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Volume 16
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10.3390/w16131931
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Article

Green Infrastructure Microbial Community Response to Simulated Pulse Precipitation Events in the Semi-Arid Western United States

by
Yvette D. Hastings
1,*,†,
Rose M. Smith
2,
Kyra A. Mann
1,
Simon Brewer
1,
Ramesh Goel
3,
Sarah Jack Hinners
4 and
Jennifer Follstad Shah
1,*
1
School of Environment, Society & Sustainability, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
2
Sageland Collaborative, Salt Lake City, UT 84101, USA
3
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
4
Red Butte Garden, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Current Adress: Gianforte School of Computing, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA.
Water 2024, 16(13), 1931; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16131931
Submission received: 30 May 2024 / Revised: 28 June 2024 / Accepted: 3 July 2024 / Published: 7 July 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil and Water Resources Management through Nature-Based Solutions: A Multidisciplinary Approach)
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Abstract

Processes driving nutrient retention in stormwater green infrastructure (SGI) are not well quantified in water-limited biomes. We examined the role of plant diversity and physiochemistry as drivers of microbial community physiology and soil N dynamics post precipitation pulses in a semi-arid region experiencing drought. We conducted our study in bioswales receiving experimental water additions and a montane meadow intercepting natural rainfall. Pulses of water generally elevated soil moisture and pH, stimulated ecoenzyme activity (EEA), and increased the concentration of organic matter, proteins, and N pools in both bioswale and meadow soils. Microbial community growth was static, and N assimilation into biomass was limited across pulse events. Unvegetated plots had greater soil moisture than vegetated plots at the bioswale site, yet we detected no clear effect of plant diversity on microbial C:N ratios, EEAs, organic matter content, and N pools. Differences in soil N concentrations in bioswales and the meadow were most directly correlated to changes in organic matter content mediated by ecoenzyme expression and the balance of C, N, and P resources available to microbial communities. Our results add to growing evidence that SGI ecological function is largely comparable to neighboring natural vegetated systems, particularly when soil media and water availability are similar.
Keywords: ecoenzyme activity; green infrastructure; microbial biomass; nitrogen; plant diversity; soils; stoichiometry; nature-based solutions ecoenzyme activity; green infrastructure; microbial biomass; nitrogen; plant diversity; soils; stoichiometry; nature-based solutions

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MDPI and ACS Style

Hastings, Y.D.; Smith, R.M.; Mann, K.A.; Brewer, S.; Goel, R.; Hinners, S.J.; Shah, J.F. Green Infrastructure Microbial Community Response to Simulated Pulse Precipitation Events in the Semi-Arid Western United States. Water 2024, 16, 1931. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16131931

AMA Style

Hastings YD, Smith RM, Mann KA, Brewer S, Goel R, Hinners SJ, Shah JF. Green Infrastructure Microbial Community Response to Simulated Pulse Precipitation Events in the Semi-Arid Western United States. Water. 2024; 16(13):1931. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16131931

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hastings, Yvette D., Rose M. Smith, Kyra A. Mann, Simon Brewer, Ramesh Goel, Sarah Jack Hinners, and Jennifer Follstad Shah. 2024. "Green Infrastructure Microbial Community Response to Simulated Pulse Precipitation Events in the Semi-Arid Western United States" Water 16, no. 13: 1931. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16131931

APA Style

Hastings, Y. D., Smith, R. M., Mann, K. A., Brewer, S., Goel, R., Hinners, S. J., & Shah, J. F. (2024). Green Infrastructure Microbial Community Response to Simulated Pulse Precipitation Events in the Semi-Arid Western United States. Water, 16(13), 1931. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16131931

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