caa a22 4500 528785486 20181217030312.0 cr unu---uuuuu 180924e20121122xx s 000 0 eng 10.3929/ethz-b-000059144 doi 10.1038/srep00881 doi (ETHRESEARCH)oai:www.research-collection.ethz.ch:20.500.11850/59144 Wang Gang A Hydration-Based Biophysical Index for the Onset of Soil Microbial Coexistence [Elektronische Daten] [Gang Wang, Dani Or] Sci Rep Open access ethresearch Mechanistic exploration of the origins of the unparalleled soil microbial biodiversity represents a vast and uncharted scientific frontier. Quantification of candidate mechanisms that promote and sustain such diversity must be linked with microbial functions and measurable biophysical interactions at appropriate scales. We report a novel microbial coexistence index (CI) that links macroscopic soil hydration conditions with microscale aquatic habitat fragmentation that impose restrictions on cell dispersion and growth rates of competing microbial populations cohabiting soil surfaces. The index predicts a surprisingly narrow range of soil hydration conditions that suppress microbial coexistence; and for most natural conditions found in soil hydration supports coexistence. The critical hydration conditions and relative abundances of competing species are consistent with limited experimental observations and with individual-based model simulations. The proposed metric offers a means for systematic evaluation of factors that regulate microbial coexistence in an ecologically consistent fashion. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0 ethresearch Soil microbiology ethresearch Microbial ecology ethresearch Environmental sciences ethresearch Biophysics ethresearch Or Dani joint author Scientific Reports London : Nature Publishing Group 2, p. 881 2045-2322 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/59144 text/html WWW-Backlink auf das Repository (Open access) 1 Journal Article ethresearch ETHRESEARCH 856 40 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/59144 text/html WWW-Backlink auf das Repository (Open access) ETHRESEARCH 100 1- Wang Gang ETHRESEARCH 700 1- Or Dani joint author ETHRESEARCH 773 0- Scientific Reports London : Nature Publishing Group 2, p. 881 2045-2322 BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 ETHRESEARCH ETHRESEARCH ETHRESEARCH Journal Article Open access