Pub Date : 2026-01-26DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110104
Yamin Chen , Yanghui He , Lingyan Zhou , Peter M. Homyak , Guiyao Zhou , Kaiyan Zhai , Diandian Wei , Boyun Tian , Xuhui Zhou
Coastal salt marsh wetlands are highly productive ecosystems with carbon (C) sequestration rates up to 40–50 times higher than forests, making them a major biome for climate change mitigation. However, plant invasions driven by human activities are altering vegetation composition, C allocation, decomposition dynamics, and ultimately the fate of soil organic C (SOC). Here we conducted a 4-year field-based mesocosm experiment to simulate the invasion of the C4 plant, Spartina alterniflora Loisel, into C3 plant-dominated coastal wetland soils and to quantify the relative contributions of above- and below-ground litter inputs to SOC formation. Taking advantage of the δ13C contrast between C3 and C4 plants, we showed that S. alterniflora-derived SOC increased by 9 % after four years, with aboveground litter contributing 12 times more C to the SOC pool than belowground root litter. Litter addition preferentially enriched S. alterniflora-derived C in macro-aggregate fractions by 10 %, while slightly reducing its contribution in the clay fractions, indicative of accelerated decomposition of native mineral-associated organic matter (“priming”). Litter inputs also enhanced soil CO2 efflux, and its close correlation with soil δ13C signatures indicates that the decomposition of the added plant litter was the primary source of the newly cycled C. These findings challenge terrestrial paradigm that belowground inputs dominate long-term SOC sequestration, highlighting the pivotal role of aboveground litter in governing C cycling and storage at the terrestrial-aquatic interface.
{"title":"Shoot litter outweighs root inputs in building soil organic carbon during Spartina alterniflora invasion in a coastal wetland","authors":"Yamin Chen , Yanghui He , Lingyan Zhou , Peter M. Homyak , Guiyao Zhou , Kaiyan Zhai , Diandian Wei , Boyun Tian , Xuhui Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110104","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110104","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Coastal salt marsh wetlands are highly productive ecosystems with carbon (C) sequestration rates up to 40–50 times higher than forests, making them a major biome for climate change mitigation. However, plant invasions driven by human activities are altering vegetation composition, C allocation, decomposition dynamics, and ultimately the fate of soil organic C (SOC). Here we conducted a 4-year field-based mesocosm experiment to simulate the invasion of the C<sub>4</sub> plant, <em>Spartina alterniflora</em> Loisel, into C<sub>3</sub> plant-dominated coastal wetland soils and to quantify the relative contributions of above- and below-ground litter inputs to SOC formation. Taking advantage of the δ<sup>13</sup>C contrast between C<sub>3</sub> and C<sub>4</sub> plants, we showed that <em>S. alterniflora</em>-derived SOC increased by 9 % after four years, with aboveground litter contributing 12 times more C to the SOC pool than belowground root litter. Litter addition preferentially enriched <em>S. alterniflora</em>-derived C in macro-aggregate fractions by 10 %, while slightly reducing its contribution in the clay fractions, indicative of accelerated decomposition of native mineral-associated organic matter (“priming”). Litter inputs also enhanced soil CO<sub>2</sub> efflux, and its close correlation with soil δ<sup>13</sup>C signatures indicates that the decomposition of the added plant litter was the primary source of the newly cycled C. These findings challenge terrestrial paradigm that belowground inputs dominate long-term SOC sequestration, highlighting the pivotal role of aboveground litter in governing C cycling and storage at the terrestrial-aquatic interface.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"215 ","pages":"Article 110104"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146048415","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 : 2026-01-23DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110101
Yijia Tang, Thi Kim Anh Tran, Budiman Minasny, Shiva Bakhshandeh, Mingming Du, Nicolas Francos, Yin-Chung Huang, Ho Jun Jang, Wartini Ng, Peipei Xue, Alex McBratney
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is operationally partitioned into particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) to infer soil carbon persistence and sensitivity to disturbance or management. Yet the combined roles of climate, mineralogy, and land use in shaping these fractions remain unresolved across continental gradients. Here, we analysed 249 Australian topsoils from 65 paired sites along a 550 mm rainfall isohyet. Samples were grouped into four climate–texture clusters (Subtropical Coarse, Subtropical Fine, Temperate Coarse, Temperate Fine) to disentangle the effects of thermal and hydrological regimes, soil properties, and land use on SOC partitioning and stabilisation. Subtropical soils consistently exhibited a high proportion of MAOC (fMAOC ≈ 0.8) despite low SOC stocks, reflecting preferential retention of mineral–organic interactions under carbon-limited and water-stressed conditions. In contrast, temperate soils stored greater SOC and POC, indicating higher carbon inputs and slower decomposition. In subtropical fine-textured soils, agriculture elevated fMAOC through microbial activity and nutrient inputs, yet this occurred alongside depleted SOC and POC, highlighting a trade-off between stabilisation efficiency and carbon stock depletion. Across all clusters, land use effects were detectable but secondary to climate and mineral properties. These findings show that temperate and subtropical soils follow contrasting carbon stabilisation pathways: temperate systems store more carbon overall, while subtropical systems allocate a larger share of their carbon to mineral-associated carbon. Our climate–texture framework highlights region-specific management priorities: enhancing mineral–organic interactions through increased root inputs and organic or mineral amendments in subtropical soils, and protecting vulnerable carbon stocks through reduced disturbance and residue retention in temperate systems.
