Dicyandiamide (DCD) is a nitrification inhibitor (NI) used to reduce reactive nitrogen (N) losses from soils. While commonly used, its effectiveness varies widely. Few studies have measured DCD and temperature effects on a complete set of soil N variables, including nitrite (NO2-) measured separately from nitrate (NO3-). Here the DCD reduction efficiencies (RE) for nine N availability metrics were

Soil fauna plays a crucial role in plant litter decomposition. However, if and how increasing nitrogen (N) deposition and plant functional type jointly affect the contribution of soil mesofauna to litter decomposition remains poorly understood. A litterbag experiment with two meshed sizes (0.1 and 2 mm) was conducted to examine the effects of soil mesofauna on litter decomposition of three coexisting

Recently fixed plant carbon (C) being released as rhizodeposits is a major resource fueling soil food webs. Soil microorganisms predominate in incorporating root-derived C and subsequently transfer it to higher trophic levels. However, variation in microbial community structure between cropping systems and its consequences for the incorporation of root-derived C into soil microbivores remain unclear

Rice cultivars influence methane emissions from paddies; however, which plant traits account for this effect and the corresponding mechanisms are poorly understood. A meta-analysis of data from the past 30 years was conducted to reveal the separate relationships of methane emissions from paddy fields with rice roots and N-application rates. A four-year field trial was designed to identify the key role

The interface between decaying plant residues and soil minerals represents an essential soil microenvironment at which soil organic matter forms. The high amount of microbial products and residues within this hot spot of microbial activity fosters the formation of mineral-associated organic matter. Besides classical quantitative analyses, our understanding of processes controlling soil organic matter

The assembly of root-associated microbes during the seedling stage has strong impact on subsequent performance of crops. Major factors influencing this assembly are crop species identity and composition of potential root-colonizing microbes in the bulk soil. The latter can be modified by soil management, such as organic amendments. The incorporation of residues of cover crops before the start of the

Rice rhizodeposition plays an important role in carbon sequestration in paddy soils. However, the pathways through which rice rhizodeposits contribute to soil organic C (SOC) formation are poorly understood because of specific paddy soil conditions. Furthermore, microbial necromass has been largely ignored in studies examining the contribution of rhizodeposits to C sequestration during plant growth

Forests exhibit lower inter-seasonal climatic variation compared to open landscape types. Because fauna activity is influenced by a site’s microclimate, we expect these more stable conditions translate into smaller intra-annual variation in activity patterns of soil fauna in forests. We assessed differences in activity of terrestrial isopods across more open (open landscape and anthropogenic habitat)

Abiotic factors influence ecosystem functioning mainly through the biological mechanisms such as the shifts in microbial community structure and/or physiology. Sigmoidal shape soil moisture response functions (SMRFs) have been widely used to modify the dormancy and resuscitation rates in microbially explicit soil biogeochemical models. However, these SMRFs and their effects on microbial dormancy have

Based on the contemporary coexistence theory developed from macroecology, the regional species pool, environmental processes, dispersal assembly and biotic interactions are considered to determine the assembly of a local community. However, we do not fully understand whether these kinds of mechanisms are all-important for the whole microbial community or for specific functional groups. Here we studied

The dynamic process of forest succession is important for terrestrial ecosystems where soil organic matter (SOM) primarily controls biogeochemical cycles and is driven by soil microorganisms. Carbon (C) incorporation into SOM occurs along two different microbial metabolic pathways: ex vivo mostly extracellular enzymatic modification and in vivo turnover within the cells, highlighting the importance

Databases of soil pH values today not only guide the decisions of land managers but also the biogeochemical models and experimental designs of microbiologists and soil ecologists. Soil acidity underpins fundamental properties and functions in the soil, such as the solubilities of exchangeable ions and nutrients, or bacterial use of gradients of internal and external acidity to generate ATP and turn

