Pub Date : 2024-11-05DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109645
Karl Ritz, Joshua Schimel, Joann Whalen
Section snippets
Preface
Soil Biology and Biochemistry is a specialist primary research journal. As such, it can be assumed that the majority of the readership will have an intermediate to expert level of knowledge of the discipline in broad terms, and almost certainly have deep knowledge and expertise in specific areas. The storyline of papers should allow for this.We repeat the aims and scope of the journal here verbatim because they are so fundamental to the development of an effective paper:
Soil Biology and
Follow the Guide for Authors to the letter
These instructions1 must be followed, for a reason. Manuscripts which are structured and formatted consistently ease the assessment and publishing process. Prescribed styles that are coherent within journals make it easier for editors and reviewers to locate, assimilate and interpret the different aspects of a submission. Anomalies and obfuscations are then easier to detect. The assessors can then be
Conclusions
Many of the manuscripts we see – and hence reject on preliminary assessment – are more akin to basic reports than insightful scientific research papers. That is, they involve a general and rather superficial introduction; set bland pseudo-hypotheses; laboriously present the results of the study; but then fail to use those results to answer a deeper or more fundamental question. They are typically limited to the specific context of the particular time, place or experimental treatment. Soil
{"title":"How to produce an effective manuscript: further perspectives from the Editors-in-Chief of Soil Biology and Biochemistry","authors":"Karl Ritz, Joshua Schimel, Joann Whalen","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109645","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109645","url":null,"abstract":"<h2>Section snippets</h2><section><section><h2>Preface</h2>Soil Biology and Biochemistry is a <em>specialist primary research journal</em>. As such, it can be assumed that the majority of the readership will have an intermediate to expert level of knowledge of the discipline in broad terms, and almost certainly have deep knowledge and expertise in specific areas. The storyline of papers should allow for this.We repeat the aims and scope of the journal here verbatim because they are so fundamental to the development of an effective paper:<blockquote><em>Soil Biology and</em></blockquote></section></section><section><section><section><h2>Follow the Guide for Authors to the letter</h2>These instructions<sup>1</sup> must be followed, for a reason. Manuscripts which are structured and formatted consistently ease the assessment and publishing process. Prescribed styles that are coherent within journals make it easier for editors and reviewers to locate, assimilate and interpret the different aspects of a submission. Anomalies and obfuscations are then easier to detect. The assessors can then be</section></section></section><section><section><h2>Conclusions</h2>Many of the manuscripts we see – and hence reject on preliminary assessment – are more akin to basic reports than insightful scientific research papers. That is, they involve a general and rather superficial introduction; set bland pseudo-hypotheses; laboriously present the results of the study; but then fail to use those results to answer a deeper or more fundamental question. They are typically limited to the specific context of the particular time, place or experimental treatment. Soil</section></section>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142579850","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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 : 2024-11-02DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109644
Natalie J. Oram, Fiona Brennan, Nadine Praeg, Richard D. Bardgett, Paul Illmer, Johannes Ingrisch, Michael Bahn
Terrestrial ecosystems are increasingly threatened by extreme drought events. Soil microbial communities are central to terrestrial ecosystem function via their role in regulating biogeochemical cycling. Consequently, the impact of increasingly intense drought events on soil microbial communities will have knock-on effects for how ecosystems cope with climate change. In an outdoor grassland mesocosm experiment, we determined how increasing drought intensity affects bacterial and fungal community composition, and functioning, during and after drought. We also tested whether plant community resource acquisition strategy (fast- versus slow-strategy plant communities), plant community composition, and plant functional traits mediate soil microbial responses to increasing drought intensity. We found that increasing drought intensity markedly shifted bacterial and fungal community composition, and these effects persisted until the end of the experiment (two months after re-wetting). Bacterial and fungal communities that experienced severe droughts did not return to baseline composition, while those that experienced a mild drought did. Microbial community functioning (potential extracellular enzyme activity) was reduced at peak drought and shortly after re-wetting. While drought intensity effects on bacterial or fungal communities were insensitive to plant community resource acquisition strategy, functional group abundance (aboveground biomass of grass or forb plant species) composition (grass:forb ratio) and leaf traits (leaf dry matter content and leaf nitrogen concentration) explained significant variation in bacterial and fungal community composition during and after drought. Notably, plant community leaf dry matter content and soil nitrogen were the key factors mediating the effect of increasing drought intensity on microbial indicator taxa (ASVs). We conclude that increasing drought intensity affects grassland soil microbial communities during and after drought, and this impact is influenced by plant community composition and functional traits.
