Plants recruit microorganisms from bulk soil by secreting easily available organic carbon into the rhizosphere. Grafting often increases the disease resistance of agricultural plants by modifying this carbon flow from roots into rhizosphere and by recruiting active microorganisms that suppress pathogens. Here, we continuously labeled grafted and ungrafted watermelon plants in a CO atmosphere to identify

Fire is a dominant ecosystem process in many Mediterranean climate type ecosystems, and is predicted to increase in severity and frequency, shifting away from previous regimes in many regions. Responses of flora and fauna to fire are relatively well studied, but less is known about the responses of belowground microbiota. We quantified soil fungal dynamics over the first 12–15 months after fire, focusing

Germination onset is the first stage in the phenological plant cycle, influenced by abiotic and biotic factors. Both soil and seed microbiota are key drivers of germination, influencing seed storage, dormancy release, and germination rates. Interactions between plants and soil microbes contribute to plant adaptation to their environment. Therefore, plants could benefit more from interacting with soil

While carbon flow through soil decomposition channels is well studied, the associated energy fluxes are less considered. In particular, how microbial substrate and energy turnover are linked to higher trophic levels has hardly been investigated to date. Soil nematode communities can serve as a model group to address this knowledge gap. As important microbial grazers nematodes hold a central position

Drought and rainfall events will become more frequent and intense with climate change. At the same time, soil moisture is one of the major factors controlling soil microbial processes such as carbon cycling. When challenged with drought there are two main growth responses microorganisms can use: (1) they can maintain growth rates during drought (i.e., resistance) and (2) they can recover growth rates

Decoding the fundamental taxa that decompose crop rhizodeposits (rhizo-C) and/or straw residue (straw-C) is crucial for understanding the role of plant-derived carbon (C) in driving microbial community assembly and consequent C decomposition. Here, a parallel C-labeling design, DNA-SIP, and metagenomics techniques were combined to separate maize rhizo-C utilizers from straw-C utilizers in agriculture

Revealing the generation and maintenance of biodiversity is a central goal in ecology, but how dispersal, selection, and regional taxon pool size shape soil microbial communities is not well understood. Here, we examined how dispersal and environmental selection affected soil bacterial diversity and their related metabolic functions by leveraging large-scale cross-biome soil surveys of ∼1400 samples

Nitrogen (N) enrichment shapes litter chemistry, subsequently influencing soil invertebrates and litter decomposition. However, there has been a lack of attention to how soil invertebrates respond to changes in litter chemistry and then drive litter decomposition under N enrichment. Here, trait-based approaches were adopted to explore functional responses of Collembola, a crucial and functional group

Microbial communities in many ecosystems are suffering a wide range of environmental stressors induced by anthropogenic perturbations. While the impacts of a single stressor have been extensively estimated in numerous studies, the responses of microbial communities to multiple environmental stressors simultaneously are still poorly understood. In the current study, we investigated the taxonomic diversity

Chinese fir () is one of the most important economic tree species in Central South China. Several decades of successive rotation of monocultures have resulted in serious ecosystem degradation. Substantial efforts are underway to convert monocultures to mixed forests to restore ecosystem functions and services. However, it is unclear whether forest restoration will improve soil quality. Soil nematodes

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are recognised as pivotal biogeochemical process drivers. However, the factors influencing ROS production in the rhizosphere and their role in pollutant transformation remain elusive. We investigated ROS with a focus on spatiotemporal variations in superoxide radicals (O), hydrogen peroxide (HO), and hydroxyl radicals (OH) in the rhizosphere of maize during root development

Elevated ozone (eO) and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition are important climate change components that can affect plant growth and plant-soil-microbe interactions. However, the understanding of how eO and its interaction with N deposition affect soil microbially mediated carbon (C) cycling and the fate of soil C stocks is limited. This study aimed to test how eO and N deposition affected soil microbial

