Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Congcong Shen, Jiang Wang, Ji-Zheng He, Fei-Hai Yu, Yuan Ge
Summary: This study demonstrated positive relationships between plant diversity and soil fungal diversity, especially under plant invasion conditions. The relationship between plant diversity and soil microbial resistance was also highlighted. Unraveling such intricate aboveground-belowground interactions provides important insights into ecosystem functioning and resilience.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Lunlun Gao, Chunqiang Wei, Yifan He, Xuefei Tang, Wei Chen, Hao Xu, Yuqing Wu, Rutger A. Wilschut, Xinmin Lu
Summary: This study investigates the interactive effects of aboveground herbivores and soil biota on plant invasions through plant-soil feedbacks. The researchers found that increased herbivory did not affect the dominance of the invasive plant Alternanthera philoxeroides over native plants, but it did alter soil microbial communities and prolonged the negative plant-soil feedback, leading to decreased herbivore performance on the next-generation invasive plants.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Fabiano Sillo, Matteo Garbelotto, Luana Giordano, Paolo Gonthier
Summary: In Italy, significant hybridization is occurring between the invasive North American fungal plant pathogen Heterobasidion irregulare and its Eurasian sister species H. annosum. The study sequenced and compared the whole genomes of nine natural hybrids with their parental species, revealing genetic relationships and levels of admixture. Findings suggest that hybridization can lead to adaptive introgression, increasing fitness in certain genotypes.
Article
Ecology
Laura Ortiz, Arantzazu L. Luzuriaga, Pablo Ferrandis
Summary: This study investigates the effects of biological soil crusts (BSC) on plant development and demonstrates that BSC can both restrict and facilitate the growth and fitness of plants. The study also suggests that the functional diversity structure of the community can drive the growth and fitness of coexisting species through activating alternative coexistence mechanisms. The findings highlight the importance of plant neighborhood features and provide insights into the interpretation of assembly mechanisms.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Meiling Wang, Xuefei Tang, Xiaoqiu Sun, Bingbing Jia, Hao Xu, Suai Jiang, Evan Siemann, Xinmin Lu
Summary: The study found that plant invasions can rapidly increase the similarity of soil fungal pathogen assemblages, leading to taxonomically and functionally homogeneous soil communities that may limit negative soil effects on invasive plants. The interactions between soil fungi and plants play a crucial role in the growth of invasive plants and foliar herbivores.
Article
Forestry
Wanting Li, Qinghua Liu, Lulu Xie, Chunying Yin
Summary: Mixed forests improve biomass productivity and soil quality compared with monospecific stands. The mechanisms by which mixed stands improve tree growth and soil nutrient availability are still unclear. This study shows that mixed forests increase soil bacterial and fungal diversity, network stability, and abundance of keystone taxa, leading to improved soil nutrient availability.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xiangfeng Yao, Yu Liu, Xiang Liu, Zhihua Qiao, Shiang Sun, Xiangdong Li, Jun Wang, Fengwen Zhang, Xingyin Jiang
Summary: This study demonstrates the ecotoxicity of thifluzamide on soil fungal communities, showing that it can alter fungal diversity and function.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Tony Yang, Bianca Evans, Luke D. Bainard
Summary: Including pulse crops in cereal-based cropping systems is a widely accepted practice to increase crop diversification and biologically fixed nitrogen. However, increasing pulse frequency in crop rotations in semiarid environments may cause significant shifts in soil microbial communities, particularly affecting fungal and bacterial composition and potentially increasing soil-borne disease risk.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Hanwen Liu, Xiaofang Du, Yingbin Li, Xu Han, Bing Li, Xiaoke Zhang, Qi Li, Wenju Liang
Summary: Organic substitution has positive effects on soil quality and crop yield, with different types of organic substitution leading to different outcomes. Substituting with stover improves soil quality but may cause nitrogen competition between microorganisms and crops. Manure substitution increases maize yield but has weaker effects on soil quality compared to stover substitution. Biochar substitution reduces plant-parasitic nematodes but increases potential pathogenic fungi for maize.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Chunqiang Wei, Bingbing Jia, Lunlun Gao, Zhen Liu, Yuming Liang, Xin Zhang, Xinmin Lu
Summary: Soil biota, as legacy effects of previous species in natural ecosystems, profoundly affects plant performance in new habitats and, in turn, plant community. However, how soil biota, as legacy effects of agricultural crops, affects the likelihood of establishment of exotic and native plants in newly abandoned farmland remains poorly understood.
