Bacterial communities are major participant in the alpine biogeochemical phosphorus (P) cycle. However, shifts in the main bacteria towards phosphorus recycling systems (BPRS) over elevation gradients and their driving factors are poorly understood. In this work, BPRS were associated with bacterial sequences according to Illumina sequencing and a published dataset of BPRS orders. BPRS communities over

Ecosystem degradation is one of the most pressing environmental problems in the world. Re-vegetation is the major method in land restoration, playing an important role in improving soil quality and biodiversity. Bacteria constitute a vital part of terrestrial ecosystems; however, the relationship between bacteria and restoration of degraded land is not well understood. In this study, we investigated

Diatoms constitute a major part of microbial biomass and species richness in soil habitats. However, in spite of a growing interest on soil diatoms, variations in soil diatom communities across different types of soil are poorly known. We hypothesize that diatom communities are different in distinct soil types and can serve as a potential bioindicator for soil environmental assessment. Thirty-four

In order to understand the dynamic changes of in the rhizosphere microbiome during potato cultivation, we studied the rhizosphere microbial diversity and soil physical-chemical properties during the growth of potato plants in soil that had been under continuous cultivation for five years. The V3–V4 region from chromosomal prokaryotic 16S rRNA and the fungal ITS1-ITS2 region were sequenced by Illumina

Human-induced nitrogen (N) enrichment contributes to plant nutrient status, which potentially alters the stoichiometry of carbon (C), N, and phosphorus (P) in plants and soil. However, the response of ecological stoichiometry in a moss crust-soil continuum to N enrichment in a N-limited desert ecosystem has not been comprehensively explored. Here, we conducted a four-level N addition experiment [0

Wood harvesting is restricted to a system of permanent skid trails in order to minimize the soil disturbance and damage. Therefore, it is not the compaction of previously undisturbed forest soil, but the re-compaction of already existing skid trails that is of practical relevance when investigating machinery-induced wood harvest effects on soil properties. This study investigated the effects of machinery-induced

Oribatid mites are one of the numerically dominant arthropod groups in soils. They play an important role in soil food webs via regulating the decomposition of organic matter and propagating microorganisms within the soil. To our knowledge, the influence of different plant functional groups on oribatid mites has not been studied in abandoned farmland with undisturbed succession before. The density

Nowadays, molecular analyses play an important role in studies of soil dwelling animals, for example in taxonomy, phylogeography or food web analyses. The quality of the DNA, used for later molecular analyses, is an important factor and depends on collection and preservation of samples prior to DNA extraction. Ideally, DNA samples are frozen immediately upon collection, but if samples are collected

In this greenhouse experiment we tested whether (i) ubiquitous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) taxa (Glomus claroideum, Glomus geosporum, Glomus intraradices, Glomus mosseae) singly and in a mixture differently affect growth and biomass production of four co-occurring grassland species (grass: Arrhenatherum elatius, non-leguminous forbs: Plantago lanceolata, Salvia pratensis and leguminous forb

The density of soil macrofauna groups in nine grassy arable fallows of different age were investigated in a factorial design with the factors 'plant species' (legume: Medicago sativa, herb: Taraxacum officinale, grass: Bromus sterilis) and 'age class' (A1: 2-3/3-4, A2: 6-8/7-9, A3: 12-15/13-16 years in 2008/2009). Four plots were selected randomly at each fallow. In May 2008 and May 2009, within each