{"title":"SOC stabilisation shifts from carbon accumulation in temperate soils to mineral association in subtropical soils","authors":"Yijia Tang, Thi Kim Anh Tran, Budiman Minasny, Shiva Bakhshandeh, Mingming Du, Nicolas Francos, Yin-Chung Huang, Ho Jun Jang, Wartini Ng, Peipei Xue, Alex McBratney","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110101","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110101","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil organic carbon (SOC) is operationally partitioned into particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) to infer soil carbon persistence and sensitivity to disturbance or management. Yet the combined roles of climate, mineralogy, and land use in shaping these fractions remain unresolved across continental gradients. Here, we analysed 249 Australian topsoils from 65 paired sites along a 550 mm rainfall isohyet. Samples were grouped into four climate–texture clusters (Subtropical Coarse, Subtropical Fine, Temperate Coarse, Temperate Fine) to disentangle the effects of thermal and hydrological regimes, soil properties, and land use on SOC partitioning and stabilisation. Subtropical soils consistently exhibited a high proportion of MAOC (fMAOC ≈ 0.8) despite low SOC stocks, reflecting preferential retention of mineral–organic interactions under carbon-limited and water-stressed conditions. In contrast, temperate soils stored greater SOC and POC, indicating higher carbon inputs and slower decomposition. In subtropical fine-textured soils, agriculture elevated fMAOC through microbial activity and nutrient inputs, yet this occurred alongside depleted SOC and POC, highlighting a trade-off between stabilisation efficiency and carbon stock depletion. Across all clusters, land use effects were detectable but secondary to climate and mineral properties. These findings show that temperate and subtropical soils follow contrasting carbon stabilisation pathways: temperate systems store more carbon overall, while subtropical systems allocate a larger share of their carbon to mineral-associated carbon. Our climate–texture framework highlights region-specific management priorities: enhancing mineral–organic interactions through increased root inputs and organic or mineral amendments in subtropical soils, and protecting vulnerable carbon stocks through reduced disturbance and residue retention in temperate systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"215 ","pages":"Article 110101"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146024528","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 : 2026-01-21DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110100
Ellen L. Fry , Amy L. Evans , Deborah Ashworth , Ana Soto , Juntao Wang , Nick Ostle , Brajesh K. Singh , Richard D. Bardgett
Climate change presents multiple stresses to ecosystems that operate over different timescales, such as long-term warming and short-term drought. It is well established that soil microbial communities are highly responsive to individual stresses, but how they respond combined warming and drought, and how factors such as vegetation change moderate responses, remains uncertain. Here we tested whether long-term passive warming modifies the resistance (amplitude of response) and resilience (degree and duration of recovery) of soil microbial communities to short-term drought. We also tested whether warming effects on microbial resilience to drought are moderated by vegetation composition, and specifically the presence of ericaceous dwarf shrubs, the dominant vegetation type of peatland. This was tested using soil from a nine-year warming and vegetation manipulation experiment established on blanket peatland in northern England. We completed a subsequent laboratory study designed to quantify resistance and resilience of microbial communities and microbial-mediated functions to drought. Neither long-term warming nor shrub removal impacted the resistance of microbial communities to drought. However, resilience of bacterial diversity to drought was decreased by warming (fold change 0.38) and shrub removal (fold change 0.27). Notably the interaction between warming and shrub removal resulted in higher resilience of bacterial diversity than individual treatments (fold change 0.58; warming x shrub removal: p = 0.008). Further, warming and shrub removal individually increased the diversity of fungal communities, and reduced resilience of fungal diversity to drought (fold change of warmed against unwarmed 0.11, shrub removal against control 0.39, combination against control 0.59; warming x shrub removal p = 0.006). Warming also strongly decreased resilience, but not resistance, of nitrogen-based functions to drought, although shrub removal dampened this effect. Our findings demonstrate potential for long-term warming and vegetation change to modify microbial responses to extreme drought events, with implications for peatland carbon and nitrogen cycling under future climate scenarios.
