Physicochemical, climatic and floristic metadata of the sampling sites across different ecological regions in Botswana

Abstract

This research examined the microbial diversity of Botswanan dryland soils and elucidated the landscape-scale environmental drivers shaping community structure and composition. Soil samples were collected from 89 sites across the country. Amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and the ITS region enabled high-resolution taxonomic profiling, revealing distinct alpha- and beta-diversity patterns across the different ecological zones. It further investigated the metabolic strategies the soil microbiota uses to acquire energy in these oligotrophic, extreme ecosystems. Metagenomic analyses reveal potential adaptation to mixotrophic and chemoheterotrophic lifestyles for energy and carbon acquisition.