Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103789
Vincent Ducasse , Vincent Tolon , Apolline Auclerc , Line Capowiez , Joséphine Peigné , Yvan Capowiez
The management of organic matter in sustainable agriculture remains challenging in the 21st century. For farms located close to large cities, the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is a potential resource to improve soil biological quality. However, this fraction can be processed in very different ways: compost, digestate, or vermicompost. We carried out a three-year trial to compare the effects on earthworm communities of two successive applications of such products at two doses (except for digestate) in a field crop recently converted to organic farming and no tillage. The abandonment of tillage led to a marked increase in the soil bulk density (from 1.25 to 1.45 g cm−3) and an associated and continuous decrease in the number of juvenile earthworms in all plots. For abundance of adult earthworms, compost had no effect, whereas digestate led to a large and rapid increase immediately after each application. By contrast, vermicompost steadily increased adult earthworm abundance (+33 to + 90 % compared to the control, depending on the sampling dates). Similar results were observed for earthworm biomass. In this trial, highly dominated by endogeics (80 % of the abundance), no difference between treatments was observed for the temporal variation of each species. However, Aporrectodea caliginosa abundance greatly increased after the first application, whereas Aporrectodea icterica only increased after the second application. The impact of vermicompost on earthworm communities has never been studied under field conditions so far, but this product seems promising for farmers who may seek to benefit from the services provided by earthworms.
在21世纪，可持续农业中的有机质管理仍然具有挑战性。对于靠近大城市的农场，城市固体废物的有机部分（OFMSW）是改善土壤生物质量的潜在资源。然而，这个部分可以用非常不同的方式处理：堆肥、消化物或蚯蚓堆肥。我们进行了一项为期三年的试验，比较在一种最近转为有机耕作和免耕的大田作物上连续两次以两种剂量（除消化剂外）施用这种产品对蚯蚓群落的影响。放弃耕作导致土壤容重显著增加（从1.25 g cm−3增加到1.45 g cm−3），并导致所有样地蚯蚓幼虫数量持续减少。对于蚯蚓成虫的丰度，堆肥没有影响，而消化液在每次施用后立即导致大量快速增加。相比之下，蚯蚓堆肥稳定地增加了成年蚯蚓的丰度（与对照相比增加了33%至90%，具体取决于采样日期）。蚯蚓生物量也观察到类似的结果。在这个试验中，高度由内源生物主导（丰度的80%），在每个物种的时间变化中，没有观察到处理之间的差异。然而，在第一次施用后，绿藻的丰度显著增加，而黄藻的丰度仅在第二次施用后增加。迄今为止，蚯蚓堆肥对蚯蚓群落的影响从未在实地条件下进行过研究，但这种产品似乎对那些可能寻求从蚯蚓提供的服务中受益的农民很有希望。
{"title":"The use of vermicompost from urban organic waste leads to a sustainable increase of earthworm abundance: a three-year study in a crop field converting to organic farming","authors":"Vincent Ducasse , Vincent Tolon , Apolline Auclerc , Line Capowiez , Joséphine Peigné , Yvan Capowiez","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103789","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103789","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The management of organic matter in sustainable agriculture remains challenging in the 21st century. For farms located close to large cities, the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is a potential resource to improve soil biological quality. However, this fraction can be processed in very different ways: compost, digestate, or vermicompost. We carried out a three-year trial to compare the effects on earthworm communities of two successive applications of such products at two doses (except for digestate) in a field crop recently converted to organic farming and no tillage. The abandonment of tillage led to a marked increase in the soil bulk density (from 1.25 to 1.45 g cm<sup>−3</sup>) and an associated and continuous decrease in the number of juvenile earthworms in all plots. For abundance of adult earthworms, compost had no effect, whereas digestate led to a large and rapid increase immediately after each application. By contrast, vermicompost steadily increased adult earthworm abundance (+33 to + 90 % compared to the control, depending on the sampling dates). Similar results were observed for earthworm biomass. In this trial, highly dominated by endogeics (80 % of the abundance), no difference between treatments was observed for the temporal variation of each species. However, <em>Aporrectodea caliginosa</em> abundance greatly increased after the first application, whereas <em>Aporrectodea icterica</em> only increased after the second application. The impact of vermicompost on earthworm communities has never been studied under field conditions so far, but this product seems promising for farmers who may seek to benefit from the services provided by earthworms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103789"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145620626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103790
Veronika Gergócs-Winkler , Norbert Flórián , Bence Kovács , Réka Aszalós , András Bidló , Péter Ódor
Continuous cover forestry is widely regarded as a more ecologically sustainable alternative to traditional rotation-based systems in Europe. However, the short- and long-term impacts of different forestry interventions on soil biota remain poorly understood. We investigated the effects of four forest management treatments on soil-dwelling oribatid mites in a European oak–hornbeam forest, five years post-intervention. Assemblages in clear-cut, gap-cut, preparation-cut, and retention tree group plots were compared with controls. Soil fauna were sampled seasonally; climatic conditions were continuously monitored, and vegetation and soil properties measured annually. Mites were identified to species level, and both taxonomic and trait-based community metrics were analysed to assess ecological responses to the treatments. Microclimatic and soil variables did not differ significantly among treatments, but leaf litter quantity was highest in the control, preparation-cutting, and retention tree group plots. Oribatid mite density and species richness were lowest in clear-cutting and gap-cutting plots, highest in the control, and intermediate in the preparation-cutting and retention tree group plots. The most abundant species, mainly from the family Oppiidae, had reduced densities in the more intensively disturbed treatments, contributing to higher evenness in those plots. Less disturbed habitats were dominated by omnivorous, predatory, and scavenger species, with higher proportions of parthenogenetic individuals. In contrast, sexual and predominantly detritivorous species were more prevalent in the clear-cutting and gap-cutting plots. Furthermore, seasonal variation in species composition was more pronounced in these disturbed plots, whereas species composition remained more stable and homogeneous in the control plots. In conclusion, higher amount of leaf litter in less disturbed plots supported the dominance of parthenogenetic and omnivorous species. Oribatid mites proved to be sensitive indicators of long-term ecological effects, highlighting the lasting impact of forestry interventions in oak–hornbeam forests, even five years after disturbance.