{"title":"Long-term warming and vegetation change have no impact on microbial resistance to drought, but destabilise microbial communities and microbially-mediated functions","authors":"Ellen L. Fry , Amy L. Evans , Deborah Ashworth , Ana Soto , Juntao Wang , Nick Ostle , Brajesh K. Singh , Richard D. Bardgett","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110100","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110100","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change presents multiple stresses to ecosystems that operate over different timescales, such as long-term warming and short-term drought. It is well established that soil microbial communities are highly responsive to individual stresses, but how they respond combined warming and drought, and how factors such as vegetation change moderate responses, remains uncertain. Here we tested whether long-term passive warming modifies the resistance (amplitude of response) and resilience (degree and duration of recovery) of soil microbial communities to short-term drought. We also tested whether warming effects on microbial resilience to drought are moderated by vegetation composition, and specifically the presence of ericaceous dwarf shrubs, the dominant vegetation type of peatland. This was tested using soil from a nine-year warming and vegetation manipulation experiment established on blanket peatland in northern England. We completed a subsequent laboratory study designed to quantify resistance and resilience of microbial communities and microbial-mediated functions to drought. Neither long-term warming nor shrub removal impacted the resistance of microbial communities to drought. However, resilience of bacterial diversity to drought was decreased by warming (fold change 0.38) and shrub removal (fold change 0.27). Notably the interaction between warming and shrub removal resulted in higher resilience of bacterial diversity than individual treatments (fold change 0.58; warming x shrub removal: p = 0.008). Further, warming and shrub removal individually increased the diversity of fungal communities, and reduced resilience of fungal diversity to drought (fold change of warmed against unwarmed 0.11, shrub removal against control 0.39, combination against control 0.59; warming x shrub removal p = 0.006). Warming also strongly decreased resilience, but not resistance, of nitrogen-based functions to drought, although shrub removal dampened this effect. Our findings demonstrate potential for long-term warming and vegetation change to modify microbial responses to extreme drought events, with implications for peatland carbon and nitrogen cycling under future climate scenarios.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"215 ","pages":"Article 110100"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146014830","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 : 2026-01-21DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110097
Hanpeng Liao , Chen Liu , Tian Gao , Chaofan Ai , Ning Ling , Shuping Qin , Chunsheng Hu , Dong Zhang , Xiang Tang , Ville-Petri Friman , Shungui Zhou
Although viruses are increasingly recognized as important contributors of soil carbon (C) cycling, their role in regulating soil C:N stoichiometry remains largely unclear. Here, we combined multi-omics approaches (viromics and metagenomics) with direct microcosm experiments to investigate viral contributions to soil C:N stoichiometry across three long-term fertilization field sites in China. Soils receiving long-term high N input exhibited distinct shifts in both taxonomic composition and functional gene profiles, with viruses showing a particularly strong contribution to C cycling. Mechanistically, soil viral and bacterial communities responded differentially to prolonged N enrichment, with viral communities exhibiting greater sensitivity to long-term N application. N addition reshaped the functional potential of both communities, with more pronounced changes in viral richness and virus–bacteria interactions. Elevated N levels enriched polyvalent viruses and increased the abundance of viral auxiliary metabolic genes involved in carbohydrate degradation. Direct experiments using viral transplants and metagenomic-stable isotope probing further confirmed that viruses can directly regulate nutrient cycling. Overall, our results demonstrate that soil viromes play a key role in regulating C cycling in ways that buffer N-induced shifts in soil C:N ratios by reshaping the taxonomic and functional composition of soil microbial communities.
{"title":"Viruses regulate soil C:N stoichiometry by boosting C-cycling under long-term N fertilization","authors":"Hanpeng Liao , Chen Liu , Tian Gao , Chaofan Ai , Ning Ling , Shuping Qin , Chunsheng Hu , Dong Zhang , Xiang Tang , Ville-Petri Friman , Shungui Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110097","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110097","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although viruses are increasingly recognized as important contributors of soil carbon (C) cycling, their role in regulating soil C:N stoichiometry remains largely unclear. Here, we combined multi-omics approaches (viromics and metagenomics) with direct microcosm experiments to investigate viral contributions to soil C:N stoichiometry across three long-term fertilization field sites in China. Soils receiving long-term high N input exhibited distinct shifts in both taxonomic composition and functional gene profiles, with viruses showing a particularly strong contribution to C cycling. Mechanistically, soil viral and bacterial communities responded differentially to prolonged N enrichment, with viral communities exhibiting greater sensitivity to long-term N application. N addition reshaped the functional potential of both communities, with more pronounced changes in viral richness and virus–bacteria interactions. Elevated N levels enriched polyvalent viruses and increased the abundance of viral auxiliary metabolic genes involved in carbohydrate degradation. Direct experiments using viral transplants and metagenomic-stable isotope probing further confirmed that viruses can directly regulate nutrient cycling. Overall, our results demonstrate that soil viromes play a key role in regulating C cycling in ways that buffer N-induced shifts in soil C:N ratios by reshaping the taxonomic and functional composition of soil microbial communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"215 ","pages":"Article 110097"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146024526","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 : 2026-01-20DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110098
Kaihang Zhang, Lei Cheng
The sources of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent and long-lived greenhouse gas, remain highly uncertain. This uncertainty arises largely from limited understanding of nitrifier denitrification, the reduction of nitrite by ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) (Zhu et al., 2013). Here, we propose a novel conceptual framework to address the long-standing question of whether AOB could persist via nitrifier denitrification under hypoxic and/or anoxic conditions. We present an analysis of recent advances in nitrite and nitric oxide (NO) reductase enzymology (Murali et al., 2024) which suggests that AOB could utilize heme-copper-containing NO reductase (sNOR)-mediated nitrifier denitrification to generate proton motive force and conserve energy during anaerobic respiration. Our phylogenetic analysis further shows that sNOR is present in nearly 96 % of sequenced AOB genomes. We therefore suggest that sNOR-mediated nitrifier denitrification may represent a substantial, and likely increasing, contribution to global N2O emissions, particularly in aquatic and lowland ecosystems under future climate change-induced global deoxygenation conditions.