{"title":"Plant community composition and traits modulate the impacts of drought intensity on soil microbial community composition and function","authors":"Natalie J. Oram, Fiona Brennan, Nadine Praeg, Richard D. Bardgett, Paul Illmer, Johannes Ingrisch, Michael Bahn","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109644","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109644","url":null,"abstract":"Terrestrial ecosystems are increasingly threatened by extreme drought events. Soil microbial communities are central to terrestrial ecosystem function via their role in regulating biogeochemical cycling. Consequently, the impact of increasingly intense drought events on soil microbial communities will have knock-on effects for how ecosystems cope with climate change. In an outdoor grassland mesocosm experiment, we determined how increasing drought intensity affects bacterial and fungal community composition, and functioning, during and after drought. We also tested whether plant community resource acquisition strategy (fast- versus slow-strategy plant communities), plant community composition, and plant functional traits mediate soil microbial responses to increasing drought intensity. We found that increasing drought intensity markedly shifted bacterial and fungal community composition, and these effects persisted until the end of the experiment (two months after re-wetting). Bacterial and fungal communities that experienced severe droughts did not return to baseline composition, while those that experienced a mild drought did. Microbial community functioning (potential extracellular enzyme activity) was reduced at peak drought and shortly after re-wetting. While drought intensity effects on bacterial or fungal communities were insensitive to plant community resource acquisition strategy, functional group abundance (aboveground biomass of grass or forb plant species) composition (grass:forb ratio) and leaf traits (leaf dry matter content and leaf nitrogen concentration) explained significant variation in bacterial and fungal community composition during and after drought. Notably, plant community leaf dry matter content and soil nitrogen were the key factors mediating the effect of increasing drought intensity on microbial indicator taxa (ASVs). We conclude that increasing drought intensity affects grassland soil microbial communities during and after drought, and this impact is influenced by plant community composition and functional traits.","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142566133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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 : 2024-11-02DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109643
Soil communities are essential to ecosystem functioning, yet the impact of reducing soil biota on root-associated communities, tree performance, and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes remains unclear. This study examines how different size fractions of soil biota from young and mature forests influence Alnus glutinosa performance, root-associated community composition, and GHG fluxes. We conducted a mesocosm experiment using soil community fractions (wet sieving through 250, 20, 11, and 3 μm) from young and mature forest developmental stages as inocula. The results indicate that the root-associated community composition was shaped by forest developmental stage but not by the size of the community fractions. Inoculation with the largest size fraction from mature forests negatively affected tree growth, likely due to increased competition between the plants and soil biota. In addition, GHG fluxes were not significantly impacted by either size fraction or forest developmental stage despite the different community composition supplied. Overall, our research indicates that A. glutinosa strongly selects the composition of the root-associated community, despite differences in the initial inoculum, and this composition varies depending on the stage of ecosystem development, impacting the performance of the trees but not GHG fluxes.
