We investigated the effects of warming on litter decomposition and the contribution of soil organisms (microbes vs. fauna) to it across the cold and warm seasons in an alpine meadow of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Our results showed that (1) warming profoundly increased litter decomposition by ~ 35%, but this warming effect only occurred in coarse-meshed bags (i.e., in the presence of soil fauna) and

Rare bacteria in rhizospheres from natural watermelon vs chimeric watermelon were investigated to understand the rare rhizobacteria assembling processes along with plant development and effects of rare species on functional stability. Over 80% of the total OTUs were defined as rare taxa (i.e., transient, permanent, and conditionally rare) in the rhizosphere. Among these three rarities, transient rare

Biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) has been considered a plant strategy to increase N use efficiency by reducing N losses via N2O emissions or nitrate leaching. However, recent studies have revealed no difference in gross nitrate production among Urochloa humidicola genotypes with previously described high- and low-BNI capacity and pointed towards a crucial role for microbial N immobilization

This position paper summarizes the current understanding of biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) to identify research needs for accelerating the development of BNI as a N2O mitigation strategy for grazed livestock systems. We propose that the initial research focus should be on the systematic screening of agronomically desirable plants for their BNI potency and N2O reduction potential. This requires

We investigated the effects of substrate (cellulose or starch) and different clay contents on the production of microbial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and concomitant development of stable soil aggregates. Soils were incubated with different amounts of montmorillonite (+ 0.1%, + 1%, + 10%) both with and without two substrates of contrasting quality (starch and cellulose). Microbial respiration

The carbon-to-phosphorus (C:P) ratios of microorganisms were quantified in the rhizosphere and bulk soil collected from six typical fertilization regimes across three long-term experiments in humid (wheat–maize rotation), semiarid (wheat–maize rotation), and arid (maize–wheat–cotton rotation) climate zones. A 32P labeling incubation experiment allowed to test the relationship between microbial biomass

Biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) has already led to several studies mainly focused on underlying molecular mechanisms and applications to agriculture. We argue that it is also important to study BNI more systematically from the ecological and evolutionary points of view to understand its implications for plants and soil nitrifiers as well as its consequences for ecosystems. Therefore, we propose

Cotton root microbiomes were investigated in two long-term rotation systems established in 2000, a bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge)-bahiagrass-peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)-cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) rotation (sod-based rotation, SBR) and a peanut-cotton-cotton rotation (conventional rotation, ConR), from 2017 to 2019. Our results demonstrate that bacterial communities were primarily structured

The influence of soil phosphorous (P) content on the N-cycling communities and subsequent effects on N2O emissions remains unclear. Two laboratory incubation experiments were conducted on soils collected from a long-term (est. 1995) P-addition field trial sampled in summer 2018 and winter 2019. Incubations were treated with a typical field amendment rate of N as well as a C-amendment to stimulate microbial

An aerobic 15N microcosmic experiment was conducted to compare the inhibitory effects of the biological nitrification inhibitor (BNI), methyl 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate (MHPP) at rates of 500 and 1000 mg kg−1 with the synthetic nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) at 1% of applied NH4+, on the gross nitrification rate (n_gross) and on the abundance and community composition

Plant residues with larger carbon (C) to nitrogen (N) ratios can stimulate microbial growth and thereby protect soil nutrients from leaching. In poorly fertilized soil, excessive immobilization may limit nutrient availability and thus plant growth. Little is known about the impact of a shallow straw incorporation on soil microbial regulation of top-dressing fertilizer nutrients and spring crop establishment

Variations of N transformation processes, N2O release rates, and N2O emission pathways were investigated at different levels of salinity (stage 1, low salinity inhibition stage; stage 2, medium salinity promotion stage; and stage 3, high salinity promotion stage) using 15 N-18O dual-isotope labeling technique. Potential nitrification rates were reduced by saltwater incursion in stage 1, increased markedly

Two patterns of bacterial growth response upon drying and rewetting (DRW) of soils have previously been identified. Bacterial growth can either start increasing immediately after rewetting in a linear fashion (“type 1” response) or start increasing exponentially after a lag period (“type 2” response). The effect of repeated DRW cycles was studied in three soils with different response patterns after