{"title":"Leaf litter quantity shapes oribatid mite assemblages five years following forestry interventions in a European deciduous forest","authors":"Veronika Gergócs-Winkler , Norbert Flórián , Bence Kovács , Réka Aszalós , András Bidló , Péter Ódor","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103790","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103790","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Continuous cover forestry is widely regarded as a more ecologically sustainable alternative to traditional rotation-based systems in Europe. However, the short- and long-term impacts of different forestry interventions on soil biota remain poorly understood. We investigated the effects of four forest management treatments on soil-dwelling oribatid mites in a European oak–hornbeam forest, five years post-intervention. Assemblages in clear-cut, gap-cut, preparation-cut, and retention tree group plots were compared with controls. Soil fauna were sampled seasonally; climatic conditions were continuously monitored, and vegetation and soil properties measured annually. Mites were identified to species level, and both taxonomic and trait-based community metrics were analysed to assess ecological responses to the treatments. Microclimatic and soil variables did not differ significantly among treatments, but leaf litter quantity was highest in the control, preparation-cutting, and retention tree group plots. Oribatid mite density and species richness were lowest in clear-cutting and gap-cutting plots, highest in the control, and intermediate in the preparation-cutting and retention tree group plots. The most abundant species, mainly from the family Oppiidae, had reduced densities in the more intensively disturbed treatments, contributing to higher evenness in those plots. Less disturbed habitats were dominated by omnivorous, predatory, and scavenger species, with higher proportions of parthenogenetic individuals. In contrast, sexual and predominantly detritivorous species were more prevalent in the clear-cutting and gap-cutting plots. Furthermore, seasonal variation in species composition was more pronounced in these disturbed plots, whereas species composition remained more stable and homogeneous in the control plots. In conclusion, higher amount of leaf litter in less disturbed plots supported the dominance of parthenogenetic and omnivorous species. Oribatid mites proved to be sensitive indicators of long-term ecological effects, highlighting the lasting impact of forestry interventions in oak–hornbeam forests, even five years after disturbance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103790"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145620625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-21DOI: 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103788
Zhou Jia , Lifeng Zhang , Chengzhang Wang , Longgang Jiang , Erxiong Zhu , Meng Li , Ruonan Li , Li Guo , Yihong Li , Liying Wang , Jianshuo Shi
Soil organic carbon (SOC) constitutes the largest terrestrial C reservoir, playing a pivotal role in global C cycling. Nitrogen (N) fertilization has been widely recognized as a major driver of SOC transformation and accumulation. However, the specific mechanistic pathways by which long-term differential N application rates modulate microbially derived SOC components and thereby influence SOC persistence in greenhouse vegetable production (GVP) systems remain to be elucidated. We implemented a 12-year field trial assessing five chemical N application rates (cucumber/tomato season: 0/0 (N0), 200/200 (N200), 300/225 (N300), 600/450 (N600), and 900/675 (N900) kg N ha−1 yr−1) in an intensive GVP system. This study integrates measurements of microbial necromass carbon (MNC), kinetics of C- and N-acquiring hydrolases, soil chemical properties and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) to unravel the impacts of N application rates on SOC dynamics and persistence. Our results demonstrate that MNC constitutes 54.5–77.0 % of SOC across all N addition treatments, with fungal necromass C (FNC) averaging 4.40 times higher than bacterial necromass C (BNC). Interestingly, our findings revealed that the MNC/SOC was nonlinearly correlated with elevated N addition rates. Specifically, the BNC/SOC peaked under the N600 treatment, whereas the FNC/SOC was maximized under the N300 treatment and then showed a downward trend. Hierarchical partitioning results indicated that enzymatic kinetics as the predominant regulator of both MNC/SOC and FNC/SOC, whereas soil nutrient attributes exerted stronger control over BNC/SOC. Moreover, the PLS-PM results identified soil properties (e.g., Total N, C:N, NO3−-N, dissolved organic C, pH, and electrical conductivity) as the primary positive regulators of BNC/SOC. However, FNC/SOC and MNC/SOC were predominantly driven by the kinetics of C- (α-glucosidase, β-glucosidase, β-xylosidase) and N-acquiring (N-acetyl-glucosaminidase) enzymes. Therefore, these drivers exhibited diametrically opposing effects on BNC/SOC relative to FNC/SOC (MNC/SOC). Our findings establish that optimized N management is critical for sustaining SOC sequestration in GVP systems, providing a mechanistic basis for linking N application to microbial-mediated C stabilization in the intensive agriculture systems.
