Soil organic carbon (SOC) in terrestrial ecosystems is reliant mainly on plant-derived carbon (C) inputs. Although the contribution of plant straw to soil C accrual within particulate organic matter (POM) and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) has been widely investigated, the microbial groups responsible for driving straw decomposition and the allocation of C into POM and MAOM pools remains

Fire disturbances are becoming more common, more intense, and further-reaching across the globe, with consequences for ecosystem functioning. Importantly, fire can have strong effects on the soil microbiome, including community and functional changes after fire, but surprisingly little is known regarding the role of soil fire legacy in shaping responses to recent fire. To address this gap, we conducted

Rhizobium leguminosarum sv. trifolii is a soil bacterium capable of establishing a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with Trifolium spp. (clover) plants. In this study, two subpopulations of Rlt strains derived from the subpolar and temperate climate zones were characterized with respect to different physiological and metabolic traits. In addition, the influence of temperature on these processes was examined

The influence of soil water and temperature on soil respiration is often studied using incubation experiments due to the challenges associated with field measurements. While incubations preserve most chemical and biological properties of the soil, they alter the physical environment. A critical issue is whether these alterations make incubation results unrepresentative of those under field conditions

Soil fungal inter-guild interactions may impact ecosystem processes significantly. In particular, competition between ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi could reduce organic matter decomposition through the “Gadgil effect”. Whether fungal facilitative and competitive interactions predictably shift under moderate environmental stress, as hypothesised by the stress-gradient hypothesis (SGH), is still

Microorganisms are key components of soil biodiversity and are essential for organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. So far it is unclear whether pesticide application influences microbial communities and the contribution of microbes to soil functioning and plant growth. To address this, we manipulated soil microbial diversity and created a diversity gradient, ranging

Organic nitrogen (N) sorption/desorption with clay minerals are key factors affecting N dynamics in soils since mineral associated organic N is an important source of bioavailable N. However, the control of sorption/desorption on the bioavailability of amino acids in soils with high sorption capacity, such as volcanic soils, is yet to be clarified. Sorption characteristics of O, A, and B horizons of

Soil nematodes account for ∼80 % of all Metazoans and play key roles in supporting terrestrial ecosystem functions, yet their responses to pervasive nitrogen (N) deposition, a significant global change factor, and their potential context-dependencies remain unclear. In this study, we conducted a global meta-analysis of 629 paired observations from 91 studies to examine how climatic and pedological

Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) and soil priming effect (PE) are key factors influencing soil carbon (C) turnover, yet how phosphorus (P) availability regulates them in salt-affected soils—with low organic C content and limited P availability—remains unclear. We studied an effect of 13C-labeled maize straw amended with different rates of P addition on C turnover in coastal saline soil. The microbial

Although it has been recognized that the formation of organo-mineral complexes may be fostered by soil fauna, their formation pathways are far from understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the processes involved in earthworm-mediated mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) formation. To this end, we used microcosms to produce casts with three different temperate earthworm species

The fate of nitrate is central for increasing nitrogen use efficiency in cropping systems. It is influenced by ammonifiers and denitrifiers, two microbial guilds that compete for nitrate and contribute to nitrogen retention and loss, respectively, with the latter in the form of dinitrogen gas and the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). We hypothesized that cropping systems causing higher soil carbon:nitrate

Despite the importance of mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) in long-term soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) persistence, and the significant contribution of fungal necromass to this pool, the factors controlling the formation of fungal-derived MAOM remain unclear. This study investigated how fungal necromass chemistry, specifically melanin, interacts with soil mineral properties and microbial

Intracellular carbon storage is a common strategy of soil microbes to cope with resource fluctuations. While fungal neutral lipid fatty acids (NLFAs) are widely accepted indicators of carbon storage, bacterial NLFAs are more ambiguous: they have been interpreted either as storage compounds or as degradation products of phospholipids, suggesting necromass. These conflicting interpretations limit the

The application of nitrification inhibitors targeting distinct ammonia-oxidizing guilds—complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox), ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), and bacteria (AOB)—has facilitated elucidating their functional significance across diverse ecosystems. However, the specificity and reliability of these inhibitors remain controversial and have not been thoroughly evaluated. In this study,

Soil microbial communities play a crucial role in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Rapid changes in climate and land-use will likely cause major changes in belowground biodiversity with unknown consequences on ecosystem functioning. The functional traits, taxonomic and functional diversities of soil microorganisms are known to vary in relation to soil type and climate, but few studies have

Understanding the role of soil microbes is critical to ecosystem processes, and more thorough comparisons of measurement proxies for soil microbial biomass could broaden the inclusion of explicit microbial parameterization in soil carbon cycling and earth system models. We measured physical, chemical, and biological data from eight soil orders representing 11 major biomes and four climate regions.

