Alpine soil inocula collection and preparation

Knowledge graph centered on Alpine soil inocula collection and preparation with 71 nodes and 165 connections. Top connected: Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Microbes on mountainsides: contrasting elevational, Gothic, Asteraceae, Potentilla gracilis.

Method synopsis

Collection of soil inocula from resident (high elevation) and novel (low elevation) sites across elevation gradients in mountain ecosystems, with subsequent sterilization treatments to isolate microbial effects. Soils collected along transects and processed to create live and sterile inoculum treatments.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 11 papers using this protocol.

Procedure from a recent peer-reviewed implementation

Steps below were extracted from the most recent peer-reviewed implementation of this protocol in the corpus — Altitudinal gradients fail to predict fungal symbiont responses to warming (2019), Ecology. The protocol was originally introduced by How do above and belowground grass-fungus symbioses change over elevational gradients in mountainous Colorado? (2012). Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Establish altitudinal gradient sites
   Eight altitudinal gradients were sampled in total, with sites spaced every ~100-200 m from ~700 to 3,700 m above sea level. In a given year, a site was sampled only once.
   Quantities: 8 gradients total, sites spaced every ~100-200 m elevation, ranging from ~100-700 m to 3,700 m above sea levelDuration: Sampled in 2012 and 2014Conditions: Various elevational zones from sea level to 3,700 m above sea level
2. Collect plant samples from gradients
   Collected roots and leaves from six plant individuals/species/site along independently replicated altitudinal gradients for three focal plant species. Used replicated altitudinal gradients allowed to consider fungal symbiont trends across a much wider temperature range than warming experiments can capture.
   Quantities: 6 plant individuals per species per site, 3 species totalDuration: 2012 and 2014 sampling yearsConditions: Various altitudinal gradient sites

Typical Equipment

• 8.5% sodium hypochlorite bleach-sterilized trowel
• ethanol-sterilized 2 mm grade sieve
• autoclave

Output Measurements

• live soil inocula
• sterile soil inocula
• elevation-specific microbial communities

Papers Using This Protocol (11)

Species Studied With This Protocol

Places Where Used