The high Arctic region is warming faster than other areas globally, with widespread decreases in snow cover and longer growing seasons. This is expected to greatly influence plant-microbial carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling and thus ecosystem functioning, particularly when soils remain unfrozen during the dark winter period and no photosynthesis is possible. To better understand this response, we

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) often correlate positively with BEF studies focusing mostly on plant diversity manipulations. Plant performance is directly and indirectly impacted by soil organisms, but the role of increasing soil biodiversity on plant performance has mainly been tested in an uncontrolled way or with low biodiversity levels. An additional knowledge gap exists on the effect

Studies examining changes in functional diversity and trait composition for soil arthropods are limited yet crucial for understanding the effects of land-use change. To determine whether plantation forestry drives functional homogenization of soil biota, we compared the taxonomic and functional diversity of ants and springtails between natural (indigenous forests and grasslands) and transformed (Eucalyptus

Soil aggregation physically protects soil organic matter and promotes soil carbon persistence through microaggregate formation and organo-mineral associations. Tillage is a ubiquitous disturbance to arable soil that disrupts aggregation, thus affecting microbial resource availability, soil microhabitat conditions, and microbial interactions. We investigated how tillage affects bacterial community composition

Inorganic nitrogen (N) is the most important nutrient in soils, because it limits plant productivity and affects ecosystem function. It is produced by the mineralization of organic N to ammonium (NH4+) (MNorg) and the subsequent nitrification of NH4+ to nitrate (NO3−) (ONH4). Previous studies systematically evaluated the patterns and mechanisms of MNorg and ONH4 in soils on a global scale, but the

In mountainous grasslands management adaptations are required to maintain soil functions. We investigated climate change (CC) and management effects on the abundance and potential activity of microbiota catalyzing the major steps of P transformation which are still unknown in these grasslands. Soil samples were taken from intact plant-soil mesocosms managed extensively or intensively (two vs. five

Fungi play critical roles in the regulation of terrestrial ecosystem processes and functions. However, the biogeographic patterns, assembly mechanism and phylogenetic information of fungi across complex environmental gradients remains unexplored, especially the differences between abundant and rare fungi. Here, based on an extensive soil sampling (117 samples) covering almost all vegetation types in

Microbial trophic interactions are an important aspect of microbiomes in any ecosystem. They can reveal how microbial diversity modulates ecosystem functioning. However, uncovering microbial feeding interactions is a challenge because direct observation of predation is difficult with classical approaches such as behaviour and gut contents analyses. To overcome this issue, recent developments in trait-matching

Understanding how N addition status (i.e., duration, rate, and form of N addition) impacts carbon (C) cycling has great implications for C storage prediction and grassland management. We examined 257 studies related to C cycling in grasslands and obtained a dataset of 1073 observations for meta-analysis. N addition significantly increased plant C input (plant above-ground biomass +49.1%, below-ground

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are crucial components of dryland ecosystems worldwide; however, their roles in phosphorus (P) transformation and associated functional communities have received less scientific attention compared with carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling. Currently, little is known about the relative importance of precipitation, biocrust succession, and shrub cover in mediating soil

Soil microorganisms, spanning diverse phylogenetic lineages, form complex ecological networks wherein various species coexist and contribute to multiple ecosystem services. While microbial networks facilitate the understanding of their coexistence and functions in soils, the influence of phylogenetic relatedness among soil microbes themselves on these networks remains largely unknown. To address this

Plant roots exude nitrogen (N)-containing compounds, which are assimilated by the rhizobiome to maintain stoichiometric homeostasis. Various 15N-tracing methods exist to estimate the rhizobiome-N derived from root exudation but have never been validated with a full factorial experiment. We exposed ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) to 15N solutions through different plant organs (stem or leaf feeding),

Modeling soil organic carbon is crucial for predicting ecosystem feedbacks to global change. Soil C models typically divide organic C into pools with different turnover rates, even though pools contain complex mixtures of organic molecules. Because microbes assimilate different organic molecules via different metabolic pathways, these models may not capture effects of organic substrate chemodiversity

Free-living nitrogen fixation (FLNF) is a vital source of nitrogen for the initiation and development of ecosystems on bare lands. This process is catalyzed by the enzyme nitrogenase and is energy intensive. Of the three nitrogenase isoforms, molybdenum nitrogenase (Mo-Nase) is more efficient than its vanadium (V) and iron (Fe) counterparts at room temperature. However, the acquisition of Mo, one of