{"title":"Reduction of forest soil biota impacts tree performance but not greenhouse gas fluxes","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109643","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109643","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil communities are essential to ecosystem functioning, yet the impact of reducing soil biota on root-associated communities, tree performance, and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes remains unclear. This study examines how different size fractions of soil biota from young and mature forests influence <em>Alnus glutinosa</em> performance, root-associated community composition, and GHG fluxes. We conducted a mesocosm experiment using soil community fractions (wet sieving through 250, 20, 11, and 3 μm) from young and mature forest developmental stages as inocula. The results indicate that the root-associated community composition was shaped by forest developmental stage but not by the size of the community fractions. Inoculation with the largest size fraction from mature forests negatively affected tree growth, likely due to increased competition between the plants and soil biota. In addition, GHG fluxes were not significantly impacted by either size fraction or forest developmental stage despite the different community composition supplied. Overall, our research indicates that <em>A. glutinosa</em> strongly selects the composition of the root-associated community, despite differences in the initial inoculum, and this composition varies depending on the stage of ecosystem development, impacting the performance of the trees but not GHG fluxes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142566134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-29DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109642
Effects of freeze-thaw cycles on nutrient cycling and microbial activity have been well documented in laboratory simulations; however, field evidence remains insufficient, and studies regarding their effects on soil quality index (SQI)—as evaluated by soil functions that are influenced by multiple soil properties—are scarce. Therefore, we conducted spatiotemporal paired soil profile surveys along a freeze-thaw intensity gradient covering six grassland types. Results are as follows: 1) After a seasonal freeze-thaw event, soil properties across the 0–80 cm profile changed by 0.96%–31.02% (physical), −34.29%–44.04% (chemical), and −70.46%–272.97% (biological), with change rates varying across soil layers. 2) A function-based framework was employed to assess SQI0–30 under freeze-thaw conditions, and the reliability of the function indices and SQI0–30 was validated. 3) Compared to pre-freezing levels, post-thawing water retention and regulation index changed negligibly (+5.31%), carbon sequestration index remained stable (+2.52%), and the primary productivity index declined noticeably (−9.43%). Conversely, the nutrient supply and cycling index increased notably (+23.89%) due to elevated total potassium, catalase activity, and urease activity. The biodiversity provision index improved substantially (+95.63%) owing to increased dissolved organic carbon. Collectively, the SQI0–30 increased evidently by 11.78%. 4) These alterations were associated with different freeze-thaw indicators, and the daily freeze-thaw temperature difference at 0–10 cm during the “freezing→frozen→thawing” period explained 55% of the SQI0–30 change, surpassing impacts of meteorological factors (precipitation, air temperature, and snow depth). Our study suggests that natural seasonal freeze-thaw events can raise alpine grassland soil quality, with varied functional responses. The identified soil indicators and functions sensitive to freeze-thaw cycles facilitate the research on seasonal dynamics of alpine grassland soil and its multi-objective management, and the quantitative relationships with freeze-thaw indicators provide new insights for regional soil mapping in frozen areas under climate change.
{"title":"Natural seasonal freeze-thaw processes influenced soil quality in alpine grasslands: Insights from soil functions","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109642","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109642","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Effects of freeze-thaw cycles on nutrient cycling and microbial activity have been well documented in laboratory simulations; however, field evidence remains insufficient, and studies regarding their effects on soil quality index (SQI)—as evaluated by soil functions that are influenced by multiple soil properties—are scarce. Therefore, we conducted spatiotemporal paired soil profile surveys along a freeze-thaw intensity gradient covering six grassland types. Results are as follows: 1) After a seasonal freeze-thaw event, soil properties across the 0–80 cm profile changed by 0.96%–31.02% (physical), −34.29%–44.04% (chemical), and −70.46%–272.97% (biological), with change rates varying across soil layers. 2) A function-based framework was employed to assess SQI<sub>0–30</sub> under freeze-thaw conditions, and the reliability of the function indices and SQI<sub>0–30</sub> was validated. 3) Compared to pre-freezing levels, post-thawing water retention and regulation index changed negligibly (+5.31%), carbon sequestration index remained stable (+2.52%), and the primary productivity index declined noticeably (−9.43%). Conversely, the nutrient supply and cycling index increased notably (+23.89%) due to elevated total potassium, catalase activity, and urease activity. The biodiversity provision index improved substantially (+95.63%) owing to increased dissolved organic carbon. Collectively, the SQI<sub>0–30</sub> increased evidently by 11.78%. 