Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiao Chen, Jiguang Feng, Zongju Ding, Mao Tang, Biao Zhu
Summary: This study explores the vertical and latitudinal patterns of soil microbial and enzymatic C-N-P contents and ratios in eight forest ecosystems in eastern China. The results show significant variations in C-N-P contents and stoichiometry with depth and latitude. Additionally, the correlations between C-N-P contents and latitude are stronger in surface soils compared to deep soils.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Benshuai Yan, Mengcheng Duan, Runchao Wang, Jingjing Li, Furong Wei, Jiarui Chen, Jie Wang, Yang Wu, Guoliang Wang
Summary: Appropriate plantation density is beneficial for sustainable forest development, but the impact of plantation construction on soil enzyme activities and stoichiometry remains inconclusive. This study found that soil C-, N-, and P-degrading enzyme activities were higher in plantations compared to natural forests due to lower soil nutrient content. Furthermore, the soil enzyme stoichiometry ratio deviated from the global average in both plantations and natural forests. Soil enzymes activities and stoichiometry were mainly influenced by soil organic C, available P, and microbial biomass C.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xuyang Wang, Yuqiang Li, Lilong Wang, Yulong Duan, Bo Yao, Yun Chen, Wenjie Cao
Summary: The study finds that microbial metabolism in desert areas is limited by the availability of carbon and nitrogen, and different desert types and climate factors significantly influence metabolic limitations. The results demonstrate that soil microorganisms in deserts can maintain nutrient homeostasis by adjusting enzyme production to enhance uptake of scarce nutrients even in extremely oligotrophic environments.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jonathan P. Ritson, Danielle M. Alderson, Clare H. Robinson, Alexandra E. Burkitt, Andreas Heinemeyer, Andrew G. Stimson, Angela Gallego-Sala, Angela Harris, Anne Quillet, Ashish A. Malik, Beth Cole, Bjorn J. M. Robroek, Catherine M. Heppell, Damian W. Rivett, Dave M. Chandler, David R. Elliott, Emma L. Shuttleworth, Erik Lilleskov, Filipa Cox, Gareth D. Clay, Iain Diack, James Rowson, Jennifer Pratscher, Jonathan R. Lloyd, Jonathan S. Walker, Lisa R. Belyea, Marc G. Dumont, Mike Longden, Nicholle G. A. Bell, Rebekka R. E. Artz, Richard D. Bardgett, Robert Griffiths, Roxane Andersen, Sarah E. Chadburn, Simon M. Hutchinson, Susan E. Page, Tim Thom, William Burn, Martin G. Evans
Summary: Peatlands are important wetland ecosystems with great significance as natural habitats and major carbon stores. Improved understanding of soil microbiota and their influence on peatland functioning is crucial for restoring ecosystem services. Multidisciplinary collaborations and advances in genetic characterisation of microbial communities are necessary to achieve climate targets and cost-effectively deliver ecosystem services.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Qian Li, Fabien Leroy, Renata Zocatelli, Sebastien Gogo, Adrien Jacotot, Christophe Guimbaud, Fatima Laggoun-Defarge
Summary: Climate change has significant effects on peatlands due to their large carbon stocks. Research shows that temperature and oxygen availability greatly impact soil respiration, and subsurface peat has lower CO2 production but higher temperature sensitivity.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Zhifeng Zhai, Min Luo, Yang Yang, Yuxiu Liu, Xin Chen, Changwei Zhang, Jiafang Huang, Ji Chen
Summary: The salinization-induced microbial metabolic changes, particularly related to phosphorus limitation and carbon use efficiency, play a crucial role in soil carbon decomposition in tidal wetlands. The trade-off between microbial CUE and microbial P limitation becomes more prominent with increasing salinity, highlighting the importance of understanding these mechanisms for accurate prediction of tidal wetland ecosystem responses to salinization. The shift in microbial metabolism towards enzyme production under microbial P limitation suggests a dynamic response of microorganisms to changing environmental conditions.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yanyu Song, Lei Jiang, Changchun Song, Xianwei Wang, Xiuyan Ma, Hao Zhang, Wenwen Tan, Jinli Gao, Aixin Hou
Summary: Soil microbes and enzymes in permafrost peatland are sensitive to temperature changes, with long-term warming leading to increased microbial abundance, accelerated carbon cycling, and enhanced nitrogen availability. The study results provide new insights into the response of plant-soil-microbe interactions in permafrost peatlands to climate change.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Laurent K. Kidinda, Sebastian Doetterl, Karsten Kalbitz, Benjamin Bukombe, Doreen Babin, Basile B. Mujinya, Cordula Vogel
Summary: Land-use conversion has significant impacts on the geochemical and microbial properties of tropical soils. The chemical index of alteration (CIA) is found to be sensitive in reflecting the geochemical controls on microbial nutrient acquisition in tropical soils. Microbial communities adjust their nutrient acquisition strategies based on the geochemical soil properties, which can affect carbon (C) input, storage, and release in tropical soils.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Jinquan Li, Junmin Pei, Feike A. Dijkstra, Ming Nie, Elise Pendall