EL-FAME (ester-linked fatty acid methyl ester), PLFA (phospholipid fatty acid), and qPCR (quantitative PCR) of ribosomal genes are three of the most common methods used to quantify soil microbial communities due to their versatility. The reliability of these three methods has not been simultaneously compared in situations of rapid (in the frame of days and weeks) changes in soil microbial abundances

The invasion of drylands by leguminous mesquite ( spp.) is frequently associated with increases in the soil organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools. These increases stimulate soil microbial activity and accelerate soil C and N cycling. However, the impact of mesquite invasion on soil biogeochemistry, especially the emission of trace gases, in an ecosystem with an already established population of

Viruses are abundant and diverse members of soil communities, but their influences on soil biogeochemical cycling are poorly understood. To assess the potential for viruses to influence soil carbon (C) cycling in varying environmental contexts, we sampled soils from four contrasting ecosystem types across the continental United States: conifer forest, broadleaf deciduous forest, tallgrass prairie,

Soil pH stands as a decisive factor in shaping bacterial diversity and community composition, yet predicting the pH preferences and traits of individual bacterial taxa is still incomplete. We surveyed 942 samples from seven biomes worldwide to unravel the responses of individual bacterial genus to soil pH. Our findings indicate that soil pH surpasses the influences of spatial and climatic factors (biomes)

In addition to supporting plant productivity and nutrient cycling, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi contribute to multiple functions within terrestrial ecosystems. However, as ecosystems face increasing temperatures and changes in precipitation, these factors may affect how AM fungi interact with ecosystem multifunctionality. Here, we investigated how warming and precipitation changes affected plant

To identify microbial resources for dehalogenation, develop effective remediation strategies, and reveal their significance in “One Health”, it is crucial to understand the occurrence, distribution, and drivers of soil dehalogenation functional traits and taxonomy groups at a broad scale, which is currently not well understood. To address the gaps, we characterized the biogeography of both dehalogenation

Antimicrobial resistance is an urgent threat to global health, causing serious antibiotic-resistant infections and deaths. The phages can serve as genetic reservoirs for bacterial adaptation, facilitating the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). However, how environmental perturbations impact the variation in viral ARGs via the phage-bacterial ecological network remains obscure

Fertilizer nitrogen (N) turnover is highly controlled by soil aggregation. However, the functions of the various aggregates that regulate long-term fertilizer N retention under conservation management remain unexplored. In this study, N-labeled fertilizer was initially applied to investigate the effects of maize straw mulching on fertilizer N allocation in soil aggregates at a decadal scale. The topsoil

Large quantities of soil carbon (C) can persist within paleosols for millennia due to burial and subsequent isolation from plant-derived inputs, atmospheric conditions, and microbial activity at the modern surface. Erosion exposes buried soils to modern root-derived C influx via root exudation and root turnover, thus stimulating microbial activity leading to SOC decomposition and accumulation through

Organic fertilizer can enhance soil health and multifunctionality in agroecosystems, but its impact on soil-borne greenhouse gas emissions needs mitigation. Fungal denitrification significantly contributes to NO emissions in carbon-rich soils; yet, the interactions between bacterial and fungal denitrifers under organic fertilizer amendment, remain unclear. Here, we investigated the rates and proportions

Coastal wetlands, being a multifaceted and crucial global ecosystem, are facing significant impacts from diverse environmental alterations, particularly soil salinization. Concurrently, the escalation of extreme climate events, such as global warming, presents complex challenges for the protection and restoration efforts. Previous researches concerning microbial communities in the context of climate

Mitigation of NO emissions, a potent greenhouse gas, remain challenging due to knowledge gaps in plant-mediated nitrogen (N) transformation pathways, which limits ability to identify optimal approaches for efficient N utilization. We set up mesocosms with barley, Italian ryegrass, and barley in combination with Italian ryegrass to assess role of cover crop in NO emission mitigation. Soil emitted NO