JOURNAL OF PLANT ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Yufu Jia, Guoqing Zhai, Shanshan Zhu, Xiaojuan Liu, Bernhard Schmid, Zhiheng Wang, Keping Ma, Xiaojuan Feng
Summary: PSR positively affects SOC concentrations at both depths, with different mechanisms driving the relationship in the topsoil versus subsoil.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Nardi Torres, Ileana Herrera, Laurie Fajardo, Ramiro O. Bustamante
Summary: The study found that invasive plants can affect soil microbial communities, especially herbaceous plants in temperate forest ecosystems, promoting an increase in bacterial diversity.
BMC ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Marc W. Schmid, Sofia J. van Moorsel, Terhi Hahl, Enrica De Luca, Gerlinde B. De Deyn, Cameron Wagg, Pascal A. Niklaus, Bernhard Schmid
Summary: The diversity and interactions between plant and soil microbial communities are complex, with plant community history and soil legacy significantly influencing soil microbial composition. Specific plant species compositions are associated with particular soil microbial taxa, impacting below-ground community composition in re-assembled plant communities.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Yifan He, Bingbing Jia, Chunqiang Wei, Fengyan Fan, Rutger A. Wilschut, Xinmin Lu
Summary: Soil microbes play a profound role in species coexistence and alien plant invasion through plant-soil feedbacks. Plants can modify soil fungal communities through rhizo-inputs and litter decomposition, influencing the performance of subsequent plants in the same soil. However, the specific mechanisms of how plants affect soil microbes and the subsequent feedback effects remain unclear.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
R. Kent Connell, Lydia H. Zeglin, John M. Blair
Summary: The study revealed that the effects of plant-soil feedbacks on plant biomass were independent of their impact on SOM-derived CO2 production. However, differences in soil microbial communities induced by different plant species may have lasting effects on ecosystem processes.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
He Zhang, Aurore Degre, Caroline De Clerck, Shuangshuang Li, Jinshan Lian, Yuanyuan Peng, Tao Sun, Lindan Luo, Yanan Yue, Guihua Li, Jianfeng Zhang
Summary: The continuous expansion of sandy soil poses a threat to crop security. The use of chitin-rich organic material and attapulgite as soil amendments can improve degraded soil by increasing nutrient content and enzyme activity and altering bacterial community structure. This study provides insights into the link between soil properties, bacterial community structure, and microbial carbon metabolism function.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Soil Science
Xian Zhou, Yi Jiang, Ganghua Leng, Wanting Ling, Jian Wang
Summary: Bound Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) residues have significant impacts on soil pollution remediation. The addition of exogenous functional microbial consortium and glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) can promote the degradation of bound PAH residues. This study fills the cognitive gap of GRSP in regulating the degradation of bound PAH residues in soil.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2024)
Review
Soil Science
Xinyu Zhao, Evrim Elcin, Lizhi He, Meththika Vithanage, Xiaokai Zhang, Jie Wang, Shuo Wang, Yun Deng, Nabeel Khan Niazi, Sabry M. Shaheen, Hailong Wang, Zhenyu Wang
Summary: The increase of cultivated varieties of Chinese herbal remedies, the expansion of cultivation area, and long-term monoculture cropping have led to aggravated problems of soil diseases, yield loss, and quality reduction. Biochar, as a carbon-rich material, has the potential to improve soil quality and alleviate continuous crop obstacles for Chinese herbal remedies.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2024)
Editorial Material
Soil Science
Melanie M. Pollierer, Anton Potapov, Andrey Zaitsev
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Soil Science
Yajie Wang, Jiefeng Li, Yongfen Wei, Zhiyi Deng, Xiaodi Hao, Fusheng Li
Summary: This study investigates the impacts of heavy metal pollution caused by coal production on soil microbial ecology in the semi-arid region of Heilongjiang. The results reveal negative correlations between heavy metals and bacterial abundance and diversity. Twelve sensitive bacterial taxa and corresponding models were identified. Water content and total phosphorus were also found to play vital roles in regulating the bacterial community in the soil.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Soil Science
Sujit Das, Sunanda Biswas, B. Ramakrishnan, T. K. Das, T. J. Purakayastha, B. H. Gawade, Priya Singh, Partha Sarathi Ghorai, Saloni Tripathy, Kanchan Sinha