土壤有机碳（SOC）是最大的陆地碳库，在全球碳循环中起着关键作用。氮肥是土壤有机碳转化和积累的主要驱动因素。然而，长期差异施氮量调节微生物来源的有机碳组分，从而影响温室蔬菜生产（GVP）系统中有机碳持久性的具体机制途径仍有待阐明。我们实施了一项为期12年的田间试验，在集约化GVP系统中评估了5种化学施氮率（黄瓜/番茄季节：0/0 （N0）、200/200 （N200）、300/225 （N300）、600/450 （N600）和900/675 (N900) kg N ha - 1年- 1）。本研究综合了微生物坏死体碳（MNC）、获取C和N的水解酶动力学、土壤化学性质和磷脂脂肪酸（PLFAs）的测量，以揭示施氮量对土壤有机碳动态和持久性的影响。结果表明，在所有N添加处理中，MNC占有机碳的54.5 - 77.0%，真菌坏死团C （FNC）平均比细菌坏死团C （BNC）高4.40倍。有趣的是，我们的研究结果表明，MNC/SOC与N添加速率的升高呈非线性相关。其中，BNC/SOC在N600处理下达到峰值，而FNC/SOC在N300处理下达到最大值，之后呈下降趋势。分层划分结果表明，酶动力学是MNC/SOC和FNC/SOC的主要调节因子，而土壤养分属性对BNC/SOC的控制作用更强。此外，PLS-PM结果确定土壤性质（如总氮、C:N、NO3−-N、溶解有机碳、pH和电导率）是BNC/SOC的主要正调节因子。FNC/SOC和MNC/SOC主要受C- （α-葡萄糖苷酶、β-葡萄糖苷酶、β-木糖糖苷酶）和n -获取（n -乙酰-葡萄糖苷酶）酶动力学驱动。因此，这些驱动因素对BNC/SOC的影响与FNC/SOC （MNC/SOC）截然相反。研究结果表明，优化的氮素管理对维持有机碳在集约化农业系统中的固存至关重要，为在集约化农业系统中将氮素施用与微生物介导的碳稳定联系起来提供了机制基础。
{"title":"Microbial necromass carbon mediates nonlinear soil carbon response to nitrogen application in the greenhouse vegetable production system","authors":"Zhou Jia , Lifeng Zhang , Chengzhang Wang , Longgang Jiang , Erxiong Zhu , Meng Li , Ruonan Li , Li Guo , Yihong Li , Liying Wang , Jianshuo Shi","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103788","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103788","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil organic carbon (SOC) constitutes the largest terrestrial C reservoir, playing a pivotal role in global C cycling. Nitrogen (N) fertilization has been widely recognized as a major driver of SOC transformation and accumulation. However, the specific mechanistic pathways by which long-term differential N application rates modulate microbially derived SOC components and thereby influence SOC persistence in greenhouse vegetable production (GVP) systems remain to be elucidated. We implemented a 12-year field trial assessing five chemical N application rates (cucumber/tomato season: 0/0 (N0), 200/200 (N200), 300/225 (N300), 600/450 (N600), and 900/675 (N900) kg N ha<sup>−1</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup>) in an intensive GVP system. This study integrates measurements of microbial necromass carbon (MNC), kinetics of C- and N-acquiring hydrolases, soil chemical properties and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) to unravel the impacts of N application rates on SOC dynamics and persistence. Our results demonstrate that MNC constitutes 54.5–77.0 % of SOC across all N addition treatments, with fungal necromass C (FNC) averaging 4.40 times higher than bacterial necromass C (BNC). Interestingly, our findings revealed that the MNC/SOC was nonlinearly correlated with elevated N addition rates. Specifically, the BNC/SOC peaked under the N600 treatment, whereas the FNC/SOC was maximized under the N300 treatment and then showed a downward trend. Hierarchical partitioning results indicated that enzymatic kinetics as the predominant regulator of both MNC/SOC and FNC/SOC, whereas soil nutrient attributes exerted stronger control over BNC/SOC. Moreover, the PLS-PM results identified soil properties (e.g., Total N, C:N, NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>-N, dissolved organic C, pH, and electrical conductivity) as the primary positive regulators of BNC/SOC. However, FNC/SOC and MNC/SOC were predominantly driven by the kinetics of C- (α-glucosidase, β-glucosidase, β-xylosidase) and N-acquiring (N-acetyl-glucosaminidase) enzymes. Therefore, these drivers exhibited diametrically opposing effects on BNC/SOC relative to FNC/SOC (MNC/SOC). Our findings establish that optimized N management is critical for sustaining SOC sequestration in GVP systems, providing a mechanistic basis for linking N application to microbial-mediated C stabilization in the intensive agriculture systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103788"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145575912","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-20DOI: 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103787
Ruiqi Wang , Hazal Kandemir , Jing Zhang , T. Martijn Bezemer , Peter M. van Bodegom , S. Emilia Hannula
Saprotrophic fungi play a fundamental role in soil ecosystems as primary decomposers, driving nutrient and carbon turnover on a global scale. Mycoviruses are considered widespread and can affect saprotrophic fungi by altering their properties, such as growth rate, stress resistance, and metabolite production. To advance the understanding of the prevalence and diversity of mycoviruses of soil saprotrophic fungi, we conducted parallel mycovirus screening in 28 saprotrophic fungi representing major groups of soil fungi and concomitantly explored soil metatranscriptomic data. De novo assembly of RNA-sequencing data uncovered two viruses from two fungal strains. One of these viruses, a ssRNA virus from Mucor sp., appears to represent a putative novel species. Analysis of eukaryotic RNA viruses in soil metatranscriptomes indicated that even though fungal and oomycete hosts made up 39.6 % of the classified eukaryotic viruses, there was no saprotrophic host assignment. Both methods showed that there were few mycoviruses in the Dutch sandy soils with different land uses. This led to the conclusion that mycoviruses affecting saprotrophic fungi may either be rare in these types of soils or more difficult to detect compared to other fungal groups. These results offer new insights into the ecological dynamics and viral associations of soil saprotrophic fungi, highlighting the need for broader sampling and improved approaches to assess mycovirus diversity and its potential ecological significance.
