Variations in microbial community in a tropical dry deciduous forest across the season and topographical gradient assessed through signature fatty acid biomarkers

Being pivotal to nutrient mobilization and conservation, microbial communities are indispensible for sustenance of forest ecosystem. The pattern and drivers of active soil microbial communities remain less explored in tropical dry deciduous forests. The present study was conducted during two annual cycles at three forest sites (hilltop, middle and hillbase) in the tropical dry deciduous forest of Vindhyan plateau, India. Chloroform fumigation‐extraction and phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA) were used to investigate soil microbial biomass and microbial community, respectively. Our results showed significant (p