Invasive plant species can alter soil abiotic and biotic properties, with some changes persisting long after the primary invader's eradication. However, how soil legacies will influence secondary invasions following control of primary invaders remains unclear, hindering development of targeted control and post-removal management strategies. We used Solidago canadensis as the primary invader and established

Nitrification, the oxidation of ammonia via nitrite to nitrate, contributes to nitrogen losses in agricultural soils. When nitrification is a two-step process, it depends on the successful metabolic interaction between ammonia oxidising archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB), and nitrite oxidising bacteria primarily within Nitrobacter (NIB) and Nitrospira (NIS). However, consequences of dry spells caused

Soil organic nitrogen (SON) decomposition is a fundamental process in the nitrogen (N) cycle that influences N availability for plant uptake and soil health. However, the long-term effects of nutrient fertilisation on SON decomposition and its microbial drivers remain poorly understood. Here, we used the 180-year-old Broadbalk Winter Wheat Experiment to investigate how farmyard manure (FYM), mineral

Microbial necromass carbon (MNC) is a crucial component of soil organic carbon (SOC) and plays a significant role in long-term carbon sequestration. However, the distribution patterns of MNC across soil profiles remain poorly understood. Here, we compiled a dataset of 1447 observations from depths of up to 1 m across cropland, forest, and grassland ecosystems to evaluate the distribution and key influencing

The sensitivity of soil microbial respiration to climate warming is a major source of uncertainty in predicting soil carbon (C) emissions to the atmosphere and their feedback to climate change. One key issue is the persistent misuse of Q10, the factor by which respiration rate is multiplied for a 10 °C increase in temperature, as an indicator of the temperature sensitivity. Despite ample empirical

Soil methane (CH4) emissions significantly impact climate change. However, microbial controls of CH4 in global carbon cycle gain less attention than CO2, hindering the understanding of CH4 processes. Here, stemming from a baseline model (MENDmm1) with one microbial group, we developed a microbial-explicit CH4 model by representing six microbial groups following Michaelis-Menten kinetics (MENDmm6).

Drought affects soil C sequestration by altering the availability of nutrients to plants and microorganisms. However, the mechanisms of plant-microbe interactions and the potential role of root hairs, which enlarge the root-soil interface, in maintaining rhizosphere processes under drought remain uncertain. We investigated the effect of a 7-day drought on root gene expression in two maize plants, a

Every year, soil microbial-mediated hydrogen (H2) oxidation removes about 80 % of the global atmospheric H2, an indirect greenhouse gas. Soil-dwelling high-affinity H2 oxidizing bacteria use this trace gas as an energy source to persist when other substrates are limited or to meet their maintenance energy requirements during dormancy. However, there is limited knowledge of the distribution, composition

Belowground plant transfer of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) can benefit soil ecosystems, increasing soil C gains and plant N availability, while improving soil pore structure. We explored such transfers among three plant species of North American prairie, where C and N were transferred from a grass (Panicum virgatum L., switchgrass (Sgrass)) to either a legume (Lespedeza capitata Michx., bush clover

Plants rely on soil microbes, particularly those in their rhizosphere to access resources; however, these relationships are altered following disturbance, including nutrient enrichment. Plants also contribute to variation in resource availability by redirecting exudates as conditions change, but the ability to do this varies with species identity. In this study we compared the activity and composition

Winter cover crops are expected to increase soil organic C (SOC) stocks, but the magnitude of SOC gain could be greater in paddy fields where decomposition is constrained by anaerobic soil conditions, compared to upland fields. This study examines the impact of winter cover crop recycling on SOC accumulation over two years in South Korea. Plots were established in a rice paddy field and a nearby upland