一氧化二氮（N2O）是一种强效且长寿命的温室气体，其来源仍然高度不确定。这种不确定性主要源于对硝化菌反硝化作用的有限理解，即氨氧化细菌（AOB）对亚硝酸盐的还原（Zhu et al., 2013）。在这里，我们提出了一个新的概念框架来解决长期存在的问题，即在缺氧和/或缺氧条件下，AOB是否可以通过硝化器反硝化持续存在。我们对亚硝酸盐和一氧化氮还原酶（NO）酶学的最新进展进行了分析（Murali et al., 2024），表明AOB可以利用含血红素-铜的NO还原酶（sNOR）介导的硝化物反硝化作用来产生质子动力并在厌氧呼吸过程中保存能量。我们的系统发育分析进一步表明，sNOR存在于近96%的测序AOB基因组中。因此，我们认为，在未来气候变化引起的全球脱氧条件下，snorr介导的硝化物反硝化作用可能对全球N2O排放做出了实质性的贡献，并且可能会增加，特别是在水生和低地生态系统中。
{"title":"How nitrifiers denitrify?","authors":"Kaihang Zhang, Lei Cheng","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110098","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110098","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The sources of nitrous oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O), a potent and long-lived greenhouse gas, remain highly uncertain. This uncertainty arises largely from limited understanding of nitrifier denitrification, the reduction of nitrite by ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) (Zhu et al., 2013). Here, we propose a novel conceptual framework to address the long-standing question of whether AOB could persist via nitrifier denitrification under hypoxic and/or anoxic conditions. We present an analysis of recent advances in nitrite and nitric oxide (NO) reductase enzymology (Murali et al., 2024) which suggests that AOB could utilize heme-copper-containing NO reductase (sNOR)-mediated nitrifier denitrification to generate proton motive force and conserve energy during anaerobic respiration. Our phylogenetic analysis further shows that sNOR is present in nearly 96 % of sequenced AOB genomes. We therefore suggest that sNOR-mediated nitrifier denitrification may represent a substantial, and likely increasing, contribution to global N<sub>2</sub>O emissions, particularly in aquatic and lowland ecosystems under future climate change-induced global deoxygenation conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"215 ","pages":"Article 110098"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146014528","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 : 2026-01-19DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110095
Yuanyuan Ding , Na Chen , Bin Jia , Huiqiang Yang , Fuhao Liu , Kangjie Yang , Zhiqiang Wang , Jianjun Qin , Jia Xie , Yingfei Cao , Xueyun Yang , Hanzhong Jia
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important drivers of soil carbon (C) turnover, but how ROS production responds to phosphorus (P) application and participates in C turnover remain unclear. Based on a six-year P fertilizer application experiments, we found that P application decreased superoxide (O2•−) content by 36 % and 69 % in high- and low-fertility soils, respectively, whereas it increased hydroxyl radical (•OH) content by 90 % in high-fertility soils, but had minimal impact in low-fertility soils. After gamma sterilization, O2•− content and •OH content decreased by approximately 54 % and 51 % respectively, indicating the significant role of microorganisms in ROS production. Random forest analysis identified microbial C limitation and P limitation as drivers of O2•− and •OH production, respectively. Aggravated microbial C limitation with P fertilization may inhibit the biotic O2•− generation by reducing the relative abundance of copiotrophic bacteria (primarily Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria). Incubation experiments confirmed this inhibitory effect, and demonstrated that the mitigation of microbial P limitation with P fertilization promotes •OH production in Fenton-like reactions by increasing the content of surface-adsorbed Fe(II) and Fe(II) in low-crystallinity minerals. The increase in the Fe(II) contents were attributed to iron-reducing microorganism, as confirmed by sterilization experiments. Additionally, incubation experiments further revealed that microbial C–P co-limits has a stronger negative effect on ROS content than a single limitation, which likely explains the lower ROS levels in low-fertility soils with more pronounced C–P co-limitation. ROS quench and addition experiments confirmed that the generated •OH with P application in high-fertility soils contributes 11–20 % of CO2 emissions; whereas P application in low-fertility soils favored soil organic C sequestration by decreasing O2•− content and maintaining low •OH levels. Overall, the obtained results broaden the understanding of ROS production in soils and provide new insights into carbon turnover in fertilized soil.
