Alteration of microbial communities colonizing leaf litter in a temperate woodland stream by growth of trees under conditions of elevated atmospheric C[O.sub.2]

The hypothesis showing that the changes in leaf chemistry caused by elevated atmospheric C[O.sub.2] might result in changes in the size and composition of microbial communities colonizing leaves in a woodland stream is tested. Specific changes in bacterial communities have included increased numbers of alphaproteobacterial and cytophaga-flavobacter-bacteroides (CFB) group sequences and decreased numbers of betaproteobacterial and firmicutes sequences, along with the pronounced decrease in overall Gram-positive bacterial sequences.