Study of the impacts of tree stem flow on soil microbial community composition

To investigate the influence of tree stem flow on bacterial diversity, the microbial community composition of soil samples collected beneath oak trees was analyzed after the 7-month period during which the experiment was run. For experimental trees, stem flow was diverted away from the tree base so that it did not interact with soil beneath the tree canopy during this period. Stem flow was not altered for control trees. Ten soil samples per tree were taken from 0 cm to 250 cm away from base in the four cardinal directions, resulting in 40 samples per tree.