Summary: The study revealed that CUE increased but MRT and Q(10) decreased along the wetland-grassland-forest hydrologic gradient, and all three parameters increased with soil depth. Additionally, CUE and MRT were lower at 30 degrees C than at 10 degrees C. Factors influencing the variation in CUE, MRT, or Q(10) across different soil depths and ecosystem types were strongly correlated to available C:N ratios, clay content, and C quality.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Chupei Shi, Carolina Urbina-Malo, Ye Tian, Jakob Heinzle, Steve Kwatcho Kengdo, Erich Inselsbacher, Werner Borken, Andreas Schindlbacher, Wolfgang Wanek
Summary: Increasing global temperatures accelerate soil carbon cycling and promote nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems. Warming differentially affects ecosystem carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus dynamics, intensifying imbalances between soil resources, plants, and soil microorganisms. Long-term soil warming shifts microbial element limitation from carbon to carbon-phosphorus co-limitation, with significant consequences for soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles under warming.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Yuhao Deng, Meijie Kuang, Zewen Hei, Jiawen Zhong, Ahmed Ibrahim Elsayed Abdo, Hui Wei, Jiaen Zhang, Huimin Xiang
Summary: This study evaluated the effects of nitrogen deposition on paddy field ecosystem and found that it had no significant impact on rice yield, but significantly affected the phosphorus content in rice and soil. Nitrogen deposition also decreased the carbon-phosphorus and nitrogen-phosphorus ratios in the soil, as well as the activities and biomass of microorganisms. Continuous nitrogen deposition may disrupt the nutrient balance and lead to the deterioration of paddy soil environment and a reduction in rice yield.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Liam Heffernan, Vincent E. J. Jassey, Maya Frederickson, M. Derek MacKenzie, David Olefeldt
Summary: The study found that deep peat layers have very low potential enzyme activities, with no differences between young and mature bogs. Peat quality at depth was highly humified in both young and mature bogs. Near-surface peat in young bogs showed significantly higher potential enzyme activities compared to mature bogs, influenced by differences in peat quality derived from different Sphagnum species.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Juliana Vasco-Correa, Ana Zuleta-Correa, Javier Gomez-Leon, Jaime Andres Perez-Taborda
Summary: Perennial grasses have the potential to be valuable biomass sources for biorefineries, but their high resistance to degradation requires pretreatment. Microbial pretreatment, using microorganisms or their enzymes, can enhance the digestibility of perennial grasses and improve their potential for biorefining. This review explores recent advances and challenges in using microbial pretreatment, such as the use of microbial consortia, unsterilized systems, and cell-free systems based on microbial enzymes, with the aim of obtaining added-value products.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ning Chen, Xianyue Li, Haibin Shi, Qi Hu, Yuehong Zhang, Xu Leng
Summary: The study found that there were no significant differences in soil microbial biomass carbon, nitrogen, soil enzymes, etc. between biodegradable film mulching and plastic film mulching in the early stage of crop growth, but these values were significantly lower under biodegradable film mulching in the middle stage. The analysis of different irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer application levels showed that BM22.5, 280 exhibited the highest crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jie Yi, Quanchao Zeng, Tangyingze Mei, Shengnan Zhang, Qi Li, Mingxia Wang, Wenfeng Tan
Summary: Intensive agriculture practices, such as continuous chemical fertilization, can reduce soil ecoenzymatic activities and alter microbial community composition. Soil acidification poses a threat to sustainable agricultural development. The study reveals variations in ecoenzymatic stoichiometry under different land use types and pH gradients, highlighting the co-limitation of soil microorganisms by carbon and phosphorus.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ji Chen, Yong Zhang, Yakov Kuzyakov, Dong Wang, Jorgen Eivind Olesen
Summary: Soil microbiology has entered the era of big data, but faces challenges in integrating laboratory, field, and model-based studies. The limitations of laboratory experiments ignore the interactions of various environmental drivers, leading to discrepancies between laboratory and field studies. The upscaling of soil microbiology research from laboratory to ecosystems is a grand challenge with the potential to inform climate-smart and resource-efficient ecosystems. Understanding the gaps between laboratory and field studies and the issues in bridging observations and model predictions is crucial for interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge advancement.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Weichen Hou, Yakov Kuzyakov, Yanwen Qi, Xiang Liu, Hui Zhang, Shurong Zhou