Extended exposure to acid rain has vastly limited soil microbial activity with the consequences for soil carbon (C) storage, but less is known about the microbial responses within soil aggregates that to some extent determine soil C stabilization. Here, we investigated the main microbial group compositions and the relevant potential enzyme activities within different soil aggregates sizes (microaggregates

Soil microorganisms are primary decomposers driving carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. One prevailing view is that fungi, rather than bacteria, play a predominant role in litter decomposition. However, the roles of bacteria and factors that restrict their activity during decomposition remain unclear. We hypothesized that the limiting activity of bacterial decomposers is associated

Biofilm and planktonic prokaryotic communities were studied using a glass fibre filter as trapping material immersed in field soil at different times of the year (January, April, July, September) and incubated there for different periods (3, 6, 9, 12 months). The composition of biofilm and planktonic communities fluctuated over time, likely shaped by succession processes and varying environmental factors

The impact of human-induced nitrogen (N) enrichment on microbial diversity has been extensively studied, with two main hypotheses proposed: soil N availability and soil acidification. However, the specific roles of these two hypotheses and their environmental preferences on soil bacterial and fungal communities are not fully understood. By conducting two independent experiments (a 16-year N and a 6-year

The afforestation of tropical forests plays an important role in mitigating climate change. Exploring the impacts of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deposition on earthworm communities is significant for understanding the contributions of tropical forests to global change. A 14-year field experiment simulating N and P deposition at a station with 50-year-old tropical plantations was conducted. We found

Over recent decades, there has been a noticeable change in vegetation diversity accompanied by increased plant productivity in tundra systems of the High-Arctic, leading to elevated carbon and nutrient inputs into the soil. This shift can alter microbial community composition and activity in these ecosystems. In this study, we aimed to identify genes transcribed by active microorganisms and compare

Altered rainfall distribution patterns resulting from climate change have substantial effects on soil carbon (C) cycling in terrestrial ecosystems particularly in water-limited regions. However, how rainfall redistribution affects soil C mineralization (CO and CH fluxes) in humid regions such as of the coastal saltmarshes remain unclear. We conducted mesocosm experiments in an estuarine saltmarsh in

Soil physical properties may determine the fate of nitrous oxide (NO) in soil, but little is known about how soil compaction affects specific properties and their interactions. This study aimed to assess the impact of compaction on the soil pore functionality and architecture, and the effects on NO diffusion. Intact soil cores were sampled from lysimeters previously subjected to induced topsoil or

The long-term effect of non-native earthworm species on forest soil carbon storage is not clear. While initial invasion into earthworm-free soils stimulates carbon losses, there is evidence that carbon stabilization in soil aggregates is enhanced. Fourteen managed forest sites throughout Vermont were sampled to identify and enumerate earthworms, and determine soil aggregate distribution and physically

Soil organic carbon storage in soil carbon models is highly sensitive to microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE); thus, to reliably predict C storage requires quantifying the response of CUE to warming. By conducting a meta-analysis of 87 observations from field warming experiments worldwide, we found that field warming has no significant effect on CUE, which remains constant at 0.35 ± 0.19 (mean ± SD)

The Precambrian time (before 540 Ma) experienced extensive and severe glaciations spanning millions of years of geological history, known as Snowball Earth. Cryogenian glaciations (720–635 Ma) were prerequisites to the Ediacaran blooming of life (635–543 Ma), and although broad attention is devoted to marine ecosystems, the debate on how terrestrial ecosystems (for instance soil formation) were built

Subsoils contain more than half of global soil organic matter (SOM) stocks. Given that sequestration and turnover processes of SOM are slower in the subsoil than in the topsoil, subsoil carbon (C) stocks are likely to be vulnerable to shifts in precipitation patterns. Therefore, we investigated the responses of different sources of tropical forest soil organic C (SOC) pools to a delayed onset and increased

The rhizosphere is a typical soil microbial hotspot, however, not a homogeneous entity. Due to root functional differentiation, different root functional modules (i.e., absorptive roots and transport roots) can play distinct roles in microbial necromass formation and subsequent soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration by influencing microbial metabolic activity in the surrounding soil. Yet, how microbial