{"title":"Additional carbon conversion driven by microbial metabolic limitations in long-term phosphorus-fertilized soil: The role of reactive oxygen species","authors":"Yuanyuan Ding , Na Chen , Bin Jia , Huiqiang Yang , Fuhao Liu , Kangjie Yang , Zhiqiang Wang , Jianjun Qin , Jia Xie , Yingfei Cao , Xueyun Yang , Hanzhong Jia","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110095","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110095","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important drivers of soil carbon (C) turnover, but how ROS production responds to phosphorus (P) application and participates in C turnover remain unclear. Based on a six-year P fertilizer application experiments, we found that P application decreased superoxide (O<sub>2</sub><sup>•−</sup>) content by 36 % and 69 % in high- and low-fertility soils, respectively, whereas it increased hydroxyl radical (<sup>•</sup>OH) content by 90 % in high-fertility soils, but had minimal impact in low-fertility soils. After gamma sterilization, O<sub>2</sub><sup>•−</sup> content and <sup>•</sup>OH content decreased by approximately 54 % and 51 % respectively, indicating the significant role of microorganisms in ROS production. Random forest analysis identified microbial C limitation and P limitation as drivers of O<sub>2</sub><sup>•−</sup> and <sup>•</sup>OH production, respectively. Aggravated microbial C limitation with P fertilization may inhibit the biotic O<sub>2</sub><sup>•−</sup> generation by reducing the relative abundance of copiotrophic bacteria <em>(primarily Alphaproteobacteria</em> and <em>Betaproteobacteri</em>a). Incubation experiments confirmed this inhibitory effect, and demonstrated that the mitigation of microbial P limitation with P fertilization promotes <sup>•</sup>OH production in Fenton-like reactions by increasing the content of surface-adsorbed Fe(II) and Fe(II) in low-crystallinity minerals. The increase in the Fe(II) contents were attributed to iron-reducing microorganism, as confirmed by sterilization experiments. Additionally, incubation experiments further revealed that microbial C–P co-limits has a stronger negative effect on ROS content than a single limitation, which likely explains the lower ROS levels in low-fertility soils with more pronounced C–P co-limitation. ROS quench and addition experiments confirmed that the generated <sup>•</sup>OH with P application in high-fertility soils contributes 11–20 % of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions; whereas P application in low-fertility soils favored soil organic C sequestration by decreasing O<sub>2</sub><sup>•−</sup> content and maintaining low <sup>•</sup>OH levels. Overall, the obtained results broaden the understanding of ROS production in soils and provide new insights into carbon turnover in fertilized soil.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"215 ","pages":"Article 110095"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146000546","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 : 2026-01-19DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110099
Jaron Adkins , Karen M. Foley , Karen H. Beard , Trisha B. Atwood , Bonnie G. Waring
Developing a mechanistic understanding of how soil microbial communities underlie ecosystem functions has become a pressing need in the face of rapid environmental change. In service of this goal, soil microbial ecologists have sought to develop general principles about the ecological strategies that soil microbes adopt and the functional traits that contribute to those strategies. Among bacteria, the trait most commonly invoked as an indicator for bacterial performance and ecological strategy in soils is bacterial rrn operon copy number (RCN), which is frequently applied as an indicator of a bacterial community's position on a continuum of copiotrophic vs oligotrophic ecological strategies. The use of RCN as a proxy for bacterial ecological strategy is based on the premise that RCN mediates a tradeoff between bacterial growth rate and growth yield efficiency. However, support for RCN in mediating a growth rate-yield tradeoff is limited to a small number of studies performed in culture environments, and there is no evidence for the involvement of RCN in such a tradeoff in real soils. In contrast, emerging evidence suggests that RCN has a positive influence on soil extracellular enzyme activity, indicating that RCN may be a functional trait related to decomposition activity in soils. Here, we draw on new and previously published empirical data as well as simulation modelling to reassess the contribution of RCN to bacterial ecological strategies in soils. We conclude that while RCN is positively associated with bacterial growth rate and soil exoenzyme activity under some resource conditions, its relationship to growth yield efficiency remains unclear. Considering this, we suggest that RCN holds promise for understanding the contribution of soil bacteria to ecosystem functions, but the common application of RCN as an indicator of overall bacterial ecological strategy is inappropriate in light of current evidence.
