Abstract
BackgroundCyanobacteria are among the first photoautotrophic component of soil microorganism communities which play a key ecological role in nutrient cycles and soil productivity. However, the sustainability of these soil biodiversity ecosystem services is increasingly compromised, especially in urban and peri-urban areas where soils are heavily exploited and used for a wide range of human activities. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of different types of human disturbances on cyanobacteria diversity and distribution in suburban soils of Marrakesh. Soil and cyanobacteria sampling were carried out during two campaigns at six sites located along an anthropogenic gradient from the least urbanized suburbs of Marrakesh to the highly anthropized suburban area. In the laboratory, soil physicochemical characteristics were measured. The morphological identification of cyanobacteria species was based both on microscopic observation and on soil cultures in solid and liquid Z8 media.ResultsThe results showed a total of 25 cyanobacteria taxa belonging to ten genera, four families, and two orders (Oscillatoriales 88% and Chroococcales 12% of taxa). Among the taxa identified, seven strains were isolated in soil culture in nutrient media and purified in monoalgal culture. The highest cyanobacterial diversity was recorded in irrigated soil with treated wastewater compared to the non-cultivated control soil. In Principal Component and Cluster Analysis, suburban soils were subdivided into three groups depending on the chemical properties and cyanobacteria composition. Cyanobacteria diversity was significantly associated with the soil moisture, total organic carbon (TOC), PO4-P, NO3-N, and NH4-N contents.ConclusionsWhile diversity and microalgal biomass were significantly lower in the soils affected by municipal and mining solid wastes, the input of organic matter and nutrients from treated wastewater appears to be beneficial for the increasing of the biodiversity of soil cyanobacteria. This survey provides a first inventory of the soil cyanobacterial communities and shows their spatial variability and high sensitivity to the land-use practices and anthropogenic disturbances on urban soil in Moroccan drylands.
Highlights
Cyanobacteria are the oldest photoautotrophic component of microbiota that include archaea, bacteria, microalgae, microfungi, lichens, and protozoa ( Rivera-Aguilar et al 2006; Maestre et al 2011)
The aim of this study is to investigate the cyanobacterial diversity of peri-urban soils and evaluate the impact of the human disturbances on their distribution along a rural-urban land use gradient in Marrakesh arid area
We investigated the effect of different types of disturbances and land use practices in order to (a) assess their impact on soil physicochemical properties and the composition and diversity of urban soil cyanobacteria and (b) understand their effect on the ecology of soil cyanobacterial communities and determine the factors affecting the distribution and variability of these microprokaryotes in response to the land use practices
Summary
Cyanobacteria are the oldest photoautotrophic component of microbiota that include archaea, bacteria, microalgae, microfungi, lichens, and protozoa ( Rivera-Aguilar et al 2006; Maestre et al 2011) They are a diverse group of prokaryotes found in a wide array of aquatic and terrestrial habitats and are well adapted to hostile environments like extremely arid and dryland areas (Douma 2010). Thanks to their numerous adaptations, they can colonize unstable substrates and their presence can improve the environmental role and functions of the soil biocrust through carbon sequestration and nitrogen fixation (Büdel et al 2016). The morphological identification of cyanobacteria species was based both on microscopic observation and on soil cultures in solid and liquid Z8 media
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