Soil fungi are vital for regulating ecosystem carbon balance and productivity, by driving processes related to soil carbon and nutrient cycling. The rate and capacity of fungi-mediated processes are linked to fungal biomass dynamics and identifying the drivers of fungal biomass is important for predicting ecosystem responses to environmental changes. Here, ergosterol-based fungal biomass estimates

An analysis of soil chemical properties and microbial community compositions in spring, summer, and autumn over a growing season was conducted at three tea farms managed using the same cultivation method on Jeju Island, Korea. The contents of SOM (soil organic matter), TC (total C), TN (total N), TS (total S), potassium (K+), and lithium (Li+) increased from spring to autumn, and significant differences

The effects of four different rates of high nitrogen (N) addition (220, 300, 450, and 750 kg N ha−1) on carbon (C) rhizodeposition, the composition of main soil microbial groups, and microbial processing of rhizodeposited C were investigated for two common grassland species, Lolium perenne L. (perennial ryegrass) and Plantago lanceolata L. (ribwort plantain). We measured net ecosystem carbon dioxide

A paddy soil, with microbial biomass considerably reduced by chloroform fumigation, was treated with low-crystalline ferrihydrite and high-crystalline goethite and with 13C-labeled acetate. In the first 10 days of the incubation, CH4 was produced mainly from the added acetate (56‒91%). After day 30, however, 3‒11% of the total CH4 emissions originated from the added acetate. Chloroform fumigation reduced

Microcosm experiments were performed to investigate the effect of organic material composition on soil bacterial and archaeal communities under paddy soil conditions. Rice straw and farmyard manure were used as the original organic materials, and three types of residues were prepared by sequential extraction from the original materials as follows: Residue 1 was obtained by lipid extraction with an

A controlled-environment study was conducted to explore possible synergistic interactions between the feremycorrhizal (FM) fungus Austroboletus occidentalis and soil free-living N2-fixing bacteria (diazotrophs). Wheat (Triticum aestivum) plants were grown under N deficiency conditions in a field soil without adding microbial inoculum (control: only containing soil indigenous microbes), or inoculated

Numerous interrelated factors (e.g., the labile C, soil NO3− concentration, and soil moisture content) are involved in controlling the microbial sources of N2O and the product stoichiometry of denitrification; however, the interactions among different factors are still poorly understood. Here, a fully robotized continuous flow soil incubation system (allowing simultaneous measurements of N2 and N2O

Estimating soil nitrogen (N) availability is important for developing effective N fertilizer recommendations for plant growth. We examined the ability of various soil biological properties to predict soil N availability, and plant dry matter and N uptake in two greenhouse trials with sorghum-sudangrass (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench ssp. Drummondii) as test crop using soils (0–10 cm) from 57 tall fescue

Climate changes are altering precipitation to more frequent extreme precipitation events that have strong impacts on the structure and functions of grassland ecosystems. We conducted a rain simulation experiment combined with in situ 15 N labeling of three nitrogen (N) forms (NO3−, NH4+, glycine) to investigate how the frequency of extreme precipitation influences plant productivity and N acquisition

The current opinion and position paper highlights (1) correct assignation of indicator phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA), (2) specificity and recycling of PLFA in microorganisms, and (3) complete extraction and detection of PLFA. The straight-chain PLFA 14:0, 15:0, 16:0, and 17:0 occur in all microorganisms, i.e., also in fungi and not only in bacteria. If the phylum Actinobacteria is excluded from the

The PICT method (pollution-induced community tolerance) can be used to assess whether changes in soil microbial response are due to heavy metal toxicity or not. Microbial community tolerance baseline levels can, however, also change due to variations in soil physicochemical properties. Thirty soil samples (0–20 cm), with geochemical baseline concentrations (GBCs) of heavy metals and from five different

Drylands are arid and semi-arid areas whose main feature is their low level of precipitation. They cover nearly half of Earth’s land surface and are distributed worldwide, constituting the planet’s largest biome. Dryland soils have low fertility, are greatly affected by climate variability, and are vulnerable to wind and water erosion. The phosphorus-rich soil dust traveling by aeolian processes from