Summary: This study assessed the impact of conservation agriculture on the biological soil health index in a rice-wheat system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains. The results showed that zero till direct seeded rice and crop residue incorporation could improve soil organic carbon, enzyme activities, and microbial population. Specifically, the inclusion of mungbean residues and sesbania brown manuring significantly increased the abundance of the nifH gene in the soil.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Soil Science
Xingxiu Huang, Genxing Pan, Lianqing Li, Xuhui Zhang, Hailong Wang, Nanthi Bolan, Bhupinder Pal Singh, Chongjian Ma, Fuwei Liang, Yanjie Chen, Huashou Li
Summary: The study evaluated the effects of using a mixture of biomass waste ash and biochar on soil pH, heavy metal remediation, and plant growth. The results showed that the mixed use could ameliorate soil acidification, reduce absorption of cadmium and lead by plants, and promote plant growth. The special fertilizer prepared from the mixture can be used to promote crop growth and reduce environmental pollution.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Soil Science
Astrid C. H. Jaeger, Martin Hartmann, Rafaela Feola Conz, Johan Six, Emily F. Solly
Summary: This study investigates the effects of tree mortality on soil microbial communities using a mesocosm experiment. The results show that tree death influenced soil microbial abundance and composition, with the potential to affect soil processes in forest ecosystems.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Soil Science
Dane C. Elmquist, Subodh Adhikari, Ina Popova, Sanford D. Eigenbrode
Summary: This study investigated the effects of soil arthropod communities from cereal-based agroecosystems on wheat plant growth and above-belowground interactions. The results showed that wheat grown in soils with arthropod communities had better growth and defense against aphids, compared to wheat grown in soils without arthropod communities.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Soil Science
Lei Wang, Jing Wang, Zhonghou Tang, Jidong Wang, Yongchun Zhang
Summary: This study found that the application of organic fertilizer enhances carbon and phosphorus cycling enzyme activities in soil, reshapes the soil microbial community structure, and regulates the interactions between these crucial indicators through soil organic carbon.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2024)
Review
Soil Science
M. Pawlett, N. T. Girkin, L. Deeks, D. L. Evans, R. Sakrabani, P. Masters, K. Garnett, N. Marquez-Grant
Summary: The modern funeral industry faces environmental risks and challenges, and natural burial offers a more sustainable alternative. However, there is a lack of research comparing the risks and benefits of natural burial practices, including groundwater contamination and atmospheric emissions. More scientific research is needed to understand and regulate funeral options, as well as cultural incentives for natural burial.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Soil Science
Zhongcheng Wang, Jin Zhao, Dan Xiao, Meifeng Chen, Xunyang He
Summary: Root AMF colonization, diversity, and interactions vary with soil depth. Higher soil nutrient levels and root biomass promote colonization but suppress diversity and interactions in the upper soil layer compared to deeper layers.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Soil Science
Zhiyang Zhang, Shiting Zhang, Riikka Rinnan
Summary: This study revealed the mechanisms behind the effects of dung deposition on soil heterotrophic respiration, providing insights for grassland management and carbon feedback prediction in grazed ecosystems.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Soil Science
Ismail Ibrahim Garba, Graham R. Stirling, A. Marcelle Stirling, Alwyn Williams
Summary: Integrating diverse cover crops into dryland crop-fallow rotations can enhance soil nutrient and water retention, suppress soil-borne pests, and improve soil health. The effects on soil nematode communities are modulated by the functional type and mixture composition of the cover crops. Selecting cover crops with appropriate traits can improve soil health through suppression of plant-parasitic nematodes, promotion of free-living nematodes, and enhancement of soil food web complexity.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Soil Science
Min Li, Chao He, Miao Wei, Junmeng Long, Jingru Wang, Xinrong Yang, Kehan Wang, Xueli He
Summary: In extreme desert environments, black septate endophytes (DSE) can benefit the relict plant Gymnocarpos przewalskii by assisting it to survive and maintain ecosystem stability. The colonization of DSE in the roots of G. przewalskii varies significantly with seasons and sites, with soil properties being a major factor affecting the composition of DSE. Additionally, the functional metabolite composition of DSE strains varies greatly with different drought levels and isolates, indicating the potential complementarity between different strains in helping hosts cope with drought stress.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2024)