4) These alterations were associated with different freeze-thaw indicators, and the daily freeze-thaw temperature difference at 0–10 cm during the “freezing→frozen→thawing” period explained 55% of the SQI<sub>0–30</sub> change, surpassing impacts of meteorological factors (precipitation, air temperature, and snow depth). Our study suggests that natural seasonal freeze-thaw events can raise alpine grassland soil quality, with varied functional responses. The identified soil indicators and functions sensitive to freeze-thaw cycles facilitate the research on seasonal dynamics of alpine grassland soil and its multi-objective management, and the quantitative relationships with freeze-thaw indicators provide new insights for regional soil mapping in frozen areas under climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142541585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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 : 2024-10-28DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109641
Root activity creates a unique microbial hotspot in the rhizosphere, profoundly regulating free-living nitrogen fixation (FLNF). However, empirical assessments of rhizosphere FLNF and its ecological consequences for nitrogen (N) budgets remain lacking, particularly for different root functional modules. Here, we separately collected rhizosphere soils attached to two root functional modules, absorptive roots and transport roots, and investigated the rates (15N2 incorporation) and regulators of rhizosphere FLNF in a N-limited subalpine coniferous forest. The measured rates were further extrapolated to annual fluxes based on the volume of the rhizosphere and the relationship between FLNF rate and temperature. We found that absorptive roots drove significantly higher rhizosphere FLNF rates than did transport roots (12.2 vs. 7.5 ng N g−1 d−1), with both rhizosphere compartments exhibiting rates well exceeding those in the bulk soil (0.9 ng N g−1 d−1). The FLNF rates were positively correlated with soil organic carbon content but showed no significant relationship with the abundance or composition of the diazotrophic community. Moreover, when extrapolated to the ecosystem level the FLNF fluxes were 2-fold greater in the rhizosphere of absorptive roots than in that of transport roots (0.13 vs. 0.04 kg N ha−1 yr−1). Taken together, despite representing only 6.0% of the soil volume, the two rhizosphere compartments contributed as much as 47.2% to the total soil FLNF fluxes. Overall, we provide empirical evidence that despite its limited volume, the rhizosphere contributes disproportionately to the FLNF in subalpine forest soils. Our findings also underscore the critical role of root functional differentiation in regulating rhizosphere FLNF, which is essential for integrating this process into the ecosystem-level N cycle.
根系活动在根圈中形成了一个独特的微生物热点,对自由生活固氮(FLNF)产生了深远的影响。然而,对根圈自由固氮作用及其对氮(N)预算的生态影响的实证评估仍然缺乏,尤其是对不同根系功能模块的评估。在这里,我们分别采集了附着在两种根功能模块(吸收根和运输根)上的根瘤土壤,并研究了氮限制亚高山针叶林中根瘤FLNF的速率(15N2吸收)和调节因子。根据根圈体积以及FLNF速率与温度之间的关系,将测得的速率进一步推断为年通量。我们发现,吸收根驱动的根圈 FLNF 速率(12.2 纳克 N g-1 d-1 与 7.5 纳克 N g-1 d-1)明显高于运输根,两个根圈分区的速率都远远超过了块状土壤中的速率(0.9 纳克 N g-1 d-1)。FLNF速率与土壤有机碳含量呈正相关,但与重氮营养群落的丰度或组成无明显关系。此外,当推断到生态系统水平时,吸收根根圈中的 FLNF 通量是运输根根圈中的 2 倍(0.13 vs. 0.04 kg N ha-1 yr-1)。总之,尽管这两个根圈只占土壤体积的 6.0%,但对土壤 FLNF 通量的贡献却高达 47.2%。总之,我们提供的经验证据表明,尽管根圈的体积有限,但它对亚高山森林土壤中的 FLNF 的贡献却不成比例。我们的研究结果还强调了根系功能分化在调节根圈 FLNF 中的关键作用,这对于将这一过程纳入生态系统级氮循环至关重要。
{"title":"The rhizosphere contributes disproportionately to free-living nitrogen fixation in subalpine forest soils","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109641","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109641","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Root activity creates a unique microbial hotspot in the rhizosphere, profoundly regulating free-living nitrogen fixation (FLNF). However, empirical assessments of rhizosphere FLNF and its ecological consequences for nitrogen (N) budgets remain lacking, particularly for different root functional modules. Here, we separately collected rhizosphere soils attached to two root functional modules, absorptive roots and transport roots, and investigated the rates (<sup>15</sup>N<sub>2</sub> incorporation) and regulators of rhizosphere FLNF in a N-limited subalpine coniferous forest. The measured rates were further extrapolated to annual fluxes based on the volume of the rhizosphere and the relationship between FLNF rate and temperature. We found that absorptive roots drove significantly higher rhizosphere FLNF rates than did transport roots (12.2 <em>vs.</em> 7.5 ng N g<sup>−1</sup> d<sup>−1</sup>), with both rhizosphere compartments exhibiting rates well exceeding those in the bulk soil (0.9 ng N g<sup>−1</sup> d<sup>−1</sup>). The FLNF rates were positively correlated with soil organic carbon content but showed no significant relationship with the abundance or composition of the diazotrophic community. Moreover, when extrapolated to the ecosystem level the FLNF fluxes were 2-fold greater in the rhizosphere of absorptive roots than in that of transport roots (0.13 <em>vs.</em> 0.04 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup>). Taken together, despite representing only 6.0% of the soil volume, the two rhizosphere compartments contributed as much as 47.2% to the total soil FLNF fluxes. Overall, we provide empirical evidence that despite its limited volume, the rhizosphere contributes disproportionately to the FLNF in subalpine forest soils. Our findings also underscore the critical role of root functional differentiation in regulating rhizosphere FLNF, which is essential for integrating this process into the ecosystem-level N cycle.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142519920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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 : 2024-10-22DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109640