To highlight the importance of the soil-root interface in bacterial root colonization, we performed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform to characterize the bacterial endophytes of rice plants grown by two experiments – soil and hydroponic, considering their soil, solution, and endosphere compartments. We hypothesized that rice plants from both experiments would exhibit

The capacity of several plant species or landraces to inhibit nitrification in soil (biological nitrification inhibition, BNI) has been assessed in certain tropical pastures. These assessments are commonly based on potential net nitrification rates, which do not differentiate between gross nitrification and other processes that may reduce the amount of nitrate in soil. In a greenhouse experiment using

It is well known that AM symbiosis provides several ecosystem services leading to plant adaptation in different environmental conditions and positively affects physiological and production features. Although beneficial effects from grapevine and AM fungi interactions have been reported, the impact on growth-defence tradeoff features has still to be elucidated. In this study, the potential benefits

Brachiaria humidicola (syn. Urochloa humidicola) has been acknowledged to control soil nitrification through release of nitrification inhibitors (NI), a phenomenon conceptualized as biological nitrification inhibition (BNI). Liming and N fertilization as features of agricultural intensification may suppress BNI performance, due to a decrease in NI exudation, increased NH3 availability and promotion

Soil organic phosphorus (Po) that is hydrolyzed by phosphatases into inorganic phosphate is a source of phosphorus (P) for agricultural crops. However, the hydrolysis of Po compounds is contingent on their chemical form and stabilization in the soil matrix. We quantified three hydrolyzable Po pools (simple phosphomonoesters, phospholipids, and nucleic acids) by adding substrate-specific phosphatases

A pineapple-banana rotation was studied as a model system to investigate the potential emergence of a fungal-mediated disease-suppression in a soil highly infested with the pathogen Fusarium oxysporum causing the banana wilt disease. By using both field and pot experiments, the pineapple-banana rotation system resulted in a significant decrease of the pathogen number and next-stubble banana disease

A pot experiment was carried out to study the response of Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) and broadleaf tree species (Schima superba, Cinnamomum camphora, Cyclobalanopsis glauca), representing respective native invasive and non-invasive plants in subtropical China, to N addition with three NH4+/NO3− ratios. We used 15N isotope tracing and high-throughput sequencing to study the N cycling and soil

There are increasing demands to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soils worldwide. A significant portion of these emissions occur in cold regions during soil’s freezing and thawing. Focusing on over-winter cropland nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, a review of 21 relevant peer-reviewed studies with a total of 88 comparisons was conducted to quantify the efficacy of field management practices

A column experiment with five different pore densities (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 pores column−1) and two varying moisture regimes (comparatively dry and comparatively moist regime) in the subsoil part of the columns was established. In each pore, Lumbricus terrestris was introduced for 28 days before sowing wheat plants. After 40 days of plant growth, watering was stopped to induce progressive topsoil drying

The impact of DMPP (3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate), applied at two doses (low: recommended for agronomic use; high: > 100 × the recommended), on the function, diversity, and dynamics of target microorganisms (ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms, AOM), functionally associated microorganisms (nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) and denitrifiers), and total prokaryotic and fungal microbial communities was

A 120-day field experiment was conducted to investigate the responses of soil N2O emissions, plant biomass N content, and N cycling-related functional genes to yak (Bos grunniens) dung pat size, including full-size dung pat (FDP), 1/4FDP, 1/8FDP, and 1/16FDP (i.e., FDP split into four, eight, and sixteen equal-sized dung pat fragments) in an alpine steppe on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The yield-scaled

We evaluated whether and how rapidly temperate forest tree species able to stimulate or inhibit nitrification (through biological nitrification inhibition, BNI) also influence denitrifier activity and abundance in soil and identified the main determinants of changes in denitrification. A reciprocal soil core transfer approach was implemented at a long-term experimental site between Douglas fir, a species

The effects of 13 plant growth–promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) from the maize rhizosphere and a model PGPR strain Azospirillum brasilense Az39 on maize growth were monitored in a 3-year field inoculation experiment (from 2018 to 2020) with low-nitrogen (N) (N input reduced by 50%) and low-phosphorus (P) (no P supply) soils in Northeast China. The effects of four efficient PGPR that stably promoted maize