{"title":"The role of bacterial rrn copy number in shaping ecological strategies in soil: Is it time to re-evaluate this functional trait?","authors":"Jaron Adkins , Karen M. Foley , Karen H. Beard , Trisha B. Atwood , Bonnie G. Waring","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110099","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110099","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Developing a mechanistic understanding of how soil microbial communities underlie ecosystem functions has become a pressing need in the face of rapid environmental change. In service of this goal, soil microbial ecologists have sought to develop general principles about the ecological strategies that soil microbes adopt and the functional traits that contribute to those strategies. Among bacteria, the trait most commonly invoked as an indicator for bacterial performance and ecological strategy in soils is bacterial <em>rrn</em> operon copy number (RCN), which is frequently applied as an indicator of a bacterial community's position on a continuum of copiotrophic vs oligotrophic ecological strategies. The use of RCN as a proxy for bacterial ecological strategy is based on the premise that RCN mediates a tradeoff between bacterial growth rate and growth yield efficiency. However, support for RCN in mediating a growth rate-yield tradeoff is limited to a small number of studies performed in culture environments, and there is no evidence for the involvement of RCN in such a tradeoff in real soils. In contrast, emerging evidence suggests that RCN has a positive influence on soil extracellular enzyme activity, indicating that RCN may be a functional trait related to decomposition activity in soils. Here, we draw on new and previously published empirical data as well as simulation modelling to reassess the contribution of RCN to bacterial ecological strategies in soils. We conclude that while RCN is positively associated with bacterial growth rate and soil exoenzyme activity under some resource conditions, its relationship to growth yield efficiency remains unclear. Considering this, we suggest that RCN holds promise for understanding the contribution of soil bacteria to ecosystem functions, but the common application of RCN as an indicator of overall bacterial ecological strategy is inappropriate in light of current evidence.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"215 ","pages":"Article 110099"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146001492","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 : 2026-01-19DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110096
Chase S. Kasmerchak , Li Chongyang , Andrew J. Margenot
Soil phosphorus (P) mineralization (Pmin) is expected to be sensitive to temperature, but the degree of temperature sensitivity remains uncharacterized. We quantified the temperature sensitivity of gross Pmin, P immobilization (Pimm) and resulting net Pmin at 5°, 10°, and 20 °C using 33P-labeling and isotopic exchange kinetics in soils (0–15 cm depth) of varying biophysical properties from four sites with long-term agricultural management practices (30–145 y) and one restored prairie (34 y) encompassing a 350 km latitudinal transect representative of the central USA. Over 28 d, gross Pmin and Pimm fluxes were consistently higher than 5° and 10 °C, resulting in 3.7-fold larger gross Pmin versus Pimm pools at 20 °C, and 5- to 37-fold larger than gross Pmin and Pimm at lower temperatures. Cumulative net Pmin pools plateaued by 3–7 d at 5° and 10 °C but increased over 28 d at 20 °C. Net Pmin pools more closely approximated temporal changes in gross Pmin pools at 5° and 10 °C compared to at 20 °C (i.e., low Pmin efficiency). Multivariate least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) models indicated gross and net Pmin at 10 °C were most strongly predicted by silt plus clay content (S + C), followed by microbial biomass carbon, phosphomonoesterase activities that catalyze gross Pmin and organic C-to-P ratios (C:Po), Pimm at 5 °C by S + C and microbial biomass nitrogen, and all pools at 20 °C by Po and microbial biomass C. Notably, phosphomonoesterase activities were important predictors of Pimm at 20 °C but not gross not net Pmin. Pimm at 10 °C and both Pmin pools at 5 °C were best predicted by univariate relationships with C:Po and pH, respectively. Our study identifies the capacity for soil temperature to modulate which and how biophysical soil properties influence soil P mineralization-immobilization, with non-linear impacts of temperature on net Pmin.