Summary: Nitrogen fertilization and warming have inconsistent and even opposite effects on nematode communities in soils. This is due to the less sensitivity of commonly used taxonomic diversity to environmental changes compared to rarely-used trait-based indicators.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Soil Science
Anna Yudina, Yakov Kuzyakov
Summary: Soil is a complex system that plays a crucial role in supporting plant and microbial growth, carbon sequestration, water fluxes, and providing habitat for microorganisms. Its structure, specifically the interlocking of pores and solids in aggregates, determines its functions and overall health.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jinyang Wang, Philippe Ciais, Pete Smith, Xiaoyuan Yan, Yakov Kuzyakov, Shuwei Liu, Tingting Li, Jianwen Zou
Summary: The increase in atmospheric methane concentrations since 2007 is a global concern, potentially caused by emissions from rice cultivation. Estimating methane emissions from rice fields and their abatement potential is crucial to assess the contribution of improved rice management. However, the contribution of rice field emissions to the renewed methane increase and global abatement potential remains unclear.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Mei He, Qinlu Li, Leiyi Chen, Shuqi Qin, Yakov Kuzyakov, Yang Liu, Dianye Zhang, Xuehui Feng, Dan Kou, Tonghua Wu, Yuanhe Yang
Summary: Climate warming leads to widespread permafrost thaw, which releases carbon dioxide and triggers a positive permafrost carbon-climate feedback. The understanding of permafrost CO2 release through the priming effect is limited. By combining permafrost sampling and laboratory incubation on the Tibetan Plateau, this study detected a positive priming effect upon permafrost thaw and estimated the potential CO2 emission induced by the priming effect.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Shahnaj Parvin, Ali Bajwa, Shihab Uddin, Graeme Sandral, Michael T. T. Rose, Lukas Van Zwieten, Terry J. J. Rose
Summary: This study compared the growth of monoculture wheat and wheat with a temporary vetch intercrop, and found that temporary intercropping can increase soil organic matter and microbial activity, but has no significant effect on wheat yield and protein content.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Weitao Li, Qi Lu, Sulaiman Almwarai Alharbi, Andrey V. Soromotin, Yakov Kuzyakov, Yanbao Lei
Summary: Global warming is causing glacial retreat and leading to the emergence of open areas that undergo succession. The interactions between soil microbial communities and plants play a role in vegetation succession, but the specific microbial groups involved are unclear. A study in the Gongga Mountain glacial retreat chronosequence investigated whether plant-soil-microbial interactions explain plant primary succession. The researchers found that the performance of most plant species was influenced by soil biota from different stages of succession, with microbial turnover playing a role in accelerating primary succession in the glacial retreat area.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiulan Zhang, Liang Chen, Ying Wang, Peiting Jiang, Yanting Hu, Shuai Ouyang, Huili Wu, Pifeng Lei, Yakov Kuzyakov, Wenhua Xiang
Summary: Thinning is a widely-used management practice to reduce tree competition and improve wood production and quality in forest plantations. This study conducted a meta-analysis on 533 paired observations to evaluate the responses of soil properties and microbial communities to thinning. The results showed that thinning consistently altered soil properties, shifted microbial community compositions, and stimulated microbial activities.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jie Shen, Ziyan Liang, Yakov Kuzyakov, Weitao Li, Yuting He, Changquan Wang, Yang Xiao, Ke Chen, Geng Sun, Yanbao Lei
Summary: Ecosystem succession and pedogenesis change the composition and turnover of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and its interactions with soil microbiome. In this study, the molecular diversity of water-extractable DOM and its links to microbial communities were characterized along a deglaciation chronosequence in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that low molecular weight compounds decreased, while mid- and high-molecular-weight compounds increased with succession age and soil depth. Microbial community succession shifted towards the dominance of oligotrophic Acidobacteria and saprophytic Mortierellomycota, reflecting the increase of stable DOM components.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Sajedeh Khosrozadeh, Andrey Guber, Farshid Nourbakhsh, Banafshe Khalili, Evgenia Blagodatskaya
Summary: Using time-lapse amino mapping (TLAM) technique, we successfully visualized the distribution of amino-N compounds in the rhizosphere of maize, revealing a ten times higher concentration compared to non-rhizosphere soil. The high concentration was mainly associated with the root tips, with a 3 times higher content than at the seminal roots. By narrowing the distance between the rhizosphere soil and other root regions, the amino-N concentration around the root tips was effectively increased. In conclusion, TLAM is a promising approach for monitoring the fate of labile N in soils.
