ArticlePloS one2020
Alpha-, beta-, and gamma-diversity of bacteria varies across habitats.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 125 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
125 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Gut microbiota, probiotics, and migraine: a clinical review and meta-analysis.Journal of oral & facial pain and headache · 2025Pooled it
- Acne and the cutaneous microbiome: A systematic review of mechanisms and implications for treatments.Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV · 2025Pooled it
- The Role of the Gut and Airway Microbiota in Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Pooled it
- The effects of time-restricted eating and Ramadan fasting on gut microbiota composition: a systematic review of human and animal studies.Nutrition reviews · 2024Pooled it
- A Matter of Metals: Copper but Not Cadmium Affects the Microbial Alpha-Diversity of Soils and Sediments - a Meta-analysis.Microbial ecology · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of exercise and physical activity on gut microbiota composition and function in older adults: a systematic review.BMC geriatrics · 2023Pooled it
- Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation changed the relative abundance of intestinal microbiota in rats with knee osteoarthritis: a potential treatment for KOA.International microbiology : the official journal of the Spanish Society for Microbiology · 2026Article
- Microbial ecology of shallow groundwater ecosystems.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Plant influence shapesMicrobiology spectrum · 2026Article
- The effect of dietary fiber based on fermentability and viscosity on the gut microbiome composition in chronic kidney disease: a systematic review of experimental and clinical trials.Research square · 2026Article
- The gastrointestinal microbiome and constituent short-chain fatty acids: a narrative review of an underexplored axis in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.Gut pathogens · 2026Review
- Retail-Level Microbiomes of Organic and Conventional Fresh Produce: A Multi-Kingdom Analysis of Amoeba-Associated Bacterial Viability.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Microbial Community Shifts and Plant Performance Improvements Driven by Bacillus firmus in Pampa Agroecosystems.Environmental microbiology reports · 2026Article
- Cross-Kingdom Antagonistic Interactions Between Environmental Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Yeasts in Pastoral Ecosystems.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Decoding the microbial landscape of endometrial cancer: a case-control study.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- Shared stream-lake patterns in diversity, rRNA-based activity and community assembly of bacteria and microeukaryotes under distinct hydrological regimes.FEMS microbiology ecology · 2026Article
- Genetic mechanisms for estuarine carbohydrate degradation and linked transcriptional activity.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2026Article
- Article
- Hidden Partners in Diversity: Acidobacteriota and Their Distribution in the Cape Floristic Region.MicrobiologyOpen · 2026Article
- Regional consistency in microbial community responses to hydrocarbon pollution in maritime Antarctic soils.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
65 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Bacteria are essential parts of ecosystems and are the most diverse organisms on the planet. Yet, we still do not know which habitats support the highest diversity of bacteria across multiple scales. We analyzed alpha-, beta-, and gamma-diversity of bacterial assemblages using 11,680 samples compiled by the Earth Microbiome Project. We found that soils contained the highest bacterial richness within a single sample (alpha-diversity), but sediment assemblages displayed the highest gamma-diversity. Sediment, biofilms/mats, and inland water exhibited the most variation in community composition among geographic locations (beta-diversity). Within soils, agricultural lands, hot deserts, grasslands, and shrublands contained the highest richness, while forests, cold deserts, and tundra biomes consistently harbored fewer bacterial species. Surprisingly, agricultural soils encompassed similar levels of beta-diversity as other soil biomes. These patterns were robust to the alpha- and beta- diversity metrics used and the taxonomic binning approach. Overall, the results support the idea that spatial environmental heterogeneity is an important driver of bacterial diversity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.