Nitrogen (N) deposition has increased soil carbon (C) storage across eastern US temperate forests by reducing microbial decomposition. However, the fate of these N-induced soil C gains are uncertain given strong declines in N-deposition rates and rising soil temperatures. As N deposition has reduced soil pH and plant C investments into the rhizosphere, we compared the extent to which removing limitations to microbial decomposition by increasing soil pH, adding artificial root exudates, or elevating soil temperature would increase microbial decomposition in soils that have and have not received excess N inputs. We hypothesized that alleviating these microbial decomposition limitations would prime soil C losses from soils that have received excess N inputs. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a soil microcosm experiment where we compared microbial respiration, microbial biomass, and soil enzyme activity in soils from an unfertilized watershed and a previously N-fertilized watershed 4 years after the end of a 30-year N deposition experiment at the Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virginia. In both watersheds, we found that removing pH, plant carbon, or temperature limitations to decomposition stimulated microbial respiration. However, microbial decomposition and soil C losses were consistently lower in the previously N-fertilized watershed across all treatments. This response, coupled with a lack of differences in microbial biomass between watersheds and treatments, suggests that long-term N fertilization has fundamentally altered soil microbial communities and has led to a sustained impairment of the ability of the microbial community to decompose soil organic matter. Collectively, our results indicate that the legacy effect of N deposition on microbial communities may influence the persistence of soil C stocks in the face of global change.
{"title":"Nitrogen induced soil carbon gains are resistant to loss after the cessation of excess nitrogen inputs","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109640","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109640","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nitrogen (N) deposition has increased soil carbon (C) storage across eastern US temperate forests by reducing microbial decomposition. However, the fate of these N-induced soil C gains are uncertain given strong declines in N-deposition rates and rising soil temperatures. As N deposition has reduced soil pH and plant C investments into the rhizosphere, we compared the extent to which removing limitations to microbial decomposition by increasing soil pH, adding artificial root exudates, or elevating soil temperature would increase microbial decomposition in soils that have and have not received excess N inputs. We hypothesized that alleviating these microbial decomposition limitations would prime soil C losses from soils that have received excess N inputs. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a soil microcosm experiment where we compared microbial respiration, microbial biomass, and soil enzyme activity in soils from an unfertilized watershed and a previously N-fertilized watershed 4 years after the end of a 30-year N deposition experiment at the Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virginia. In both watersheds, we found that removing pH, plant carbon, or temperature limitations to decomposition stimulated microbial respiration. However, microbial decomposition and soil C losses were consistently lower in the previously N-fertilized watershed across all treatments. This response, coupled with a lack of differences in microbial biomass between watersheds and treatments, suggests that long-term N fertilization has fundamentally altered soil microbial communities and has led to a sustained impairment of the ability of the microbial community to decompose soil organic matter. Collectively, our results indicate that the legacy effect of N deposition on microbial communities may influence the persistence of soil C stocks in the face of global change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142452601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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 : 2024-10-20DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109639
Warming often stimulates methane (CH4) emissions from rice paddies, one of the largest anthropogenic sources of CH4 emissions. However, the responses of methanogenic and methanotrophic communities to warming, particularly within active communities, remain unclear. Therefore, based on a field warming experiment in a rice-wheat system, we investigated the effects of warming on methanogenic and methanotrophic communities, using the DNA stable-isotope probing technology. Our results indicated that warming increased CH4 emissions by 27–49% over two rice growing seasons compared to ambient conditions. Warming significantly increased the abundance of methanogens by 53%, whereas did not affect activities of methanogens and active methanogenic community. Conversely, warming did not influence the abundance of methanotrophs, but reduced activities of methanotrophs by 44%. Notably, warming led to a significant rise in the relative abundance of the active type II methanotrophic community, which exhibits lower CH4 oxidation efficiency. These findings suggest that the observed increase in CH4 emissions under warming conditions is primarily driven by the enhanced abundance of methanogens and the increased presence of less efficient active type II methanotrophs. This study underscores the critical role of active microbial communities in understanding and managing CH4 emissions from rice paddies in a warming world.
