Multivariate analyses in soil microbial ecology: a new paradigm

International audience; Mycorrhizal symbiosis is a key component of a sustainable soil-plant system, governing the cycles of major plant nutrients and vegetation cover. The mycorrhizosphere includes plants roots, the mycorrhizal fungi, and a complex microbial compartment. A large number of methods have been used to characterize the genetic and functional diversity of these soil microbial communities. We present here a review of the multivariate data analysis methods that have been used in 16 research articles published in the 2005-2009 period. "Descriptive" multivariate data analysis methods have been priviledged over classical "predictive" methods and univariate statistical tests. Data sets, multivariate data analysis methods, graphical outputs and interpretation results are presented and explained in details on several examples coming from some of the 16 articles. These multivariate and graphical methods are available in the ade4 package for the R statistical software. The discussion underlines the importance of using appropriate statistical methods to obtain a good description of soil microbiological and biochemical indicators and a good evaluation of soil quality.