ArticlePloS one2014
Niche-partitioning of edaphic microbial communities in the Namib Desert gravel plain Fairy Circles.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Article
- Revisiting Theron's hypothesis on the origin of fairy circles after four decades: Euphorbias are not the cause.BMC ecology and evolution · 2021Article
- Microbiomics of Namib Desert habitats.Extremophiles : life under extreme conditions · 2020Review
- Namib Desert edaphic bacterial, fungal and archaeal communities assemble through deterministic processes but are influenced by different abiotic parameters.Extremophiles : life under extreme conditions · 2017Article
- Comparative Metagenomic Analysis Reveals Mechanisms for Stress Response in Hypoliths from Extreme Hyperarid Deserts.Genome biology and evolution · 2016Article
- Unique Microbial Phylotypes in Namib Desert Dune and Gravel Plain Fairy Circle Soils.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2016Article
- Namib Desert dune/interdune transects exhibit habitat-specific edaphic bacterial communities.Frontiers in microbiology · 2015Article
- Experiments Testing the Causes of Namibian Fairy Circles.PloS one · 2015Article
- Soil bacterial and fungal community responses to nitrogen addition across soil depth and microhabitat in an arid shrubland.Frontiers in microbiology · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Endemic to the Namib Desert, Fairy Circles (FCs) are vegetation-free circular patterns surrounded and delineated by grass species. Since first reported the 1970's, many theories have been proposed to explain their appearance, but none provide a fully satisfactory explanation of their origin(s) and/or causative agent(s). In this study, we have evaluated an early hypothesis stating that edaphic microorganisms could be involved in their formation and/or maintenance. Surface soils (0-5 cm) from three different zones (FC center, FC margin and external, grass-covered soils) of five independent FCs were collected in April 2013 in the Namib Desert gravel plains. T-RFLP fingerprinting of the bacterial (16S rRNA gene) and fungal (ITS region) communities, in parallel with two-way crossed ANOSIM, showed that FC communities were significantly different to those of external control vegetated soil and that each FC was also characterized by significantly different communities. Intra-FC communities (margin and centre) presented higher variability than the controls. Together, these results provide clear evidence that edaphic microorganisms are involved in the Namib Desert FC phenomenon. However, we are, as yet, unable to confirm whether bacteria and/or fungi communities are responsible for the appearance and development of FCs or are a general consequence of the presence of the grass-free circles.
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