We steered the soil microbiome via applications of organic residues (mix of cover crop residues, sewage sludge + compost, and digestate + compost) to enhance multiple ecosystem services in line with climate-smart agriculture. Our result highlights the potential to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions from agricultural soils by the application of specific organic amendments (especially digestate + compost)

N and P are essential macronutrients for all organisms. How shifts in the availability of N or P affect fungal communities in temperate forests is not well understood. Here, we conducted a factorial P × N fertilization experiment to disentangle the effects of nutrient availability on soil-residing, root-associated, and ectomycorrhizal fungi in beech (Fagus sylvatica) forests differing in P availability

A 15 N tracing study was conducted with soils from a long-term nitrogen (N) fertilization experiment to quantify the concurrent gross N transformation rates in soil and the underlying mechanisms for crop yield and N2O emission variability. The treatments were chemical fertilization (NPK, NP, PK, NK), organic fertilization (OF), half chemical/organic fertilization (HOF), and no fertilization (control

A healthy soil plant continuum is critical for maintaining agroecosystem functions and ensuring food security, which is the basis of sustainable agricultural development. Diverse soil microorganisms form a complex assembly and play an important role in agroecosystems by regulating nutrient cycling, promoting plant growth, and alleviating biotic and abiotic stresses. Improving microbial coexistence

A greenhouse experiment was conducted with five Elymus grass species: Elymus dahuricus Turcz., Elymus cylindricus Franchet, Elymus breviaristatus Keng f., Elymus nutans Griseb., and Elymus sibiricus L., measuring N2O emissions from sheep urine-affected soil, and a biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) assay was performed on root exudates of these five species. The abundances of amoA gene of ammonia-oxidizing

The product inhibition of the 4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate (MUB-P) decay rate, a measure of potential acid phosphatase activity, has not been considered in most of the published kinetic studies. The aim of this study was to determine the type and strength of the product inhibition in order to better define reaction conditions at which the acid phosphatase activity assay produces unbiased results

The fate of hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and insoluble fractions extracted from 13C-labelled maize straw and their use for the formation of bacterial and fungal-derived amino sugars (AS) were monitored during a 40-day incubation of upland and paddy soils. The highest sequestration of C in the AS pool was present in the hydrophilic fraction in both soils (1.1–1.4% of input C). Bacterial community in upland

Although studied for more than a century, the spatial distribution of microorganisms in a root system still remains partly understood. In a repeated greenhouse experiment using the model plant Brachypodium distachyon, we investigated the composition and distribution of rhizosphere bacteria and their response to inoculation with artificially selected microbial communities, using two different sampling

Proteins are the main N compounds and are important sources of both C and N for plants and microbes. Triple-labeled dissolved organic N obtained from white clover shoots was separated into five different molecular weight (Mw) size fractions (> 1 kDa). In this study, we investigated the mineralization of and the presence of C and N remaining in soil solution over 14 days across different soil pH values

A field experiment was conducted to investigate nitrogen (N)-form uptake preference and N utilization efficiency of an invasive plant Spartina alterniflora and its co-occurring native plant Phragmites australis in the Yellow River Delta, China, using a stable isotope–labeling technique. Both species preferred ammonium-N to nitrate-N and glycine-N under both intraspecific and interspecific competition

Plant interspecific interactions can be influenced by common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs), which mediate nutrient trade (rarely focused on K and such fungal benefits), but the involved mechanisms remain unclear. To test whether and how CMNs mediate nutrient trade to benefit individuals during interspecific interactions, the growth advantage and K distribution in tomato/potato-onion system were studied

Plant–microbial competition for N in the rhizosphere affects net primary production and N cycling, and depends on plant physiological factors, including photosynthesis and transpiration. Here, we studied the diurnal competition for N between plants and microorganisms and quantified plant C allocation by maize (Zea mays) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) in a nutrient-poor soil. In situ concurrent pulse

A 28-day microcosm experiment was conducted using three paddy soils (an alluvial paddy soil, a loess-formed paddy soil, and a yellow clayey paddy soil) to investigate the impact of procyanidin on N2O emissions and associated microbial mechanisms. The efficacy of procyanidin on N2O emissions varied among the paddy soils tested, with an average inhibition rate ranging from 2.7% in the alluvial paddy