Depth matters : Effects of precipitation regime on soil microbial activity upon rewetting of a plant-soil system

International audience; Climate change is predicted to affect not only the amount but also the temporal distribution of rain. Changes in frequency and amplitude of rain events, i.e. precipitation patterns, result in different water conditions with soil depth, and likely affect plant growth and shape plant and soil microbial activity. Here, we used 18O stable isotope probing (SIP) to investigate bacterial and fungal communities that actively grew or not upon rewetting, at three different depths in plant-soil mesocosms previously subjected to frequent or infrequent watering for 12 weeks (equal total water input). Phylogenetic marker genes for bacteria and fungi were sequenced after rewetting,…