Mangrove ecosystems are important for carbon storage due to their high productivity and low decomposition rates. Waterways have experienced increased nutrient loads as a result of anthropogenic activities and it is unclear how this may affect carbon and nutrient cycles in downstream mangroves that receive these nutrient-rich waters. Using a laboratory-based incubation experiment, this study aimed to

Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) coupled with simultaneous consumption of nitrous oxide (N2O) has been recently reported, but the underlying coupling mechanism remains unclear. Here, we investigated N2O-mediated AOM in paddy soil under amendment of electron shuttles (anthraquinone-2,6-disulphonate and methylviologen). Sixty-day anaerobic incubation showed that N2O-mediated AOM occurred in paddy

Tropical forest soils contain some of the largest carbon (C) stocks on Earth, yet the effects of warming on the fate of fresh C entering tropical soils are still poorly understood. This research sought to understand how the fate of fresh C entering soils is influenced by warming, soil weathering status, and C chemistry. We hypothesized that compounds that are quickly incorporated into microbial biomass

Microfluidic soil chips render optical access to the naturally opaque soil systems and enable direct investigation of microbial growth and interactions in micro-structurally and chemically controlled environments. However, chemical analyses of these interactions at high spatial and temporal resolution are still lacking. Here we propose that the use of advanced microspectroscopy techniques, namely infrared

PhoD harboring microorganisms are crucial for the regulation of soil phosphorus (P) cycling through the secretion of alkaline phosphomonoesterases and are also known to be sensitive to fertilizer inputs. However, the impacts of long-term mineral and organic fertilizer inputs on active phoD-harboring functional communities in soils remain largely unknown. In the present study, 18O-DNA-stable isotope

Nutrient losses due to leaching from agricultural soils can be substantial but, in some cases, soil microbes such as arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi can buffer those losses. An important knowledge gap, however, is the extent to which climate change may affect AM fungal mediation of leaching via warming and drought. To investigate this, we grew lucerne (Medicago sativa) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea)

The effect of climate change on peatlands is of great importance due to their large carbon stocks. In this study, we examined microbial biomass and effect of temperature and O2 availability on soil respiration of surface and subsurface Sphagnum peat. The interactive effect of biotic and abiotic factors significantly affects soil respiration. Increasing temperature enhanced the microbial respiratory

Soil heterogeneity influences microbial access to substrates and creates habitats varying in substrate concentrations, thus leading to local variations in carbon (C) dynamics. Based on theoretical considerations, we expected that higher heterogeneity would decrease microbial activity. To test this hypothesis, we modified substrate spatial heterogeneity using 3D-printed cylinders with four compartments

Termite mounds are an important habitat for an enormous diversity of microorganisms. However, the microbial community assembly processes in termite mounds remain unresolved, which impeded our ability to predict the biological functions of these mound-associated microbiota under the global changes. Here we conducted a large-scale investigation in northern Australia to explore biogeographical patterns

Organic amendments can stimulate soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization and soil aggregation simultaneously, which can improve C sequestration and soil fertility. However, the microbial mechanism governing C mineralization at the aggregate level remains uncertain. Here, we investigate how long-term organic amendments change SOC mineralization via affecting the microbial community composition and

Partitioning soil respiration (Rs) into heterotrophic (Rh) and autotrophic (Ra) compartments is an important first step in understanding the response of soil carbon flux to changes in climate. This is because Rh and Ra respond differently to changing environmental conditions. However, the methods currently used to partition Rs have high costs and large uncertainties. In this study, we developed a simple

Soil organic matter (SOM) represents an important terrestrial carbon reservoir in the biosphere, and microorganisms have been recognized as significant material contributors to the formation of SOM. However, the turnover of microbial biomass residues with respect to their detailed microbial food web remains elusive. To elucidate this turnover process, we traced the fate of Gram-negative (Gram−) microbial

A laboratory incubation study was conducted on a temperate grassland soil to quantify the main mineral nitrogen (N) transformation rates and pathways via a15N tracing approach. Soil samples were taken from a long-term phosphorus (P) trial to investigate the effects on gross N transformations under high and low phosphorus amendment. The soils were incubated over a 2-week period and treated with ammonium-nitrate

Biocrusts are ecosystem engineers providing vital functions and services on the Earth's land surface, while biocrust ecology in degraded karst landscapes has not yet been well understood. Herein, we aim to address this research gap by comparing the differences of soil nutrients, extracellular enzyme activities, and microbial communities between intact crusts and moss-free crusts in a degraded ecosystem

The redox cycle of iron (Fe) is a key process in the biogeochemistry of paddy field soil. It has been recently remarked that Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria belonging to the family Gallionellaceae (Gallionella-related FeOB) are one of the key players in the Fe(II) oxidation in the soil. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation for water-saving

