Aim Latitudinal differences in diversity have long fascinated ecologists. It is unclear whether small soil animals such as nematodes show latitudinal differences in diversity. Based on hypotheses concerning the basis for greater tropical diversity, and by analogy with other groups, we predicted (1) greater alpha diversity in the equatorial tropics than the High Arctic, (2) greater beta and gamma diversity in the tropics. We al...

Summary It is difficult to understand the processes that structure immensely complex bacterial communities in the soil environment, necessitating a simplifying experimental approach. Here, we set up a microcosm culturing experiment with soil bacteria, at a range of nutrient concentrations, and compared these over time to understand the relationship between soil bacterial community structure and time/nutrient concentration. DNA...

Selective logging and forest conversion to oil palm agriculture are rapidly altering tropical forests. However, functional responses of the soil microbiome to these land‐use changes are poorly understood. Using 16S rRNA gene and shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we compared composition and functional attributes of soil biota between unlogged, once‐logged and twice‐logged rainforest, and areas converted to oil palm plantations in...

Summary Many studies have investigated patterns in the near‐surface soil microbial community over large spatial scales. However, less is known about variation in subsurface (15–30 cm of depth) microbial communities. Here we studied depth profiles of microbial communities in high‐elevation soils from Tibet. The relative abundance of Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi and Alphaproteobacteria was higher in near‐surface layers, while the...