气候变暖通常会刺激稻田的甲烷(CH4)排放,而稻田是最大的人为甲烷排放源之一。然而,甲烷发生群落和甲烷营养群落对气候变暖的反应,尤其是在活跃群落中的反应,仍不清楚。因此,我们在水稻-小麦系统田间增温实验的基础上,利用DNA稳定同位素探测技术研究了增温对甲烷发生群落和甲烷营养群落的影响。结果表明,与环境条件相比,在两个水稻生长季中,气候变暖使甲烷排放量增加了 27-49%。气候变暖使甲烷菌的丰度明显增加了 58%,但并不影响甲烷菌的活性和活跃的甲烷菌群落。相反,气候变暖并不影响甲烷营养体的数量,但却使甲烷营养体的活动减少了 44%。值得注意的是,气候变暖导致活跃的 II 型甲烷营养群落的相对丰度显著上升,而 II 型甲烷营养群落的 CH4 氧化效率较低。这些发现表明,在气候变暖条件下观察到的CH4排放量增加主要是由甲烷菌的丰度增加和效率较低的活性II型甲烷营养体的增加所驱动的。这项研究强调了在气候变暖的世界中,活性微生物群落在了解和管理稻田甲烷排放中的关键作用。
{"title":"Warming increases CH4 emissions from rice paddies through shifts in methanogenic and methanotrophic communities","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109639","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109639","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Warming often stimulates methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) emissions from rice paddies, one of the largest anthropogenic sources of CH<sub>4</sub> emissions. However, the responses of methanogenic and methanotrophic communities to warming, particularly within active communities, remain unclear. Therefore, based on a field warming experiment in a rice-wheat system, we investigated the effects of warming on methanogenic and methanotrophic communities, using the DNA stable-isotope probing technology. Our results indicated that warming increased CH<sub>4</sub> emissions by 27–49% over two rice growing seasons compared to ambient conditions. Warming significantly increased the abundance of methanogens by 53%, whereas did not affect activities of methanogens and active methanogenic community. Conversely, warming did not influence the abundance of methanotrophs, but reduced activities of methanotrophs by 44%. Notably, warming led to a significant rise in the relative abundance of the active type II methanotrophic community, which exhibits lower CH<sub>4</sub> oxidation efficiency. These findings suggest that the observed increase in CH<sub>4</sub> emissions under warming conditions is primarily driven by the enhanced abundance of methanogens and the increased presence of less efficient active type II methanotrophs. This study underscores the critical role of active microbial communities in understanding and managing CH<sub>4</sub> emissions from rice paddies in a warming world.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142451649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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 : 2024-10-20DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109638
Global warming and increased drought are predicted to alter soil aggregation, biota composition, and carbon (C) balance. Microbial-derived C, such as microbial necromass C (MNC) and glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSP), are critical for soil organic carbon (SOC) stability. However, little is known about how climate change affects microbial-derived C within soil aggregates and its contribution to SOC. Here, we investigated the effects of 4-year warming (ca. 0.68 °C) and precipitation reduction (ca. −50% and −25%) on soil GRSP and MNC concentrations in semi-arid secondary grasslands and combined these results with a meta-analysis for GRSP. Results showed that warming increased MNC and its contribution to SOC, while precipitation reduction decreased MNC concentrations. Surprisingly, precipitation reduction increased GRSP concentrations and their contribution to SOC. Field experiments and meta-analysis also revealed that SOC and total nitrogen were negatively correlated with the C contribution of GRSP. Given the chemical recalcitrance of GRSP, this result may imply that the decrease in C and N content under precipitation reduction stimulates the formation of GRSP to enhance its subsequent protection of the SOC pool. Mechanistically, soil biota composition and its interactions dominated the variation in MNC between aggregates and climate change scenarios. The highest MNC concentrations in microaggregates may be attributed to higher fungal diversity, more stable multi-trophic networks, and weaker negative interactions across trophic levels. In addition, precipitation reduction significantly increased the abundance of modules in the multi-trophic network associated with SOC and MNC degradation, which were positively correlated with GRSP accumulation. These results suggest that climate change may regulate SOC dynamics by altering micro-food web structure in soil aggregates. Our study has direct implications for predicting the dynamics and stability of SOC fractions under future climate scenarios.