Protists are important microbial consumers and phototrophs in terrestrial ecosystems and play pivotal roles in nutrient cycling and plant performance. The predation pressure of protists significantly impacts the composition and function of microorganisms, and in turn bacteria and fungi, as the key food sources of protists, may shape the distribution of protists. However, how trophic interactions (i

Iron (Fe) oxides regulate soil organic carbon (C) content via balancing C processes of stabilization and mineralization. However, abiotic and biotic mechanisms are involved in stabilization (e.g., by adsorption and/or co-precipitation) and decomposition (e.g., by shifting the microbial community) of paddy soil rich in iron oxides remains poorly understood. We examined the mineralization and stabilization

The priming effect (PE) induced by fresh carbon inputs plays an important role in soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization. However, how inputs of different chemical composition litters and nitrogen (N) deposition affect the PE and soil microbial community composition and activity remains unclear. This knowledge gap hinders our ability to constrain models and reduce uncertainty in predicting soil carbon

Soil microbes, and the proteins they produce, are responsible for a myriad of soil processes which are integral to life on Earth, supporting soil fertility, nutrient fluxes, trace gas emissions, and plant production. However, how and why the composition of soil microbial proteins (the metaproteome) changes across wide gradients of vegetation, climatic and edaphic conditions remains largely undetermined

Peatlands, especially fens, are known to emit methane. Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) use mires mainly as spring and summer pastures. In this work we observed that adding reindeer droppings to fen peat increased the potential methane production by 40%. This became apparent when droppings originating from reindeer kept in pen or pasture in winter were added to methanogenic fen peat samples. The droppings

Microbial use efficiency is thought to greatly influence organic carbon storage in soils through the formation of decomposition products and their stabilization as organo-mineral complexes. Earthworm activity may play a significant role in these processes. Of the three ecological earthworm groups only two (endogeic and anecic species) are thought to be involved in soil organic carbon (SOC) stabilization

Pre-treatment of soil samples prior to analysis is acknowledged to affect microbial activity and community parameters, but recommendations are diverging and there are no best-practice or standardised laboratory protocols. For the microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) as a ratio parameter of C allocated to anabolism over total metabolised C, the effects of sample pre-treatment are unpredictable because

The study of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in soil and other complex substrates is a rapidly developing field. VOCs in soils originate from a wide variety of biological sources; bacterial, fungal, mesofaunal, and plant. They are vital to inter- and intra-species interaction and soil health, and therefore offer a potential reactive, functional diagnostic tool to determine soil quality. The standard

Wetting dry soil triggers emission of nitric oxide (NO), which can harm air quality and influence ecosystem N balance. NO released after wetting may be derived from two primary mechanisms: (1) abiotic decomposition of nitrite (NO2−) present in the dry soil and (2) biologically-mediated production of NO. The relative contributions of these mechanisms to NO emission are challenging to partition. To differentiate

There is increasing concern regarding how plant diversity affects litter decomposition. However, few experiments have simultaneously investigated the independent effects of litter species composition and the richness of above-ground tree communities on litter decomposition. To elucidate the two facets of diversity effects on leaf litter decomposition, a field experiment with litterbags containing monospecific

Improving our understanding of the functions and processes of soil microbial communities and their interactions with the physicochemical soil environment requires large amounts of timely and cost-efficient soil data, which is difficult to obtain with routine laboratory-analytical methods. Soil spectroscopy with portable visible-to-near infrared (VNIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) instruments can fill this

Filamentous fungi play a key role in the terrestrial carbon cycle as they are the primary decomposers of lignocellulose in soil organic matter (SOM). Fungi secrete a wide range of oxidative and hydrolytic enzymes, and generate radicals through extracellular secondary metabolites to decompose SOM. To study fungal decomposition of SOM, the activities of isolated enzymes are typically studied as proxies

