correlate with land use intensity and a link between anthropogenic activity, soil variables and bacterial communities could be established. Overall, the results and insights gathered through this study have increased our knowledge of what influences the biogeography of soil bacteria in New Zealand. Furthermore, this study has highlighted the potential of soil bacteria to act as useful indicators of the state of the soil ecosystem, and specifically the health and fertility of the soil. We are now in a better position to further develop these microbial tools, which will help to ensure the long term sustainability of our soil resources, and therefore our agricultural industry. |
en |
dc.publisher |
ResearchSpace@Auckland |
en |
dc.relation.ispartof |
Masters Thesis - University of Auckland |
en |
dc.relation.isreferencedby |
UoA99264865401602091 |
en |
dc.rights |
Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. |
en |
dc.rights |
Restricted Item. Available to authenticated members of The University of Auckland. |
en |
dc.rights.uri |
https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm |
en |
dc.rights.uri |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/nz/ |
en |
dc.title |
Natural and anthropogenic factors influencing the biogeography of soil bacteria |
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dc.type |
Thesis |
en |
thesis.degree.discipline |
Biological Sciences |
en |
thesis.degree.grantor |
The University of Auckland |
en |
thesis.degree.level |
Masters |
en |
dc.rights.holder |
Copyright: The Author |
en |
pubs.elements-id |
523998 |
en |
pubs.org-id |
Science |
en |
pubs.org-id |
Biological Sciences |
en |
pubs.record-created-at-source-date |
2016-03-01 |
en |
dc.identifier.wikidata |
Q111963226 |
|