{"title":"Low mycovirus presence in soil saprotrophic fungi in Dutch sandy soils","authors":"Ruiqi Wang , Hazal Kandemir , Jing Zhang , T. Martijn Bezemer , Peter M. van Bodegom , S. Emilia Hannula","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103787","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103787","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Saprotrophic fungi play a fundamental role in soil ecosystems as primary decomposers, driving nutrient and carbon turnover on a global scale. Mycoviruses are considered widespread and can affect saprotrophic fungi by altering their properties, such as growth rate, stress resistance, and metabolite production. To advance the understanding of the prevalence and diversity of mycoviruses of soil saprotrophic fungi, we conducted parallel mycovirus screening in 28 saprotrophic fungi representing major groups of soil fungi and concomitantly explored soil metatranscriptomic data. <em>De novo</em> assembly of RNA-sequencing data uncovered two viruses from two fungal strains. One of these viruses, a ssRNA virus from <em>Mucor</em> sp., appears to represent a putative novel species. Analysis of eukaryotic RNA viruses in soil metatranscriptomes indicated that even though fungal and oomycete hosts made up 39.6 % of the classified eukaryotic viruses, there was no saprotrophic host assignment. Both methods showed that there were few mycoviruses in the Dutch sandy soils with different land uses. This led to the conclusion that mycoviruses affecting saprotrophic fungi may either be rare in these types of soils or more difficult to detect compared to other fungal groups. These results offer new insights into the ecological dynamics and viral associations of soil saprotrophic fungi, highlighting the need for broader sampling and improved approaches to assess mycovirus diversity and its potential ecological significance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103787"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145575906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-11DOI: 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103786
Yansong Wang, Zengru Wang, Yubing Liu
Biological soil crusts (BSCs) cover approximately 40 % of arid and semi-arid lands and are pivotal for terrestrial biogeochemical cycling. Bacteria and fungi constitute the main active constituents of BSC microbial communities, with abundant and rare taxa playing distinct roles. We investigated differences in assembly processes, adaptive strategies, and functional potential between abundant and rare bacterial and fungal taxa across BSC developments in two distinct habitats—the nutrient-poor Tengger Desert and the relatively fertile Loess Plateau. Our results reveal that stochastic dispersal limitation chiefly dominates abundant and permanently rare bacterial taxa in both habitats. In contrast, homogeneous selection dominated transiently and conditionally rare taxa, while deterministic selection pressure was more pronounced in the Tengger Desert owing to its lower nutrient availability. The successional development of BSCs drives a shift from r-to K-strategies in both habitats, with this transition being particularly pronounced in the Tengger Desert. Rare bacterial taxa harbor functional gene repertoires disproportionate to their low relative abundances and thus make outsized contributions to biogeochemical cycling; moreover, their functional potential increases progressively throughout BSC development. Functional connectivity between abundant and rare taxa was strengthened under nutrient-poor conditions. Variation in soil organic carbon content and pH emerged as primary drivers of the assembly and functional patterns. These findings indicate that nutrient-limited conditions differentially alter assembly processes and functional potential of rare and abundant taxa, and that ecological strategies shift with succession in both habitats. Our study reveals how contrasting nutrient availabilities in two arid habitats drive microbial assembly dynamics, adaptive strategies, and functional differentiation throughout BSC successional development, offering theoretical guidance for studying microbial communities and functions in arid ecosystems.