Climate warming can affect the temperature sensitivity of microbial activity and growth efficiency, possibly explained by changes to microbially unavailable carbon (C) protected within in soil aggregates. We assessed physical protection by crushing macroaggregates (250–2000 μm) and microaggregates (<250 μm) isolated from mineral soils exposed to 27 years of experimental warming (+5 °C). We hypothesized

Incomplete knowledge on the environmental factors linking litter decomposition and the formation of soil organic matter (SOM) hampers the sustainable management of soil as a carbon (C) sink. Here, we explored the effect of soil texture on the fate of C from decomposing litter (Indiangrass; Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash) and the concurrent formation of SOM in mineral soils of different textures (sand-

N leaching and gaseous N emissions from forested catchments are controlled by soils differing in nitrogen (N) status and turnover depending on landscape position. To understand the impact of topography on N retention and dissipation in forested catchments suffering from high atmospheric N deposition, we carried out an ex-situ 15N-tracing study with soils from a hillslope (HS) and a hydrologically connected

To understand how climate change impacts soil fertility and ecosystem functioning, it is necessary to explore how different pools of soil organic matter (SOM) at aggregate scale are functionally affected in their molecular composition. Here, we collected rhizospheric soil at rice harvest from a paddy field in which a simulated climate change experiment was conducted for 6 years, including CO2 enrichment

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are important in plant nutrient uptake, but their function is prone to environmental constraints including soil factors that may suppress AMF transfer of phosphorus (P) from the soil to the plant. The objective of this study was to disentangle the biotic and abiotic components of AMF-suppressive soils. Suppression was measured in terms of AMF-mediated plant uptake

We tested the “home-field advantage” hypothesis, i.e., that leaves decay faster under the parent tree species in European beech, Douglas fir, and Turkey oak stands in a mountain forest in Italy. The fate of leaves in buried litterbags was monitored for one year to document their carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics, chemical structure, and associated microbial community. The three litter types lost

In the past years, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) produced by soil microorganisms received an increasing interest, as they not only protect microbes against environmental stresses, but seem to play a pivotal role in soil structure formation as well. Within soils, root deposits provide an important source of easily accessible energy and nutrients, stimulating microbial growth to produce EPS

The soil macrofauna, including animals between 1–2 mm and 20–30 mm in size, uses soil differently from the mesofauna, which lives in cavities, or microfauna that inhabits water films. In some ecosystems, the macrofauna accounts for most of the total soil animal biomass and substantially contributes to soil food-web functioning. Additionally, the macrofauna can be among the most diverse groups in the

Rhizosphere effects play a vital role in controlling soil biogeochemical cycling. However, quantitative assessments of rhizosphere effects on belowground processes such as carbon and nitrogen cycling remain rare, especially for woody species in field experiments. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to synthesize the rhizosphere effects of woody plants (185 species from 128 sites) on belowground processes

Greater deposition of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) is expected to increase decomposition of soil organic carbon (C) in wetlands. Soil extracellular enzyme activities (EEAs) are sensitive indicators of soil biogeochemical processes, but their response to N and/or P enrichment in wetlands needs to be assessed on a global scale. We conducted a meta-analysis with peer-reviewed papers from Web of Science

Arctic plants are affected by many stressors. Root-associated fungi are thought to influence plant performance in stressful environmental conditions. However, the relationships are not well-known; do the number of fungal partners, their ecological functions and community composition mediate the impact of environmental conditions and/or influence host plant performance? To address these questions, we

Millipedes are ubiquitous soil invertebrates that play major roles in physical and chemical processes in soil. Despite their importance to soil ecology and their presumed interactions with soil microorganisms, little is known about how millipedes influence and are influenced by soil microbes. Furthermore, it is not fully understood how these millipede-microbe interactions are influenced by available

Diverse plant communities are known to increase soil carbon (C) levels compared to monocultures, but an incomplete understanding of the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon limits the development of strategies for optimizing soil C sequestration. We hypothesized that the identity of neighboring plants influences the amounts of C that a plant inputs into the soil, the resultant formation of soil