Most temperate trees shed their senescent leaves in autumn. However, some genera, typically beech and oak, retain a large portion of their dead leaves until the start of the subsequent growing season, a phenomenon termed marcescence. The fundamentally different conditions marcescent and shed senescent leaves are exposed to have the potential to substantially alter litter decomposition. The extent to

Soil organisms are vital to soil health, however, their inclusion in monitoring frameworks remains limited. Yet, it is well-known that agricultural management practices distinctively affect soil biota and the functions that they support. In this paper, we systematically evaluated the impact of management practices related to carbon and nutrient, vegetation, pest and disease and soil management, as

Peat soils store significant amounts of carbon (C) globally, and increased C sequestration into peatlands could play a role in offsetting anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As such, there is a need to find and assess optimal greenhouse gas removal (GGR) interventions to minimise GHG losses, protect current C stocks, and promote further C sequestration. This mesocosm study assessed the additional

Processes at the root-soil interface are essential for plant nutrient and water uptake, but the level of root-soil contact varies depending on root traits and soil properties. Implications of reduced root-soil contact for the rhizosphere, its microbiota and for plant performance remain largely unclear. Here, the consequences of root-soil contact reduction were analyzed in maize microcosm experiments

In response to drought, plants modulate their morphology and orchestrate a range of functional adaptations. However, the intricate relationships between plants and their microbiome in response to drought stress are not fully understood. Herein, we used transcriptome and untargeted metabolomics technologies to study genetic and metabolic changes associated with drought resistance in spring wheat, as

Although earthworms play a crucial role in soil biogeochemical processes, the importance of their traits in shaping the physicochemical properties of their casts remains poorly understood. This study aimed (1) to evaluate the influence of earthworm species and soil types on cast properties and (2) investigate the relationship between earthworm morphological, anatomical, physiological and behavioral

The calorespirometric ratio is a metabolic indicator that can be useful in soil science for understanding thermodynamics and the carbon use efficiency of soil microbial metabolism. Calculating calorespirometric ratios for soil microbial metabolism involves the development of calorespirometric procedures using calorimeters of the heat conduction type. The calorespirometric measurements for soil microbial

The degradation of large biopolymers, such as cellulose, in soil requires several enzymatic hydrolysis steps to produce simpler substrates for microbial uptake. The synthesis of these enzymes requires energy and takes time until they are fully expressed. However, the heat release associated with enzymatic hydrolysis and the temporal delay between this initial heat release and the final carbon mineralization

Root-derived carbon has been shown to contribute more to soil carbon stocks than aboveground litter. Yet the molecular chemodiversity of root exudates remains poorly understood due to limited characterization and annotation. In this study, we characterized the molecular chemodiversity and production of metabolites and lipids in root exudates from field grown mature tall wheatgrass (Thinopyrum ponticum)

Only a little information is available about how the spatial heterogeneity (homogenous vs. patchy distribution) of microbial necromass affects microbial and plant phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) nutrition in the rhizosphere of forest soils. Therefore, a rhizotron experiment using soil from two silicate and one calcareous forest site of contrasting nutrient scarcity and P forms was conducted to investigate

Soil health plays an important role in environmental and ecosystem sustainability. Urban forest soil health has been gradually deteriorating, resulting in several challenges. Here, a soil health index was employed to explore the soil health conditions and spatial differences in urban forests. We assessed soil health in urban forests in Nanchang, China, by establishing a minimum data set model using

Symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is a crucial strategy for plants to overcome phosphorus (P) deficiency, which is common in soils worldwide. This study explored the role of AMF in P mobilization using a maize-AMF symbiosis model under two levels of P availability in soil: 5.9 mg P kg−1 and 19 mg P kg−1. A newly developed three-compartment rhizobox was used to combine soil zymography

Many UK blanket bog peatlands are degraded due to historical management including drainage, leading to reduced biodiversity, carbon sequestration and water storage. Currently, much restoration efforts including rewetting and revegetation strategies are being deployed aiming to restore habitats towards intact and ecohydrologically functioning ecosystems. However, it remains unclear how these efforts