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# On Ladakh’s glacier forefields, microbial succession was organized first by who the microbes lived with
- URL: https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/2026-09-29-ladakh-postglacial-holobiome-succession/
- Published: 2026-09-29T11:16:45.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-29T11:16:45.000Z
- Description: Across four forefields, host or source identity explained microbial diversity and composition more strongly than moraine age alone, while succession acted indirectly through colonization and soil development.
- Author: Benjamin Worlund
- Tags: glacier forefields, microbial succession, Ladakh, soil development, Land, Climate, #ecological-intelligence, #brief-2026-09-29, #global-radar, #peer-reviewed

Evidence

Peer-reviewed

Geography

Ladakh, northwestern Himalaya, India

System

Post-glacial high-desert succession

## WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS

Across four glacier forefields, researchers combined chronosequences, vegetation surveys, soil chemistry, topography and bacterial/fungal sequencing. Microbial source identity—lichens, biological soil crusts, mosses, vascular plants or bulk soil—was the primary organizer of diversity and composition. Structural-equation modeling indicated that successional age also acted indirectly through source colonization and soil development.

## WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ

Primary succession is not a single clock. The organisms that establish on new substrate create distinct microbial habitats, so biotic assembly and geomorphic age are intertwined rather than interchangeable explanations.

## CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY

This is a chronosequence across four glacier forefields, not continuous observation of the same sites through time. Network and structural-equation analyses infer organization and association rather than direct interaction or causal succession pathways.

## SOURCE

FEMS Microbiology Ecology  
[View original evidence ↗](https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiag107?ref=intelligence.wildlandseco.com)

From the Morning Brief · 2026-09-29

[Read the full Morning Brief →](https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/morning-brief-2026-09-29/)