The widely distributed karst ecosystem in China has experienced rapid deterioration by deforestation and intensive cultivation in the last 50 years. Under the “Grain for Green” program, disturbed croplands were progressively abandoned to restore soil functions and ecosystem services, observed as discrete vegetation recovery phases: cultivated land, abandoned land and secondary forest, and compared

Soil aggregates may stabilize carbon at mineral surfaces and in the interior, but resolving such micro-scale carbon (C) turnover at a scale of soil aggregates <2 mm is challenged by C contaminations during sample preparation such as from resin embedding. Here we introduce a novel C-free embedding method using silica gel for water glass formation, and applied it to soil aggregates from a C3/C4 vegetation

While grassland afforestation can enhance the net mineralization of soil organic phosphorus (P), the mechanisms involved and impacts of different tree species are not clear. Soil samples were taken from replicated adjacent field plots that had been maintained under unfertilized grazed grassland, radiata pine (Pinus radiata), and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus nitens) for 19 years. Soil phosphorus fractions

Enhanced frequency and intensity of freeze-thaw cycle (FTC) owing to global climate change may influence soil carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. However, a comprehensive understanding of soil C and P cycling in response to FTC is still lacking. Here, we compiled data of 2471 observations from 75 publications and conducted a meta-analysis on the responses of soil C and

The rhizosphere microbiome plays a key role in plant nutrient provision. However, the impacts of the vertically transmitted seed microbiome on the assembly of the rhizosphere microbiome and consequently on the functional traits remain unclear. Here, to assess the role of seed-borne beneficial microbes on the assembly of rhizosphere microbiome, we conducted a guest-soil cultivation study using two maize

Plant roots are the primary source of soil organic carbon (C) and critically support the growth and activities of microbes in the rhizosphere. Climate change factors may, however, modify root-microbial interactions and impact C dynamics in the rhizosphere. Yet, the direction and magnitude of interactive climate change effects, as well as the underlying mechanisms, remain unclear. Here we show evidence

The response of soil microbial activity to climate warming has been predicted to have a large destabilising effect on the carbon cycle. However, the nature of this feedback remains poorly understood, especially in tropical ecosystems and across annual to decadal timescales. We studied the response of bacterial community growth to 2 and 11 years of altered temperature regimes, by translocating soil

The savannas (called Cerrado) are the second-largest vegetation formation in Brazil after the Amazon rainforest, with about 2 million km2. Roots have been found in very deep soil layers in Cerrado ecosystems, which suggests a crucial role of deep rooting in the supply of water and nutrients over dry periods. The aim of our study was to gain insight into the complementarity of common Cerrado woody species

Proteases play a crucial role in the soil nitrogen (N) cycle by converting protein to oligopeptides and amino acids. They are often viewed as a bottleneck in terrestrial N cycling; therefore, it is vital that we have robust methods for evaluating protease activity in soil to understand global patterns of protease activity. In response to this, several laboratory-based protease methods have been developed

Centipedes (Chilopoda) represent a dominant group of predators in temperate forest soils, where multiple species often coexist in syntopy. However, their trophic ecology is largely unknown because traditional methodologies are hindered by the secretive habits of these animals and their partial fluid-feeding. We applied a DNA-metabarcoding approach with COI to assess and compare the prey spectrum of

Climate warming affects nitrogen (N) cycling in forest soils, but implications for plant available N have remained unclear. We estimated in situ diffusive fluxes of amino acids and inorganic N in a temperate forest soil after 14 years of soil warming. Results from four sampling campaigns (n = 1152 microdialysis samples) during the growing season showed no effect of warming on diffusive N fluxes. Diffusive

Microbial residues may make a more significant contribution to soil organic carbon (SOC) than traditionally believed. However, little is known about the accumulation characteristics of fungal and bacterial residues and their contribution to SOC in salt-affected soils. We investigated changes in fungal and bacterial residues using amino sugar biomarkers along a salinity gradient in coastal salt-affected