Feremycorrhiza (FM) is a newly discovered plant-fungus symbiosis that improves plant growth and nutrition without development of interface structures (i.e. no root colonization). The host plant range in the FM symbiosis is currently unknown. We report the results of controlled environment investigations characterizing the capability of crops to establish FM symbiosis with Austroboletus occidentalis

Soil carbon (C) stabilization has become an important topic in recent years in the context of global climate change. Increasing evidence suggests that microbial residues represent a significant fraction of persistent soil C pools. However, patterns and determinants of soil microbial residues across different biomes remain poorly understood. Here, by combining field investigations from tropical to boreal

Increased rainfall may affect soil phosphorus (P) cycling in tropical forest ecosystems, yet the key biotic and abiotic factors that govern soil organic P transformations remain unclear. In this study, we conducted a long-term (7 years) rainfall manipulation experiment in the field to examine the effects of increased rainfall (+25%) in the wet season on soil P dynamics in a tropical forest. We found

Soil microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is a combination of growth and respiration, which may respond differently to climate change depending on physical protection of soil carbon (C) and its availability to microbes. In a mid-latitude hardwood forest in central Massachusetts, 27 years of soil warming (+5 °C) has resulted in C loss and altered soil organic matter (SOM) quality, yet the underlying

Membrane lipids and their related acyl and/or alkyl moieties are important biomarkers of the microbial community in environmental samples. Intact polar lipids, which are described by their lipid head groups and fatty acid tails, are major membrane components of living cells only and may therefore provide information about the living soil microbial community. However, the intact polar lipids in soil

Earthworms and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have substantial individual effects on the supply and absorption of soil nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems. How their interactions regulate the soil living microbial community and microbial necromass accumulation remains unknown. We hypothesized that the effect of their interaction on the microbial community and necromass accumulation may relate to

Soil texture is well known to directly affect bioavailability of organic matter to heterotrophs, but it also steers their activity by moderating soil moisture fluctuation. Disentangling these direct and indirect textural controls is, however, not trivial and attempts to do so are very scarce. Most attention has just gone to the stimulation of soil carbon (C) mineralization by soil moisture fluctuation

Strong associations exist between microbial communities and soil functions in natural ecosystems at large spatial scales; however, it is unclear whether these linkages are maintained in intensively managed croplands and whether these associations influence plant productivity. We collected bulk and rhizosphere soils from wheat fields –one of the most functionally and economically important crops worldwide

Biogeochemical weathering of bedrock is the most important input of silicon (Si) and phosphorus (P) to forest ecosystems. While soil microbes, and in particular P-solubilizing bacteria (PSB), are known to accelerate the solubilization of Si and P from silicate rocks, our understanding of the mechanisms driving biogenic weathering are still limited. To fill this gap, incubation experiments with weathered

Natural forest disturbance events can influence soil biogeochemical processes in two ways - by creating downed woody debris (DWD; fallen tree boles or branches) and by creating canopy gaps that alter forest microclimate. DWD represents a substrate for microbial growth and a persistent store of carbon and nutrients, but microbial activity is also sensitive to temperature and moisture. We studied the

Impacts of manure application on the soil fungal community in agricultural systems have been extensively explored. However, the contribution of manure-sourced exogenous species in shaping soil fungal diversity and community assemblage are still open questions. In this study, fungal communities in soils that received manure with or without chemical fertilizers, as well as a no fertilizer control, were

Mineralization of soil organic carbon and CO2 emission from the soil is slowed by interactions between organic matter and minerals. The main minerals involved are clay minerals and oxides but there is limited understanding of their effects when combined, as occurs in soil. We aimed to determine the effects of clay content and composition on organic carbon stabilization in soil, and the mechanisms involved

One of the greatest challenges in soil ecology is to disentangle the plant-mediated bottom-up factors regulating soil biodiversity and community composition. The soil food web, fundamentally driving nearly all ecosystem functions, is controlled by the quantity and quality of root-mediated resources. Here, a trait-based approach was adopted to explore the divergence of soil nematode functional guilds

The greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) is produced in soil as a consequence of complex co-occurring processes conducted by diverse microbial species, including fungi. The fungal p450nor gene encodes a nitric oxide reductase associated with fungal denitrification. We thus hypothesized that p450nor gene expression is a marker for ongoing fungal denitrification. Specific PCR primers and quantitative PCR

The diversity and structure of plant and soil microbial communities are influenced by temporal variability in environmental conditions (e.g., precipitation); however, it is unclear whether the responses of these biotic communities to land use practices (e.g., N fertilization and mowing) also vary over time. Here we investigated how harvesting hay by mowing and applications of N fertilization at different