Climate change, coupled with the introduction of non-native organisms, represent major threats to the functioning of ecosystems, especially in species-poor communities such as polar terrestrial ecosystems. In this laboratory study, we quantified the impacts of the non-native springtail Folsomia candida and isopod Porcellio scaber on seed germination and growth of the non-native grass Poa pratensis

Roots of salt marsh grasses contribute to soil building but also affect decomposition by releasing bioavailable carbon exudates and oxygen. Disentangling exudate and oxygen effects on decomposition is difficult in the field but essential for marsh carbon models and predicting the impacts of global change disturbances. We tested how pulsed, simulated exudates affect soil metabolism under oxic and anoxic

The ongoing global warming is causing paddy soil to come under threat by hitherto unseen levels of carbon and nitrogen loss. The mechanism of soil organic matter (SOM) components and microbial metabolism responding to increased temperature is complicated; for example, the temperature sensitivity (Q10) of SOM decomposition in rice topsoil and subsoil remains poorly understood. In this study, 0–30 cm

Abstract not available

Nematodes are numerous in soils and play a crucial role in soil food-webs. DNA metabarcoding offers a time-effective alternative to morphology-based assessments of nematode diversity. However, it is unclear how different DNA extraction methods prior to metabarcoding could affect community analysis. We used soils with woody vegetation from a European latitudinal gradient (29 sites, 39 to 79°N, ∼4500 km

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are reactive gaseous compounds with significant impacts on air quality and the Earth's radiative balance. While natural ecosystems are known to be major sources of VOCs, primarily due to vegetation, soils, an important component of these ecosystems, have received relatively less attention as potential sources and sinks of VOCs. In this study, soil samples were collected

The moisture dependence of heterotrophic soil respiration is a key factor affecting the uncertainty in predicting the response of soil organic carbon (SOC) to global warming. Considering that heterotrophic respiration from unsaturated soils is primarily driven by microbial reduction of oxygen (O2), we propose a new concept to model the respiration by tracking dissolution of gaseous O2 and its subsequent

Positive relationships between biodiversity functioning have been found in communities of plants but also of soil microbes. The beneficial effects of diversity are thought to be driven by niche partitioning among community members, which leads to more complete or more efficient community-level resource use through various mechanisms. An intriguing related question is whether environmentally more heterogeneous

The rhizosphere priming effect (RPE), i.e., the acceleration of soil organic matter decomposition (SOM) by plant roots, plays a key role in the soil carbon (C) cycle and its feedback to climate change. However, how plant traits regulate the RPE has rarely been investigated. Here we selected six grassland species with and without nitrogen (N) fertilization to examine the relationships between the RPE

Microbial necromass, as part of persistent soil organic matter, plays a significant role in maintaining soil fertility and sustainability of agroecosystems. Intercropping, planting multiple crop species in the same field at approximately the same time, has been demonstrated to increase soil organic matter through enhanced biomass input. Nonetheless, little is known as to how intercropping affects microbial

Plant communities comprising species with different growth strategies and belonging to different functional groups can ensure stable productivity under variable climatic conditions. However, how plant communities can influence the response of nitrogen (N) cycling, in particular, soil microbial N cycling communities, N leaching and N2O fluxes under flooding, and their capacity to suppress flooding-induced

Nematodes play significant roles in carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles in soils. The contributions of individual species to these processes depend, in part, on differences in their population ecology. Formatting errors were discovered that made portions of our previously published work on this subject nearly unintelligible. Herein, we correct those errors.

Grassland ecosystems, which are known to be sensitive to climate change, have shown minimal responses of soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools to increased moisture availability, despite moisture-induced changes in plants and soil microbes (e.g., expected drivers of soil C and N). However, it is not clear if this apparent limited response is due to an unresponsive belowground system or because alterations

Pest suppression is one of the desirable functions of a healthy soil. Predatory Mesostigmata soil mites, with their high degree of omnivory, are one of the most remarkable groups performing this beneficial role. Food web bottom-up effects are important for the fitness of these predators, which ultimately affects their potential as biocontrol agents. In below-ground systems, free-living nematodes (FLN)

Straw return has been widely implemented to sequester soil organic carbon (SOC) and enhance soil quality in rice-wheat cropping systems, however, the mechanism through which it influences microbial assemblages into mediating biochemical metabolic pathways in soil remains ambiguous. This study aimed at investigating the composition and assembly of soil microbial communities and the soil metabolome prevailing