{"title":"Divergent responses of soil glomalin and microbial necromass to precipitation reduction: New perspectives from soil aggregates and multi-trophic networks","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109638","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109638","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global warming and increased drought are predicted to alter soil aggregation, biota composition, and carbon (C) balance. Microbial-derived C, such as microbial necromass C (MNC) and glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSP), are critical for soil organic carbon (SOC) stability. However, little is known about how climate change affects microbial-derived C within soil aggregates and its contribution to SOC. Here, we investigated the effects of 4-year warming (ca. 0.68 °C) and precipitation reduction (ca. −50% and −25%) on soil GRSP and MNC concentrations in semi-arid secondary grasslands and combined these results with a meta-analysis for GRSP. Results showed that warming increased MNC and its contribution to SOC, while precipitation reduction decreased MNC concentrations. Surprisingly, precipitation reduction increased GRSP concentrations and their contribution to SOC. Field experiments and meta-analysis also revealed that SOC and total nitrogen were negatively correlated with the C contribution of GRSP. Given the chemical recalcitrance of GRSP, this result may imply that the decrease in C and N content under precipitation reduction stimulates the formation of GRSP to enhance its subsequent protection of the SOC pool. Mechanistically, soil biota composition and its interactions dominated the variation in MNC between aggregates and climate change scenarios. The highest MNC concentrations in microaggregates may be attributed to higher fungal diversity, more stable multi-trophic networks, and weaker negative interactions across trophic levels. In addition, precipitation reduction significantly increased the abundance of modules in the multi-trophic network associated with SOC and MNC degradation, which were positively correlated with GRSP accumulation. These results suggest that climate change may regulate SOC dynamics by altering micro-food web structure in soil aggregates. Our study has direct implications for predicting the dynamics and stability of SOC fractions under future climate scenarios.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142450254","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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 : 2024-10-19DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109637
Increasing species diversity frequently enhances ecosystem functioning - a pattern strengthened with ecosystem age. It has been suggested that strengthened responses over time may be due to community assembly processes and cumulative effects over the history of interactions between and among plant and soil communities. However, most soil studies are conducted with destructive one-time samplings, and little is known about how phenological patterns of soil activity change with biodiversity and ecosystem age. Here, we investigate phenology metrics related to soil detritivore feeding activity (i.e., duration, total magnitude, variability), measured via the bait-lamina method, in a long-term grassland biodiversity experiment that included an experimental removal of plant and soil history, resulting in older and younger assembled plant and soil communities. Detritivore feeding activity peaked in spring and/or early summer, with another short increase in fall. Increased plant species richness enhanced the total magnitude and variability (i.e., the coefficient of variation) of detritivore feeding activity. Plant and soil history enhanced the buffering effects of plant richness on variability, causing older plant and soil communities to have the strongest relationships between plant richness and stability. However, older plant and soil communities showed the shortest duration of detritivore feeding activity, and species richness was not important in changing activity duration. These findings underscore the importance of considering ecosystem age as a critical component that modifies plant diversity effects on ecosystem functioning, with important implications for promoting ecosystem stability and resilience under environmental change.