{"title":"Accelerated phosphorus immobilization at high soil temperatures may decrease net mineralization","authors":"Chase S. Kasmerchak , Li Chongyang , Andrew J. Margenot","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110096","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110096","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil phosphorus (P) mineralization (P<sub>min</sub>) is expected to be sensitive to temperature, but the degree of temperature sensitivity remains uncharacterized. We quantified the temperature sensitivity of gross P<sub>min</sub>, P immobilization (P<sub>imm</sub>) and resulting net P<sub>min</sub> at 5°, 10°, and 20 °C using <sup>33</sup>P-labeling and isotopic exchange kinetics in soils (0–15 cm depth) of varying biophysical properties from four sites with long-term agricultural management practices (30–145 y) and one restored prairie (34 y) encompassing a 350 km latitudinal transect representative of the central USA. Over 28 d, gross P<sub>min</sub> and P<sub>imm</sub> fluxes were consistently higher than 5° and 10 °C, resulting in 3.7-fold larger gross P<sub>min</sub> versus P<sub>imm</sub> pools at 20 °C, and 5- to 37-fold larger than gross P<sub>min</sub> and P<sub>imm</sub> at lower temperatures. Cumulative net P<sub>min</sub> pools plateaued by 3–7 d at 5° and 10 °C but increased over 28 d at 20 °C. Net P<sub>min</sub> pools more closely approximated temporal changes in gross P<sub>min</sub> pools at 5° and 10 °C compared to at 20 °C (i.e., low P<sub>min</sub> efficiency). Multivariate least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) models indicated gross and net P<sub>min</sub> at 10 °C were most strongly predicted by silt plus clay content (S + C), followed by microbial biomass carbon, phosphomonoesterase activities that catalyze gross P<sub>min</sub> and organic C-to-P ratios (C:P<sub>o</sub>), P<sub>imm</sub> at 5 °C by S + C and microbial biomass nitrogen, and all pools at 20 °C by P<sub>o</sub> and microbial biomass C. Notably, phosphomonoesterase activities were important predictors of P<sub>imm</sub> at 20 °C but not gross not net P<sub>min</sub>. P<sub>imm</sub> at 10 °C and both P<sub>min</sub> pools at 5 °C were best predicted by univariate relationships with C:P<sub>o</sub> and pH, respectively. Our study identifies the capacity for soil temperature to modulate which and how biophysical soil properties influence soil P mineralization-immobilization, with non-linear impacts of temperature on net P<sub>min</sub>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"215 ","pages":"Article 110096"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146000547","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 : 2026-01-15DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110094
Yaru Lv , Dongmei Chen , Xirong Gu , Yangxiao Deng , Shirui Xu , Xiaoyu Zhou , Xinhua He
Aluminum (Al) toxicity is a major factor limiting forest productivity in acidic soil. Some ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi could enhance Al tolerance in trees grown in acidic soil. However, how interactions between soil inorganic phosphorus (IP) and labile Al fractions under Al stress drive the restructuring of ECM fungal communities and influence host adaptability remains poorly understood. In this study, we conducted a field experiment on Pinus massoniana, an Al-tolerant species, using a gradient of exogenous Al3+ additions (0–3.5 mM) over naturally high background levels to assess its impacts on rhizosphere soil and fine roots. Specifically, we measured the IP and labile Al fractions, ECM fungal community structure, and root morphological and anatomical traits. We found that low Al concentrations (≤1.5 mM) increased soil pH and elevated occluded P and calcium-bound P levels, while reducing Al-bound and iron-bound P. High Al levels (>2.0 mM) produced the opposite effect. Redundancy analysis identified IP fractions as the primary environmental factor influencing ECM fungal community structure. Variance partitioning analysis further indicated that IP fractions had a stronger effect on community restructuring than labile Al fractions. Scleroderma yunnanense, Cenococcum geophilum, Clavulina amethystina, Russula, and Rhizopogon boninensis emerged as the dominant colonizers of P. massoniana root tips across different Al gradients. Root growth and mantle thickness showed optimal responses at moderate concentrations, identifying 2.0 mM Al3+ as the tolerance threshold. Partial least squares structural equation modeling confirmed the pH-mediated transformations of IP and labile Al fractions. IP fractions had a greater impact on soil (β = −0.416) and root tip (β = 0.200) ECM fungal communities than labile Al fractions (βsoil = 0.158), emerging as the key driver of community restructuring. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into plant-fungal-soil interactions under Al stress and support the potential use of mycorrhizal technology in ecological restoration of acidic forests.
{"title":"Aluminum-induced changes in rhizosphere inorganic phosphorus fractions drive ectomycorrhizal fungal community restructuring in Pinus massoniana","authors":"Yaru Lv , Dongmei Chen , Xirong Gu , Yangxiao Deng , Shirui Xu , Xiaoyu Zhou , Xinhua He","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110094","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110094","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Aluminum (Al) toxicity is a major factor limiting forest productivity in acidic soil. Some ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi could enhance Al tolerance in trees grown in acidic soil. However, how interactions between soil inorganic phosphorus (IP) and labile Al fractions under Al stress drive the restructuring of ECM fungal communities and influence host adaptability remains poorly understood. In this study, we conducted a field experiment on <em>Pinus massoniana</em>, an Al-tolerant species, using a gradient of exogenous Al<sup>3+</sup> additions (0–3.5 mM) over naturally high background levels to assess its impacts on rhizosphere soil and fine roots. Specifically, we measured the IP and labile Al fractions, ECM fungal community structure, and root morphological and anatomical traits. We found that low Al concentrations (≤1.5 mM) increased soil pH and elevated occluded P and