{"title":"Assembly processes, ecological strategies, and functional potentials of abundant and rare microbial taxa in biological soil crusts from two habitats in arid ecosystems","authors":"Yansong Wang, Zengru Wang, Yubing Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103786","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103786","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biological soil crusts (BSCs) cover approximately 40 % of arid and semi-arid lands and are pivotal for terrestrial biogeochemical cycling. Bacteria and fungi constitute the main active constituents of BSC microbial communities, with abundant and rare taxa playing distinct roles. We investigated differences in assembly processes, adaptive strategies, and functional potential between abundant and rare bacterial and fungal taxa across BSC developments in two distinct habitats—the nutrient-poor Tengger Desert and the relatively fertile Loess Plateau. Our results reveal that stochastic dispersal limitation chiefly dominates abundant and permanently rare bacterial taxa in both habitats. In contrast, homogeneous selection dominated transiently and conditionally rare taxa, while deterministic selection pressure was more pronounced in the Tengger Desert owing to its lower nutrient availability. The successional development of BSCs drives a shift from r-to K-strategies in both habitats, with this transition being particularly pronounced in the Tengger Desert. Rare bacterial taxa harbor functional gene repertoires disproportionate to their low relative abundances and thus make outsized contributions to biogeochemical cycling; moreover, their functional potential increases progressively throughout BSC development. Functional connectivity between abundant and rare taxa was strengthened under nutrient-poor conditions. Variation in soil organic carbon content and pH emerged as primary drivers of the assembly and functional patterns. These findings indicate that nutrient-limited conditions differentially alter assembly processes and functional potential of rare and abundant taxa, and that ecological strategies shift with succession in both habitats. Our study reveals how contrasting nutrient availabilities in two arid habitats drive microbial assembly dynamics, adaptive strategies, and functional differentiation throughout BSC successional development, offering theoretical guidance for studying microbial communities and functions in arid ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103786"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145525781","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-06DOI: 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103785
Rui Xu , Zhucheng Yu , Yang Liu , Yidan Liu , Xingcong Ma , Xiaomin Ma , Wenhao Jin , Yongfu Li , Junhui Chen , Hua Qin
Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal represent a vital pathway for plant nutrient acquisition in soils, especially in nutrient-limited subtropical broadleaved forests where AM fungi extensively colonize roots. However, critical knowledge gaps persist regarding how soil phosphorus and nitrogen gradients (including organic and inorganic forms) influence the structure and assembly mechanisms of AM fungal communities in subtropical broadleaved forests. We conducted field sampling of Schima superba rhizosphere soils (typically AM tree species), analyzing the concentrations of key soil nutrient forms (e.g., available phosphorus, organic phosphorus, ammonium, nitrate) and the AM fungal community structure via high-throughput sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene. Correlation revealed that AM fungal biomarkers (NLFA 16:1ω5) increased with soil pH. AM fungal richness exhibited a significant quadratic relationship with soil organic phosphorus (OP) concentrations and was negatively correlated with the available phosphorus (AP) to OP ratio, suggesting that a higher proportion of readily available phosphorus suppresses AM fungal diversity. Community structure (indicated by NMDS1) was primarily influenced by total phosphorus (TP) concentrations and pH, while network complexity was significantly associated with AP and NH4+-N. The assembly of AM fungal communities was dominated by deterministic processes, whose influence decreased with increasing soil OP and TP concentrations. Random forest analyses and structure equation modeling (SEM) demonstrated that the structure and assembly of AM fungal communities were jointly shaped by soil pH and P dynamic (especially OP and TP). Overall, these findings elucidate that soil pH and P forms (particularly OP) are pivotal factors governing the structure and assembly processes of AM fungal communities in subtropical broadleaved forests, advancing our understanding of AM fungal community variation in nutrient-poor environments.
{"title":"Soil pH and organic phosphorus co-shape the diversity and assembly processes of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community in subtropical broadleaved forests","authors":"Rui Xu , Zhucheng Yu , Yang Liu , Yidan Liu , Xingcong Ma , Xiaomin Ma , Wenhao Jin , Yongfu Li , Junhui Chen , Hua Qin","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103785","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103785","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal represent a vital pathway for plant nutrient acquisition in soils, especially in nutrient-limited subtropical broadleaved forests where AM fungi extensively colonize roots. However, critical knowledge gaps persist regarding how soil phosphorus and nitrogen gradients (including organic and inorganic forms) influence the structure and assembly mechanisms of AM fungal communities in subtropical broadleaved forests. We conducted field sampling of <em>Schima superba</em> rhizosphere soils (typically AM tree species), analyzing the concentrations of key soil nutrient forms (e.g., available phosphorus, organic phosphorus, ammonium, nitrate) and the AM fungal community structure via high-throughput sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene. Correlation revealed that AM fungal biomarkers (NLFA 16:1ω5) increased with soil pH. AM fungal richness exhibited a significant quadratic relationship with soil organic phosphorus (OP) concentrations and was negatively correlated with the available phosphorus (AP) to OP ratio, suggesting that a higher proportion of readily available phosphorus suppresses AM fungal diversity. Community structure (indicated by NMDS1) was primarily influenced by total phosphorus (TP) concentrations and pH, while network complexity was significantly associated with AP and NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>-N. The assembly of AM fungal communities was dominated by deterministic processes, whose influence decreased with increasing soil OP and TP concentrations. Random forest analyses and structure equation modeling (SEM) demonstrated that the structure and assembly of AM fungal communities were jointly shaped by soil pH and P dynamic (especially OP and TP). Overall, these findings elucidate that soil pH and P forms (particularly OP) are pivotal factors governing the structure and assembly processes of AM fungal communities in subtropical broadleaved forests, advancing our understanding of AM fungal community variation in nutrient-poor environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103785"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145473908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-04DOI: 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103784
Verena Groß , Mathilde Borg Dahl , Jana Täumer , Kenneth Dumack , Haitao Wang , Michael Bonkowski , Tim Urich
Bacterivorous micro- and macro-organisms are important functional guilds in the soil microbial food web, where their activities influence the community composition. Few studies to date have holistically considered the spatial and seasonal dynamics of such bacterivores in temperate grassland soils; studies of subsoil microbial food webs are particularly scarce. This represents a potential knowledge gap, as environmental conditions (e.g. season and soil depth) may affect prokaryotic and eukaryotic bacterivores differentially. Using a quantitative metatranscriptomic approach, we studied the abundance of SSU rRNA transcripts of bacterivorous bacteria, protists, and nematodes in two German grassland sites from top- and subsoils across seasons. The combined transcript abundance of all bacterivores was significantly reduced with depth. A reduction in the transcript predator-prey ratio was seen for bacterivorous protists, nematodes, and Bdellovibrionota. In contrast, facultative bacterivorous Myxococcota showed a consistently high transcript predator-prey ratio at both depths, suggesting that they dominate the bacterivore functional guild in subsoils. The transcript abundance of all bacterivores and their potential bacterial prey exhibited similar seasonal patterns at both depths. The predator-prey ratio showed bacterivore-specific seasonal and depth-dependent variations. Although this methodology has limitations, as transcript abundance does not directly reflect organism's abundance — our findings suggest a notable role for predatory bacteria as potential main consumers of bacterial biomass in subsoils. In general, increasing soil depth appears to influence the structure of the bacterivorous community, potentially reflected in a shift in the ratio of eukaryotic predators to bacterial prey.
