Microorganisms in soil are known to be a source and a sink of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The role of the microbial VOCs on soil ecosystem regulation has been increasingly demonstrated in the recent years. Nevertheless, little is known about the influence of the microbial soil community structure and diversity on VOC emissions. This novel study analyzed the effect of reduced microbial diversity in soil on VOC emissions. We found that reduced levels of microbial diversity in soil increased VOC emissions from soils, while the number of different VOCs emitted decreased. Furthermore, we found that Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and fungi phyla were positively correlated to VOC emissions, and other prokaryotic phyla were either negatively correlated or very slightly positively correlated to VOCs emissions. Our interpretation is that Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and fungi were VOC producers while the other prokaryotic phyla were consumers. Finally, we discussed the possible role of VOCs as mediators of microbial interactions in soil.

众所周知，土壤中的微生物是挥发性有机化合物（VOC）的来源和汇聚点。近年来，越来越多地证明了微生物挥发性有机化合物在土壤生态系统调节中的作用。然而，关于微生物土壤群落结构和多样性对VOC排放的影响知之甚少。这项新颖的研究分析了土壤微生物多样性降低对VOC排放的影响。我们发现，土壤中微生物多样性水平的降低增加了土壤中VOC的排放，而排放的不同VOC的数量却减少了。此外，我们发现Proteobacteria，拟杆菌和真菌门与VOC排放和其他原核门正相关。与挥发性有机化合物的排放负相关或极微正相关。我们的解释是，Proteobacteria，Bacteroidetes和真菌是VOC生产者，而其他原核生物门是消费者。最后，我们讨论了VOC作为土壤中微生物相互作用的介质的可能作用。