Climate change models predict shifts in the frequency and magnitude of rain events (precipitation patterns). We studied how precipitation history shapes microbial community responses to rewetting and how these effects depend on N status. Twelve weeks of contrasting precipitation and N input left a legacy effect by shaping present (DNA-based) and potentially active (rRNA-based) bacterial and fungal

Mosses form a ground layer with a thickness of nearly 1 cm during the first decade of vegetation restoration, but their effects on the belowground microbial community and soil properties and the associated soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) accumulation in subtropical areas are unclear. Here, we measured soil C and N variables (soil organic C [SOC], total N [TN], dissolved organic C, ammonium [NH4+-N]

The hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert represents one of the most intense environments on Earth, often being used as an analog for Mars regolith. The area is characterized by extremes in climate (e.g., temperature, humidity, UV irradiation) and edaphic factors (e.g., hyper-salinity, high pH, compaction, high perchlorates, and low moisture, phosphorus and organic matter). However, the halophytic C4

Invasive plants alter soil microbial communities and ecosystem services reducing the Earth's carrying capacity for humans. Many ecosystem services are underpinned by soil microbial communities, and these communities arise from assembly processes that are likely altered by invasion. We evaluated the hypothesis that invasive effects on grassland ecosystem services arise from changes in microbial community

Although dead fungal mycelium (necromass) represents a key component of biogeochemical cycling in all terrestrial ecosystems, how different ecological factors interact to control necromass decomposition rates remains poorly understood. This study assessed how edaphic parameters, plant traits, and soil microbial community structure predicted the mass loss rates of different fungal necromasses within

Chitin is an insoluble and ubiquitous soil biopolymer, estimated to be the second most abundant organic soil biopolymer on Earth. Despite its abundance, role as a source of C and N in soil, and importance to ecosystem function, further research is required to elucidate key controls on chitin breakdown under varying environmental conditions. Previous work highlights the important role rhizosphere microbiomes

Meadows and forests are the main vegetation types in temperate terrestrial ecosystems, and largely contribute to soil carbon (C) stock. Bioavailable C inputs can accelerate microbial decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM), which is known as “priming effect”. However, it is still unclear how priming effect, as an important mechanism influencing soil C sequestration, is influenced by spatial transition

Over the last few years, several researchers working on the development of “biogeochemical” or “ecosystem-scale” models of soil carbon dynamics have reported struggling with a number of difficult challenges. At the same time, work in this area has focused exclusively on microbial activity described at a macro-ecological level, and has entirely bypassed the abundant literature produced in the last two

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is involved in numerous biogeochemical processes, and its molecular weight affects many of these processes through its bioavailability and sorptive capacity. However, it remains unknown to what extent the molecular weight of DOM mediates its dynamics, for example, influencing its role in DOM-microbe interactions and the processes determining the compositional assembly

Chemotaxis is a process that enables motile bacteria to move along nutrient gradients, thereby exploring nutrient hotspots, and potentially playing important biogeochemical roles in agricultural ecosystems. In this study, a 36-year field experiment of nitrogen (N) input was conducted, along with the use of a synthetic community (SynCom) inoculation, to confirm the role of chemotaxis in the cycling

Both herbivorous and bacterivorous microfauna have been shown to influence root development, soil nitrogen (N) mineralization, and plant productivity. However, our knowledge of these effects is limited as multitrophic interactions remain largely unexplored. We investigated whether and how herbivorous nematodes (Pratylenchus zeae) and bacterivorous nematodes (Poikilolaimus oxycercus), alone and in combination

Soil microbes perceive drying and rewetting (DRW) events as more or less harsh depending on the previous soil moisture history. If a DRW event is not perceived as harsh, microbial growth recovers rapidly after rewetting (referred to as ‘type 1’ response), while a harsh DRW will be followed by a delayed growth recovery (‘type 2’ response). Predicting these responses based on pedoclimatic factors is

Incorporation of nitrogen (N) into soil microbial protein is central to the soil N cycle to mitigate N losses and support plant N supply. However, the effect of factors, such as water filled pore space (WFPS), which influence inorganic N transformations and losses, and thus microbial incorporation, are only poorly understood. This work aimed to bridge this gap, using compound-specific 15N-stable isotope

Soil microbial biomass is assumed to have stable chemical composition. Various components of the biomass such as DNA, ATP, or chloroform-labile organic carbon are measured in soil and converted into total microbial biomass using experimentally derived conversion factors, which are also assumed to be constant. However, several observations suggest the opposite. The composition of soil microbial biomass