Linking Rhizosphere Biodiversity with Drought Response in Trees

Naglis Subačius' MS Biology Thesis Defense at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Naglis goes through rhizosphere patterns in four tree species, connecting microbial community, root traits and aboveground traits. Abstract: As drought frequency and intensity continue to shift with climate change, biological communities will transform in novel ways with long-lasting ecosystem effects. To better understand how these effects vary in temperate forests, we examined how interactions among plant-microbial communities drove overall drought response in a common garden of functionally diverse trees (Quercus rubra, Quercus macrocarpa, Acer rubrum, Betula papyrifera) under manipulated drought conditions. After one growing season, we measured above ground functional traits, collected root scans for belowground functional traits, and sequenced the rhizosphere fungal and bacterial community. Collectively, this dataset provides insight into the entangled drought responses of forest plant, fungal, and bacterial communities