{"title":"Investigation of the seasonal dynamics of grassland soil bacterivores in top- and subsoils","authors":"Verena Groß , Mathilde Borg Dahl , Jana Täumer , Kenneth Dumack , Haitao Wang , Michael Bonkowski , Tim Urich","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103784","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103784","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bacterivorous micro- and macro-organisms are important functional guilds in the soil microbial food web, where their activities influence the community composition. Few studies to date have holistically considered the spatial and seasonal dynamics of such bacterivores in temperate grassland soils; studies of subsoil microbial food webs are particularly scarce. This represents a potential knowledge gap, as environmental conditions (e.g. season and soil depth) may affect prokaryotic and eukaryotic bacterivores differentially. Using a quantitative metatranscriptomic approach, we studied the abundance of SSU rRNA transcripts of bacterivorous bacteria, protists, and nematodes in two German grassland sites from top- and subsoils across seasons. The combined transcript abundance of all bacterivores was significantly reduced with depth. A reduction in the transcript predator-prey ratio was seen for bacterivorous protists, nematodes, and <em>Bdellovibrionota</em>. In contrast, facultative bacterivorous <em>Myxococcota</em> showed a consistently high transcript predator-prey ratio at both depths, suggesting that they dominate the bacterivore functional guild in subsoils. The transcript abundance of all bacterivores and their potential bacterial prey exhibited similar seasonal patterns at both depths. The predator-prey ratio showed bacterivore-specific seasonal and depth-dependent variations. Although this methodology has limitations, as transcript abundance does not directly reflect organism's abundance — our findings suggest a notable role for predatory bacteria as potential main consumers of bacterial biomass in subsoils. In general, increasing soil depth appears to influence the structure of the bacterivorous community, potentially reflected in a shift in the ratio of eukaryotic predators to bacterial prey.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103784"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145473907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103783
Debao Li , Yan Li , Haibian Xu , Jianping Wu
Biodiversity plays a crucial role in regulating ecosystem functions. However, the contribution of β-diversity to ecosystem functioning remains less well understood than that of α-diversity, especially in the context of global change. Here, we evaluated the impact of nitrogen addition and understory removal on the association between soil microbial β-diversity and soil respiration in a subtropical planted forest using a five-year factorial experiment. Four treatments were compared: a control, canopy nitrogen addition (2.5 g N m−2 year−1), understory removal, and nitrogen addition combined with understory removal. We found that both understory removal and nitrogen addition significantly altered the soil temperature, moisture, nutrient availability, and pH, leading to strong environmental filtering. This strengthened the role of deterministic processes (i.e., homogeneous selection) in bacterial community assembly. The dominance of homogeneous selection in community assembly reduced bacterial β-diversity. By contrast, nitrogen addition and understory removal did not impact soil fungal community assembly or β-diversity. In addition, soil bacterial β-diversity correlated positively with respiration, unlike fungal β-diversity, which showed no link. Our findings suggest that local-scale disturbances can disrupt bacterial-driven ecosystem processes in forest plantation. Furthermore, the presence of understory vegetation can at least partially mitigate the effects of nitrogen deposition on soil bacterial β-diversity and soil respiration. Therefore, the preservation of understory vegetation may sustain soil functional diversity in plantations experiencing high rates of nitrogen deposition.
生物多样性在调节生态系统功能中起着至关重要的作用。然而，与α-多样性相比，β-多样性对生态系统功能的贡献仍然较少，特别是在全球变化的背景下。通过5年因子试验，研究了氮添加和林下植被去除对亚热带人工林土壤微生物β多样性与土壤呼吸关系的影响。对照、冠层加氮（2.5 g N m−2年−1年）、去除林下植被、加氮+去除林下植被4种处理进行了比较。研究发现，林下植被去除和氮素添加均显著改变了土壤温度、湿度、养分有效性和pH值，导致了强烈的环境过滤作用。这加强了确定性过程（即同质选择）在细菌群落组装中的作用。群落组装中同质选择的优势降低了细菌β多样性。氮素添加和林下植被去除对土壤真菌群落组合和β多样性没有影响。土壤细菌β多样性与呼吸作用呈显著正相关，而真菌β多样性与呼吸作用无显著正相关。我们的研究结果表明，局部尺度的干扰可以破坏森林人工林中细菌驱动的生态系统过程。此外，林下植被的存在至少可以部分缓解氮沉降对土壤细菌β多样性和土壤呼吸的影响。因此，在高氮沉降速率的人工林中，保护林下植被可以维持土壤功能的多样性。
{"title":"Linking microbial community assembly to β-diversity and soil respiration under canopy nitrogen addition and understory removal in a subtropical forest","authors":"Debao Li , Yan Li , Haibian Xu , Jianping Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103783","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103783","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biodiversity plays a crucial role in regulating ecosystem functions. However, the contribution of β-diversity to ecosystem functioning remains less well understood than that of α-diversity, especially in the context of global change. Here, we evaluated the impact of nitrogen addition and understory removal on the association between soil microbial β-diversity and soil respiration in a subtropical planted forest using a five-year factorial experiment. Four treatments were compared: a control, canopy nitrogen addition (2.5 g N m<sup>−2</sup> year<sup>−1</sup>), understory removal, and nitrogen addition combined with understory removal. We found that both understory removal and nitrogen addition significantly altered the soil temperature, moisture, nutrient availability, and