Article
Soil Science
Ernest D. Osborn, Steven G. McBride, Joseph V. Kupper, Jim A. Nelson, David H. McNear, Rebecca L. McCulley, J. E. Barrett
Summary: Different methods were used to assess microbial responses to land use change and drought-rewetting in this study. The results showed that the responses detected by different methods were qualitatively different, indicating the importance of using multiple methodological approaches to fully understand microbial community responses to global change.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tariq Shah, Ahmad Ali, Ghulam Haider, Muhammad Asad, Fazal Munsif
Summary: Despite the benefits of plastics in daily life, the accumulation of plastics in the environment, especially microplastics, can cause problems and potential loss of ecosystem services. This study investigated the effects of different types of microplastics on plant growth, soil enzyme activities, and microbial communities. The results showed that microplastics had a positive impact on plant growth but suppressed soil enzyme activities, except for urease activity. Microplastics also altered the structure and metabolic status of the microbial community. It was concluded that microplastics in soil are not benign and measures should be taken to restrict their access to the soil-plant system and food chain.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yo-Jin Shiau, Ed-Haun Chang
Summary: Constructed wetlands are widely used as low-cost wastewater treatment systems and provide various ecosystem services. Microorganisms in wetland soils play a fundamental role in supporting wetland functions. This study found that both bacterial and fungal abundances increased with wetland age, with bacteria dominating the soil microbial communities in all ages of constructed wetlands. The stress indices showed that microbial stress may be influenced by changes in the availability of in situ nutrients in the wetland soils.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Xiuzhen Shi, Jianqing Wang, Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja, Zhenyu Wang, Xue Li, Zhiqun Huang
Summary: The study found that ecosystem multifunctionality gradually increases during natural forest succession, with functions like carbon stocks and water regulation also showing an increasing trend with stand development. Microbial diversity is a key factor influencing changes in ecosystem multifunctionality, with bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, nematodes, G(+) bacteria, and G(-) bacteria diversity significantly and positively associated with ecosystem multifunctionality. Soil nematodes show a significantly positive correlation with most individual functions.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Nicolas Borchers, Jacqueline Hannam, Mark Pawlett
Summary: Soil translocation is an ecological habitat restoration technique that involves moving topsoil from one site to another. This study investigated the changes in soil chemistry and microbial community composition after the translocation of semi-ancient woodland soil to a nearby pasture. The results showed that the translocated soil had similar microbial community profile as the original woodland soil, but exhibited alterations in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and bacterial fatty acids, as well as an increase in pH. The study concluded that the translocated soil retained some characteristics of a woodland soil but showed signs of disturbance.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Hanxiao Feng, Udayakumar Sekaran, Tong Wang, Sandeep Kumar
Summary: Long-term cover crop implementation (>6 years) promoted carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus cycling that are beneficial to soil health in maize-based cropping systems. Short-term cover crop mixtures also increased enzyme activities and microbial diversity, but had limited impact on soil microbial community structure.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Marlon Correa Pereira, Roisin O'Riordan, Carly Stevens
Summary: Urbanization leads to land sealing, causing changes in soil properties that result in reduced microbial activity and decreased soil carbon storage potential.
JOURNAL OF SOILS AND SEDIMENTS
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Paolo Zuccarini, Dolores Asensio, Jordi Sardans, Roma Ogaya, Lei Liu, Josep Penuelas
Summary: Ongoing increases in global levels of nitrogen deposition affect the structure and functioning of ecosystems. In a mesic Mediterranean holm oak forest, N addition increased photosynthetic potential and P-and C-related enzyme activities, but had no effect on N-related enzyme activities. N deposition also increased microbial biomass and influenced soil microbial community structure.
Article
Forestry
Shiyou Chen, Chunqian Jiang, Yanfeng Bai, Hui Wang, Chunwu Jiang, Ke Huang, Lina Guo, Suping Zeng, Shuren Wang
Summary: Forest gaps play a crucial role in improving forest regeneration, nutrient cycling, ecosystem functioning, and biodiversity. The structure and composition of soil microbial communities are influenced by gap size, with medium gaps (130-160 m(2)) significantly improving soil nutrient availability.
Article
Agronomy
Tianle Xu, Xiao Chen, Yanhui Hou, Biao Zhu
Summary: The study found that microbial communities in two alpine ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau showed significant shifts in biomass, community composition, diversity, and potential functioning along the soil profile. Different microbial groups exhibited varied patterns of vertical diversity, which may have important implications for carbon and nutrient cycling in alpine ecosystems along the soil profile.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Huiling Guan, Yongqun Zhang, Qinggong Mao, Buqing Zhong, Weibin Chen, Jiangming Mo, Faming Wang, Xiankai Lu
Summary: Global nitrogen deposition has broad impacts on soil microorganisms, but how they respond to elevated N deposition, especially in tropical forest ecosystems, remains unclear. In this study, a field experiment was conducted to investigate the responses of microbial composition, biomass, and community structure with long-term N addition at different stages of tropical forest succession. The results showed that N addition significantly changed microbial community structure, and N treatment contributed more variance to the fungal community than to the bacterial community. These findings suggest that soil microbial community structure is more sensitive to N addition and can be severely altered during forest succession or with the increase in N input.
Article
Soil Science
Lei Liu, Marc Estiarte, Per Bengtson, Jian Li, Dolores Asensio, Hakan Wallander, Josep Penuelas
Summary: Soil moisture strongly influences the decomposition of soil organic carbon by microbial activity, with long-term drought having significant legacy effects on soil respiration. The type of C input (glucose or cellulose) affects the priming effect on soil organic matter decomposition, with fungi playing a key role in cellulose decomposition.
Article
Agronomy
Wenhuan Xu, William B. Whitman, Michael J. Gundale, Chuan-Chi Chien, Chih-Yu Chiu
Summary: A global meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of biochar on soil microbial communities, showing that biochar addition can increase arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal abundance and microbial biomass C, while decreasing soil respiration and actinomycetes abundance. The study also revealed that fungal abundance is the dominant factor affecting the response of bacterial abundance to biochar addition.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY BIOENERGY
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Venkatesh Kokila, Radha Prasanna, Arun Kumar, Sekar Nishanth, Jyoti Shukla, Udita Gulia, Lata Nain, Yashbir Singh Shivay, Awani Kumar Singh
Summary: This study investigated the influence of cyanobacterial inoculants on soil and plant parameters and found that cyanobacterial inoculation can significantly enhance soil nutrients, crop growth, and productivity under elevated CO2 conditions.
ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Maria Florencia Dominchin, Romina Aylen Verdenelli, Micaela Gisell Berger, Antonio Aoki, Jose Manuel Meriles
Summary: The combined application of peanut biochar and urea is found to have significant effects on soil microbial community structure and function, with biochar and management practices playing a more crucial role than urea. The study suggests that biochar addition, especially at higher rates, can enhance enzyme activities related to macronutrients and increase certain bacterial and fungal populations in soil. Additionally, the application of urea also increased urease activity, showing a positive correlation with fungal biomass. The research indicates that combining biochar and urea under appropriate soil management practices may be a viable strategy for improving soil microbial quality.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL BIOLOGY
(2021)