BIOLOGY AND FERTILITY OF SOILS
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Haoyu Qian, Xiangchen Zhu, Shan Huang, Bruce Linquist, Yakov Kuzyakov, Reiner Wassmann, Kazunori Minamikawa, Maite Martinez-Eixarch, Xiaoyuan Yan, Feng Zhou, Bjoern Ole Sander, Weijian Zhang, Ziyin Shang, Jianwen Zou, Xunhua Zheng, Ganghua Li, Zhenhui Liu, Songhan Wang, Yanfeng Ding, Kees Jan van Groenigen, Yu Jiang
Summary: Rice paddies are an important source of staple food for half the global population, but they also contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. This review explores the characteristics of these emissions and the potential strategies to mitigate their effects. The study finds that management practices play a crucial role in determining the level of emissions, and that future climate change is likely to increase these emissions. However, integrated agronomic management strategies offer potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
NATURE REVIEWS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Shihab Uddin, Shahnaj Parvin, Roger Armstrong, Glenn J. Fitzgerald, Markus Low, Alireza Houshmandfar, Ehsan Tavakkoli, Sabine Tausz-Posch, Garry J. O'Leary, Michael Tausz
Summary: This study investigated the interactive effects of nitrogen (N) fertilisation and elevated atmospheric CO2 on biomass, yield and water use of two wheat cultivars. The results showed that elevated CO2 stimulated leaf area and biomass, reduced stomatal conductance, and increased water use efficiency. Supplementation of nitrogen increased the yield of one cultivar but decreased the yield of another. Therefore, considering the unique nitrogen use efficiency and responsiveness of wheat cultivars is important for optimizing the benefits from the "CO2 fertilisation effect" through breeding.
CROP & PASTURE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Z. Liu, L. Nie, M. Zhang, S. Zhang, H. Yang, L. Guo, J. Xia, T. Ning, N. Jiao, Y. Kuzyakov
Summary: By studying the effects of different methods and treatments on soil organic carbon content, labile carbon fractions, and crop yields, it was found that subsoiling combined with 1 m high maize stubble return is an effective conservation tillage to increase the SOC content and crop yield.
JOURNAL OF SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Yaoyao Tong, Jina Ding, Mouliang Xiao, Muhammad Shahbaz, Zhenke Zhu, Ming Chen, Yakov Kuzyakov, Yangwu Deng, Jianping Chen, Tida Ge
Summary: Microplastics create new ecological niches for microorganisms, with higher accumulation levels in terrestrial ecosystems compared to marine ecosystems. The study found that the addition of microplastics affected the spatial distribution of soil hydrolases, nutrient availability, and rice growth. Microplastics increased above-ground biomass but decreased below-ground biomass. They also reduced the content of NH4+ in soil and increased the activity of N- and P-hydrolases. Nutrient uptake by rice plants and enzyme activities were enhanced with the presence of microplastics in soil, indicating their impact on soil ecology and nutrient dynamics.
SOIL ECOLOGY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Yujie Shi, Elsa Religieux, Yakov Kuzyakov, Junfeng Wang, Junxi Hu, Xavier Le Roux
Summary: Ecosystem functions, such as soil nitrogen cycling, are being altered by climate change. The responses of soil (de)nitrification to climate change vary across global grasslands. In this study, the researchers analyzed 49 studies and found that the responses of (de)nitrification are mainly influenced by annual precipitation and temperature, rather than the duration and magnitude of experimental treatment. Water availability plays a major role in dry regions, while nitrogen availability is a key determinant in wet regions.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)