{"title":"Positive plant diversity effects on soil detritivore feeding activity and stability increase with ecosystem age","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109637","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109637","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Increasing species diversity frequently enhances ecosystem functioning - a pattern strengthened with ecosystem age. It has been suggested that strengthened responses over time may be due to community assembly processes and cumulative effects over the history of interactions between and among plant and soil communities. However, most soil studies are conducted with destructive one-time samplings, and little is known about how phenological patterns of soil activity change with biodiversity and ecosystem age. Here, we investigate phenology metrics related to soil detritivore feeding activity (i.e., duration, total magnitude, variability), measured <em>via</em> the bait-lamina method, in a long-term grassland biodiversity experiment that included an experimental removal of plant and soil history, resulting in older and younger assembled plant and soil communities. Detritivore feeding activity peaked in spring and/or early summer, with another short increase in fall. Increased plant species richness enhanced the total magnitude and variability (i.e., the coefficient of variation) of detritivore feeding activity. Plant and soil history enhanced the buffering effects of plant richness on variability, causing older plant and soil communities to have the strongest relationships between plant richness and stability. However, older plant and soil communities showed the shortest duration of detritivore feeding activity, and species richness was not important in changing activity duration. These findings underscore the importance of considering ecosystem age as a critical component that modifies plant diversity effects on ecosystem functioning, with important implications for promoting ecosystem stability and resilience under environmental change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142450269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-18DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109618
Priming effects can influence the efficiency with which organic amendments sequester carbon in the soil. Yet, few soil models currently include priming effects. Those models that do are often based on operationally defined soil pools and implicitly allow only for positive priming effects. This limits the verification of model processes with experimental data and hinders the optimization of our carbon sequestration strategies. To address these shortcomings, we developed MiPrime, which offers a framework for the mechanistic modelling of organic amendment impacts on microbially mediated transformation of carbon fractions that are quantifiable through parsimonious soil extraction methods. MiPrime allows for assessment of organic amendment impacts on soil carbon dynamics, including priming effects, by simulating changes in mineralized, microbial biomass, dissolvable, hot water extractable and insoluble carbon fractions in soil exogenous (i.e. organic amendment-derived) and endogenous (i.e. soil) pools. After calibration of model parameters using Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods to incubation data of three types of isotopically labelled roadside grasses (a fresh grass product, a compost thereof, and a Bokashi-fermented product thereof), MiPrime was able to simulate changes in carbon fractions of the soil with a good degree of accuracy for five compositionally complex organic amendments, namely the three types of roadside grasses, as well as non-isotopically labelled wood chips and water weeds and reeds. Validation of the model results with experimental data demonstrates that changes in total carbon were very well predicted but that there is room for improvement in predicting mineralization rates and changes in dissolvable, hot water extractable and insoluble carbon fractions in the soil endogenous pool. MiPrime thus offers an initial step towards the mechanistic modelling of organic amendment impacts on measurable soil carbon fractions and can operate as a new tool for designing effective carbon sequestration strategies and understanding organic amendment impacts.
{"title":"MiPrime: A model for the microbially mediated impacts of organic amendments on measurable soil organic carbon fractions and associated priming effects","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109618","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109618","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Priming effects can influence the efficiency with which organic amendments sequester carbon in the soil. Yet, few soil models currently include priming effects. Those models that do are often based on operationally defined soil pools and implicitly allow only for positive priming effects. This limits the verification of model processes with experimental data and hinders the optimization of our carbon sequestration strategies. To address these shortcomings, we developed MiPrime, which offers a framework for the mechanistic modelling of organic amendment impacts on microbially mediated transformation of carbon fractions that are quantifiable through parsimonious soil extraction methods. MiPrime allows for assessment of organic amendment impacts on soil carbon dynamics, including priming effects, by simulating changes in mineralized, microbial biomass, dissolvable, hot water extractable and insoluble carbon fractions in soil exogenous (i.e. organic amendment-derived) and endogenous (i.e. soil) pools. After calibration of model parameters using Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods to incubation data of three types of isotopically labelled roadside grasses (a fresh grass product, a compost thereof, and a Bokashi-fermented product thereof), MiPrime was able to simulate changes in carbon fractions of the soil with a good degree of accuracy for five compositionally complex organic amendments, namely the three types of roadside grasses, as well as non-isotopically labelled wood chips and water weeds and reeds. Validation of the model results with experimental data demonstrates that changes in total carbon were very well predicted but that there is room for improvement in predicting mineralization rates and changes in dissolvable, hot water extractable and insoluble carbon fractions in the soil endogenous pool. MiPrime thus offers an initial step towards the mechanistic modelling of organic amendment impacts on measurable soil carbon fractions and can operate as a new tool for designing effective carbon sequestration strategies and understanding organic amendment impacts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142449689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}