pH, leading to strong environmental filtering. This strengthened the role of deterministic processes (i.e., homogeneous selection) in bacterial community assembly. The dominance of homogeneous selection in community assembly reduced bacterial β-diversity. By contrast, nitrogen addition and understory removal did not impact soil fungal community assembly or β-diversity. In addition, soil bacterial β-diversity correlated positively with respiration, unlike fungal β-diversity, which showed no link. Our findings suggest that local-scale disturbances can disrupt bacterial-driven ecosystem processes in forest plantation. Furthermore, the presence of understory vegetation can at least partially mitigate the effects of nitrogen deposition on soil bacterial β-diversity and soil respiration. Therefore, the preservation of understory vegetation may sustain soil functional diversity in plantations experiencing high rates of nitrogen deposition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103783"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145424537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103781
Yuexiong Wang , Zhenchang Wang , Jinjing Liu , Rangjian Qiu , Cheng Hong , Minghao Tian , Kexin Chen , Xiaoman Qiang
Soil texture heterogeneity together with agronomic practices like drip irrigation, furrow-bed seeding, and straw mulching often introduces abrupt changes in soil physical properties, causing uneven soil salinity (Sa) and nitrogen (N) distribution in the root-zone. While rhizosphere bacterial and plant responses to Sa or N heterogeneity have been widely investigated, N supply modes may alter root responses to heterogeneous Sa stress and simultaneously influence bacterial communities. To elucidate the coupled impacts of heterogeneous Sa and N on plant growth and rhizosphere bacteria as well as their relationships, two Sa distribution patterns (Sa1: 1/5 g kg−1 NaCl on the low-/high-salinity sides; Sa2: 3/3 g kg−1 NaCl) and three N supply modes (N1: 270/0 mg kg−1 N; N2: 0/270 mg kg−1 N; N3: 135/135 mg kg−1 N) were implemented. Herein, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and co-occurrence network analysis revealed bacterial community characteristics and network topological features under different treatments. We found that compared to uniform Sa distribution, uneven distribution of Sa significantly increased root biomass and surface area on the low-salinity side, thereby facilitating compensatory uptake of water and nutrients and ultimately increasing tomato total biomass and N content. Besides, N supply modes altered plant root responses to Sa heterogeneity, with N2 and N3 tomatoes exhibiting greater total N content and biomass in plants than N1 under the Sa1 distribution. Compared to the Sa2N3 treatment, the Sa1N2 treatment increased the Chao1 index and enriched beneficial core rhizobacteria such as Acidobacteriota, enhancing potential cooperation among rare taxa. The above shifts were primarily driven by heterogeneous Sa, which altered soil water content, soil NO3-N content, EC1:5, and root distribution, thereby restructuring bacterial community composition and co-occurrence network patterns. The SEM model further indicated that variations in bacterial diversity (Chao1 index) reshaped functional profiles, thereby regulating N availability. Additionally, the Chao1 index exhibited significant positive relationships with tomato total biomass, particularly Chao1 index on the low-salinity side. This study highlights the importance of bacterial diversity of rare taxa as predictors for reflecting the coupling effect of heterogeneous salinity and nitrogen on plant growth, thereby deepening our understanding of the contribution of bacteria in plant responses to salinity-nitrogen heterogeneity.
土壤质地的异质性，加上滴灌、沟床播种和秸秆覆盖等农艺措施，往往会导致土壤物理性质的突变，导致根区土壤盐分（Sa）和氮(N)分布不均匀。虽然根际细菌和植物对Sa或N异质性的响应已被广泛研究，但N供应模式可能会改变根对异质Sa胁迫的响应，同时影响细菌群落。为了阐明非均质Sa和N对植物生长和根际细菌的耦合影响及其相互关系，采用2种Sa分布模式（低/高盐侧Sa1: 1/5 g kg - 1 NaCl； Sa2: 3/3 g kg - 1 NaCl）和3种N供应模式（N1: 270/0 mg kg - 1 N; N2: 0/270 mg kg - 1 N; N3: 135/135 mg kg - 1 N）进行研究。通过16S rRNA基因扩增子测序和共现网络分析，揭示了不同处理下细菌群落特征和网络拓扑结构特征。研究发现，与均匀分布的Sa相比，不均匀分布的Sa显著增加了低盐侧根系生物量和表面积，从而促进了水分和养分的补偿性吸收，最终提高了番茄总生物量和氮含量。此外，氮供应模式改变了植株根系对Sa异质性的响应，在Sa1分布下，N2和N3番茄的植株总氮含量和生物量均高于N1。与Sa2N3处理相比，Sa1N2处理提高了Chao1指数，丰富了有益的核心根瘤菌，如酸性菌群，增强了稀有类群之间的合作潜力。上述变化主要由非均质Sa驱动，改变了土壤含水量、土壤NO3-N含量、EC1:5和根系分布，从而重构了细菌群落组成和共生网络格局。SEM模型进一步表明，细菌多样性（Chao1指数）的变化重塑了功能谱，从而调节氮的有效性。此外，Chao1指数与番茄总生物量呈极显著正相关，特别是低盐侧的Chao1指数。本研究强调了稀有分类群细菌多样性作为反映非均质盐氮对植物生长耦合效应的预测因子的重要性，从而加深了我们对细菌在植物对盐氮非均质响应中的贡献的认识。
{"title":"Heterogeneous salinity and nitrogen in the root-zone influences soil water status, rhizosphere bacteria distributions and promotes tomato growth","authors":"Yuexiong Wang , Zhenchang Wang , Jinjing Liu , Rangjian Qiu , Cheng Hong , Minghao Tian , Kexin Chen , Xiaoman Qiang","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103781","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103781","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil texture heterogeneity together with agronomic practices like drip irrigation, furrow-bed seeding, and straw mulching often introduces abrupt changes in soil physical properties, causing uneven soil salinity (Sa) and nitrogen (N) distribution in the root-zone. While rhizosphere bacterial and plant responses to Sa or N heterogeneity have been widely investigated, N supply modes may alter root responses to heterogeneous Sa stress and simultaneously influence bacterial communities. To elucidate the coupled impacts of heterogeneous Sa and N on plant growth and rhizosphere bacteria as well as their relationships, two Sa distribution patterns (Sa1: 1/5 g kg<sup>−1</sup> NaCl on the low-/high-salinity sides; Sa2: 3/3 g kg<sup>−1</sup> NaCl) and three N supply modes (N1: 270/0 mg kg<sup>−1</sup> N; N2: 0/270 mg kg<sup>−1</sup> N; N3: 135/135 mg kg<sup>−1</sup> N) were implemented. Herein, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and co-occurrence network analysis revealed bacterial community characteristics and network topological features under different treatments. We found that compared to uniform Sa distribution, uneven distribution of Sa significantly increased root biomass and surface area on the low-salinity side, thereby facilitating compensatory uptake of water and nutrients and ultimately increasing tomato total biomass and N content. Besides, N supply modes altered plant root responses to Sa heterogeneity, with N2 and N3 tomatoes exhibiting greater total N content and biomass in plants than N1 under the Sa1 distribution. Compared to the Sa2N3 treatment, the Sa1N2 treatment increased the Chao1 index and enriched beneficial core rhizobacteria such as <em>Acidobacteriota</em>, enhancing potential cooperation among rare taxa. The above shifts were primarily driven by heterogeneous Sa, which altered soil water content, soil NO<sub>3</sub>-N content, EC<sub>1:5,</sub> and root distribution, thereby restructuring bacterial community composition and co-occurrence network patterns. The SEM model further indicated that variations in bacterial diversity (Chao1 index) reshaped functional profiles, thereby regulating N availability. Additionally, the Chao1 index exhibited significant positive relationships with tomato total biomass, particularly Chao1 index on the low-salinity side. This study highlights the importance of bacterial diversity of rare taxa as predictors for reflecting the coupling effect of heterogeneous salinity and nitrogen on plant growth, thereby deepening our understanding of the contribution of bacteria in plant responses to salinity-nitrogen heterogeneity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103781"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145424536","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-31DOI: 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103782
Joliese Teunissen , Anne Kupczok , Dirk F. van Apeldoorn , Stefan Geisen
The current crop system needs to become more sustainable to halt the severe environmental impacts associated with intensive monocultures. Alternative agricultural methods, like intercropping, could increase sustainability by better utilizing the biological functions of the plant-soil ecosystem, particularly through plant-associated bacteria. Soil bacteria are key players in supplying many ecosystem functions and thus contribute to plant performance. The effect of intercropping on soil bacteria is a crucial but understudied part of integrating intercropping into the global agricultural system. Here we characterized the effect of intercropping on soil bacterial communities, by comparing intra-versus interspecific crop interactions within one organic strip-intercropping field. We determined the alpha diversity and community composition of soil bacteria across 8 crop species and 16 crop combinations. We found that bacterial alpha diversity was not affected by crop species or crop combination. In contrast, bacterial community composition was influenced by crop species, with certain crops such as parsnip, potato and celeriac shaping their associated bacterial community in both intra- and interspecific crop interactions. Minute differences (<3 %) in soil moisture between crop species determined the strongest patterns observed here. Our findings highlight that crop diversification in the context of strip-intercropping does not always modulate soil bacterial communities under field conditions.
{"title":"Strip-intercropping of eight crop species shows limited within-field variation of soil bacterial communities","authors":"Joliese Teunissen , Anne Kupczok , Dirk F. van Apeldoorn , Stefan Geisen","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103782","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103782","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The current crop system needs to become more sustainable to halt the severe environmental impacts associated with intensive monocultures. Alternative agricultural methods, like intercropping, could increase sustainability by better utilizing the biological functions of the plant-soil ecosystem, particularly through plant-associated bacteria. Soil bacteria are key players in supplying many ecosystem functions and thus contribute to plant performance. The effect of intercropping on soil bacteria is a crucial but understudied part of integrating intercropping into the global agricultural system. Here we characterized the effect of intercropping on soil bacterial communities, by comparing intra-versus interspecific crop interactions within one organic strip-intercropping field. We determined the alpha diversity and community composition of soil bacteria across 8 crop species and 16 crop combinations. We found that bacterial alpha diversity was not affected by crop species or crop combination. In contrast, bacterial community composition was influenced by crop species, with certain crops such as parsnip, potato and celeriac shaping their associated bacterial community in both intra- and interspecific crop interactions. Minute differences (<3 %) in soil moisture between crop species determined the strongest patterns observed here. Our findings highlight that crop diversification in the context of strip-intercropping does not always modulate soil bacterial communities under field conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103782"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145424535","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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