Soil microorganisms can do both, mineralize and synthesize organic and condensed phosphate (P) species. Whereas P mineralization has been extensively studied, few studies have assessed the biological synthesis of organic P species, which can potentially accumulate in soil. The goal of this study was to investigate biotic and abiotic P transformations, particularly the synthesis of organic P species

Accurate representation of the chemical diversity of litter in ecosystem-scale models is critical for improving predictions of decomposition rates and stabilization of plant material into soil organic matter. In this contribution, we conducted a systematic review to evaluate how conventional characterization of plant litter quality using proximate analysis compares with molecular-scale characterization

Associations of iron (hydr)oxides (FeOx) with organic carbon are vital in regulating the stability of soil organic carbon (SOC). Like SOC, FeOx is chemically dynamic in soils, particularly under anaerobic conditions. However, previous research has not clarified how the stability of FeOx (goethite versus ferrihydrite) and the formation pathway of FeOx-OC associations (adsorption versus coprecipitation)

Root exudate composition can influence rhizosphere microbial recruitment and is tightly controlled by plant genetics. However, little research has profiled root exudate in vegetable crops or determined their role in rhizosphere microbial community and metabolite composition. It is also not well understood how root exudates and resulting rhizosphere dynamics shift across plant trait diversity and with

Climate-induced changes in thinning snowpack can greatly impact soil freeze-thaw patterns and water supply. These effects may influence the soil microbial diversity and the key ecological functions mediated by microorganisms, thereby altering the cycling of nutrient in the ecosystem. A snow-exclusion experiment to explore the effects of snow removal on soil microbial diversity and functionality in

Soil carbon (C)-degrading extracellular enzyme activities (EEAs) are important regulators in targeting litter and soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition in territorial ecosystems. However, the responses of enzymes involved in C-cycling to short-term litter input manipulations in different forest ecosystems remain unclear. Here, we examined oxidative C-degrading EEAs (Ox-EEAs), hydrolytic C-degrading

There is a knowledge gap surrounding how drought and wildfire, two increasingly frequent disturbances, will alter soil fungal communities. Moreover, studies that directly compare ambient and drought-treated soil fungal communities in the context of wildfire are exceptionally scarce. We assessed the response and recovery of soil fungal communities and functional guilds in two sites – a grassland and

Spatial heterogeneity is a pervasive feature of soils, affecting the distribution of carbon sources as well as their microbial consumers. Heterogeneous addition of substrates typically results in delayed microbial growth compared to homogeneous addition, and this effect has frequently been attributed to spatial separation of microorganisms from their food. We investigated the importance of two other

Soil carbon (C) storage is a critical ecosystem function that underpins human health and well-being. The acceleration of human-driven land use change, such as agricultural intensification, is a major driver of soil C loss globally. Developing sustainable land use practices that enhance agricultural productivity whilst protecting essential ecosystem functions such as soil C storage is vital. The soil

Soil organic carbon (SOC) content is the most widely used soil health indicator, but many soil functions are also influenced by the quality of SOC. Yet, standardized SOC quality parameters that can be used in soil health assessments in addition to SOC content are still in development. Here, we investigated the relationships between various SOC parameters (both quantity and quality) and soil functions

Tardigrades, also known as ‘water bear’ or ‘moss piglet’, inhabit diverse environments ranging from marine to freshwater and terrestrial habitats. They occupy various trophic levels in the micro-food web attributed to their different feeding preferences and different predators, which also heralds the complexity of their ecological functions. Therefore, understanding the ecological preference of tardigrades

Livestock manure contributes to global warming due to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, especially nitrous oxide (NO) and methane (CH). In the arid and semi-arid lands of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), extensive pastoral grazing systems are common, with cattle grazing in the savanna during the day and kept in enclosures (called in Kenya) during the night. Manure is usually not removed from bomas but left