calcium-bound P levels, while reducing Al-bound and iron-bound P. High Al levels (>2.0 mM) produced the opposite effect. Redundancy analysis identified IP fractions as the primary environmental factor influencing ECM fungal community structure. Variance partitioning analysis further indicated that IP fractions had a stronger effect on community restructuring than labile Al fractions. <em>Scleroderma yunnanense</em>, <em>Cenococcum geophilum</em>, <em>Clavulina amethystin</em>a, <em>Russula</em>, and <em>Rhizopogon boninensis</em> emerged as the dominant colonizers of <em>P. massoniana</em> root tips across different Al gradients. Root growth and mantle thickness showed optimal responses at moderate concentrations, identifying 2.0 mM Al<sup>3+</sup> as the tolerance threshold. Partial least squares structural equation modeling confirmed the pH-mediated transformations of IP and labile Al fractions. IP fractions had a greater impact on soil (<em>β</em> = −0.416) and root tip (<em>β</em> = 0.200) ECM fungal communities than labile Al fractions (<em>β</em><sub><em>soil</em></sub> = 0.158), emerging as the key driver of community restructuring. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into plant-fungal-soil interactions under Al stress and support the potential use of mycorrhizal technology in ecological restoration of acidic forests.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"215 ","pages":"Article 110094"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145995181","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 : 2026-01-14DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110093
Axelle Tortosa , Grégoire T. Freschet , Jean Trap , Alain Brauman , Yvan Capowiez , Sylvain Coq , Jim Félix-Faure , Nathalie Fromin , Laure Gandois , Maritxu Guiresse , Raoul Huys , Antoine Lecerf , Jean-Marc Limousin , Alexandru Milcu , Johanne Nahmani , Agnès Robin , José Miguel Sánchez-Pérez , Sabine Sauvage , Tiphaine Tallec , Claire Wittling , Stephan Hattenschwiler
Soil biodiversity as a critical component of terrestrial ecosystems and their functioning varies across spatial scales and environmental conditions. However, it remains unclear whether and how biodiversity patterns co-vary among different soil taxa across ecosystems.
In this study, we compared diversity patterns of plants, earthworms, nematodes, bacteria, and fungi, as five major groups of soil organisms, across six strongly contrasting ecosystems ranging from mountain peatland to crop fields, including within-ecosystem variation in soil moisture. We hypothesized co-variation in taxonomic richness (alpha diversity) and composition (beta diversity) of multiple groups of soil organisms across ecosystems, moisture conditions and spatial scales.
In partial contrast to our initial hypothesis, co-variation in the taxonomic richness among these groups was limited, though significant positive associations were found among bacteria, fungi, and earthworms across all sites. Plant diversity showed distinct associations with soil organism diversity, particularly with earthworms and bacteria, highlighting above–belowground biodiversity linkages. Beta diversity showed substantial co-variation among all soil organism groups, reflecting a spatial coupling of their communities that was influenced by differences in soil moisture conditions. These patterns were more pronounced in near-natural and no-till agroecosystems compared to conventional agricultural systems. Our results highlight that ecosystem type shapes broad-scale taxonomic richness, while local soil moisture critically influences soil biodiversity and spatial community composition, emphasizing the multi-scale drivers of soil biodiversity.
{"title":"Biodiversity co-variation patterns in a range of soil organism taxa across highly contrasting ecosystems","authors":"Axelle Tortosa , Grégoire T. Freschet , Jean Trap , Alain Brauman , Yvan Capowiez , Sylvain Coq , Jim Félix-Faure , Nathalie Fromin , Laure Gandois , Maritxu Guiresse , Raoul Huys , Antoine Lecerf , Jean-Marc Limousin , Alexandru Milcu , Johanne Nahmani , Agnès Robin , José Miguel Sánchez-Pérez , Sabine Sauvage , Tiphaine Tallec , Claire Wittling , Stephan Hattenschwiler","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110093","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110093","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil biodiversity as a critical component of terrestrial ecosystems and their functioning varies across spatial scales and environmental conditions. However, it remains unclear whether and how biodiversity patterns co-vary among different soil taxa across ecosystems.</div><div>In this study, we compared diversity patterns of plants, earthworms, nematodes, bacteria, and fungi, as five major groups of soil organisms, across six strongly contrasting ecosystems ranging from mountain peatland to crop fields, including within-ecosystem variation in soil moisture. We hypothesized co-variation in taxonomic richness (alpha diversity) and composition (beta diversity) of multiple groups of soil organisms across ecosystems, moisture conditions and spatial scales.</div><div>In partial contrast to our initial hypothesis, co-variation in the taxonomic richness among these groups was limited, though significant positive associations were found among bacteria, fungi, and earthworms across all sites. Plant diversity showed distinct associations with soil organism diversity, particularly with earthworms and bacteria, highlighting above–belowground biodiversity linkages. Beta diversity showed substantial co-variation among all soil organism groups, reflecting a spatial coupling of their communities that was influenced by differences in soil moisture conditions. These patterns were more pronounced in near-natural and no-till agroecosystems compared to conventional agricultural systems. Our results highlight that ecosystem type shapes broad-scale taxonomic richness, while local soil moisture critically influences soil biodiversity and spatial community composition, emphasizing the multi-scale drivers of soil biodiversity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"215 ","pages":"Article 110093"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145972563","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}
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