The adaptability of soil microbial communities to prolonged periods of drought is influenced by their ability to produce extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) with sufficient water retention properties. Microbial EPS have been extensively investigated as water reservoirs during drought, but it remains unknown how carbon substrate accessibility to soil microbial communities will affect the chemical

Most studies on the contribution of ants to N2O emissions focus on above-ground species. However, it is uncertain how belowground-nesting ants affect such gaseous N emissions. Here, we tested the species-specific effects on N2O emissions in a tropical forest, of three ant species, namely Pheidole capellini (a honeydew harvester), Odontoponera transversa (a predator), and Pheidologeton affinis (a scavenger)

Metabolites in soil play an important role in regulating plant-microbe interactions and, thereby, plant performance. Biotic factors such as root exudation and microbial activity or abiotic factors such as the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) can drive both quantitative and qualitative changes in soil metabolite profiles. While the impact of these factors, either in isolation or in

Bacteria and fungi, representing two major soil microorganism groups, play an important role in global nutrient biogeochemistry. Biogeographic patterns of bacterial and fungal biomass are of fundamental importance for mechanistically understanding nutrient cycling. We synthesized 1323 data points of phospholipid fatty acid-derived fungal biomass C (FBC), bacterial biomass C (BBC), and fungi:bacteria

Understanding plant roots induced changes in soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition, the rhizosphere effect, is critical to predict soil carbon and nutrient cycling within and across biomes. However, the root-centered mechanisms regulating such rhizosphere effect remain unclear. In this study, the rhizosphere effect on SOM decomposition was measured by incubating rhizosphere and bulk soils sampled

Rhizosphere and endosphere microorganisms are recognized as an extended plant genome. Changes in rhizosphere and endosphere microbial community structure are closely linked to plant nutrition uptake, development and immunity. Mortierella is a saprophytic oleaginous fungus, with various agricultural benefits, which have triggered interest in recent years. Here, we conducted Mortierella capitata inoculation

Determining the drivers underlying ecological succession is essential for predicting ecosystem functioning in response to human-induced environmental changes. Although various studies have examined the impacts of nitrogen (N) addition on plant and microbial community diversity, structure and activities, it remains unknown how long-term anthropogenic fertilization affects the ecological succession of

Large amounts of H2 are produced in the nodules of legume plants during N2-fixation, which often subsequently leaks to the surrounding soil environment. This leaked H2 activates H2-oxidizing bacterial (HOB) communities and thus can alter microbial community structure and soil carbon and nitrogen turnover; a process that may explain part of the positive effect of crop rotations with legumes. We tested

In mid latitude regions of North America, many soils are subjected to freeze-thaw conditions (Fr–Th) during the late winter and early spring months. Fr–Th events are usually accompanied by flushes of C and N mineralization, yet, the concomitant response of nitrification has not been consistently characterized. A laboratory experiment was conducted on three soils that differ in their annual history

New Zealand's culturally iconic, ancient kauri (Agathis australis) forests are threatened with extinction as a result of dieback caused by an invasive and highly virulent soil-borne pathogen (Phytophthora agathidicida). Kauri trees function as a foundation species in their forests, supporting an ecologically distinct plant and soil environment. The impacts of disease outbreak and subsequent tree dieback

Increasing frequency and magnitude of climatic extremes, such as heat waves are expected to enhance abiotic stresses on ecological communities. It has been proposed that ecological communities in disturbed habitats may be most sensitive to climatic extremes, as disturbance may reduce density and diversity of higher trophic level organisms like predators. However, there is little experimental evidence

Forest disturbances have a strong effect on soil fungal communities and associated ecosystem processes. However, little is known about the response of mycelial biomass to disturbances, and how fungi reallocate carbon into different fungal structures under environmental stressors. We investigated above- and below-ground fungal biomass shifts in response to different intensities of forest management

Application of biochar has been widely suggested as a remediation tool for trace element-polluted soils, but the impact of biochar on microbial communities and on native plants remain largely unknown. To overcome this knowledge gap, biochar produced from rice husk and olive pit were applied at a rate of 8 t ha−1 into a soil with two contrasting levels of trace elements (high and moderate) to study

Volcanic deposits increase soil organic carbon storage. However, little is known about the effect of volcanic deposits on forest soil nitrogen (N) dynamics and microbial communities. We explored gross and net N transformation rates and microbial community structure using a phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) method across eight forests with soils derived from different parent material in Japan. Volcanic

The nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) is used to limit nitrogen (N) losses incurred following nitrification of applied N fertilisers. Inhibitor efficacy changes with soil conditions including pH and organic matter (OM) content, both of which can be stratified down the soil profile. An incubation study was conducted using acidic soil that exhibited pH stratification. Soil