Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Luiz A. A. Domeignoz-Horta, Grace Pold, Hailey Erb, David Sebag, Eric Verrecchia, Trent Northen, Katherine Louie, Emiley Eloe-Fadrosh, Christa Pennacchio, Melissa A. A. Knorr, Serita D. D. Frey, Jerry M. M. Melillo, Kristen M. M. DeAngelis
Summary: Microbes play a crucial role in cycling carbon through soils, and understanding their physiological response to warming is important for predicting soil carbon stocks under climate change. This study investigated the long-term impacts of warming on microbial physiology and found that microbial thermal acclimation and changes in substrate availability both contribute to these impacts. Additionally, seasonal inputs of fresh litter counteract the apparent thermal acclimation of carbon-cycling processes in response to warming. These findings highlight the indirect effects of long-term warming on microbial physiology and suggest the need for earth system models to incorporate these feedbacks.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jie Zhou, Yuan Wen, Bahar S. Razavi, Sebastian Loeppmann, Miles R. Marshall, Huadong Zang, Yakov Kuzyakov, Zhaohai Zeng, Michaela A. Dippold, Evgenia Blagodatskaya
Summary: A study conducted on agroecosystems explored the effects of long-term warming on microbial functions in the soil. It found that higher temperatures led to increased microbial growth but decreased the proportion of growing microbial biomass. The study also showed that increased availability of labile organic matter weakened the thermal acclimation of soil microbial functions. These findings suggest that the predicted impact of climate warming on soil microbe-driven CO2 emissions may be underestimated.
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Samuel Adingo, Jie-Ru Yu, Liu Xuelu, Xiaodan Li, Sun Jing, Zhang Xiaong
Summary: Soil microbial carbon utilization efficiency refers to how efficiently microorganisms convert absorbed carbon into their own biomass. Influenced by thermodynamics, ecological factors, substrate nutrient quality, and availability, this efficiency can vary from 0.2 to 0.8.
Article
Soil Science
Shuang Wang, Marc Redmile-Gordon, Muhammad Shahbaz, Tida Ge, Ming Zhang, Yichao Wu, Jun Liu, Qiaoyun Huang, Peng Cai
Summary: The view on the formation of soil organic C is being challenged. It is suggested that metabolic by-products are more stably associated with soil minerals. However, the effects of substrate identity and soil mineral composition on microbial physiology and SOC formation are still not well understood.
Article
Soil Science
Xianzhen Luo, Lingling Zhang, Yongbiao Lin, Dazhi Wen, Enqing Hou
Summary: This study explored the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) stock in response to experimental phosphorus (P) additions. The results showed that P additions significantly increased SOC stock globally, with the effect depending on soil nitrogen (N) availability. Under high N availability, P additions mainly increased plant biomass and litterfall, while under low N availability, P additions not only increased plant biomass and litterfall, but also soil microbial biomass and oxidase activity. However, the increases in aboveground biomass and litterfall did not lead to corresponding carbon accumulation in the soil, possibly due to microbial CO2 release. Reactive N input reduced P-addition-induced carbon loss and enhanced the effect of P additions on SOC.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Nianxun Xi, Dongxia Chen, Wei Liu, Juliette M. G. Bloor
Summary: Biodiversity loss and drought significantly impact above- and below-ground terrestrial ecosystem functioning. This study examines the effects of plant diversity on the drought resistance of soil microbial biomass. The results show that plant species richness positively influences microbial resistance to drought, with fungal community properties and root biomass playing important roles. These findings emphasize the importance of plant diversity for microbial biomass stability and have implications for biogeochemical cycling.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Peng He, Yuntao Zhang, Qirong Shen, Ning Ling, Zhibiao Nan
Summary: Soil microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is an important parameter for evaluating soil carbon partitioning between microbial growth and respiration. However, there is controversy regarding general patterns of microbial CUE among different terrestrial ecosystems. This study collected and analyzed data from 41 study sites, including farmland, grassland, and forest ecosystems, to estimate microbial CUEs. The results showed significant differences in CUE among these ecosystems, with grassland soils exhibiting higher microbial C sequestration potentials. The study also identified metabolic limitations and environmental factors that influence microbial CUE. These findings provide insights into soil microbial C sequestration capacity and its response to global change.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Bingbing Han, Yanzhong Yao, Yini Wang, Xiaoxuan Su, Lihua Ma, Xinping Chen, Zhaolei Li
Summary: This study investigates the factors influencing the accumulation of microbial necromass carbon and finds that soil properties and biotic factors are the major controls.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Qiufang Zhang, Wenkuan Qin, Jiguang Feng, Xiaojie Li, Zhenhua Zhang, Jin-Sheng He, Joshua P. Schimel, Biao Zhu
Summary: The paucity of investigations on carbon dynamics in soils with warming makes it difficult to evaluate the feedback of terrestrial carbon to climate change. In this study, the researchers examined microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) in an alpine grassland on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and found that CUE decreased with soil depth, primarily controlled by soil carbon availability. However, experimental warming had limited effects on microbial CUE and soil carbon availability.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
D. D. Kok, L. Scherer, W. de Vries, K. Trimbos, P. M. van Bodegom
Summary: This study conducted an integrated assessment of the interactions between different organic amendments and soil microbial response variables, focusing on the priming effect and soil organic carbon sequestration. The findings suggest that the hot water extractable to total carbon ratio is the best predictor of the priming effect, the dissolvable to hot water extractable carbon ratio is closely related to variation in microbial response variables, and the priming effect is significantly correlated with changes in several microbial response variables. These findings advocate for the adoption of energetic principles in modeling and predicting microbially-mediated soil carbon dynamics, and highlight the importance of using organic amendments with high hot water to total carbon concentrations for more efficient soil organic carbon sequestration.
Article
Soil Science
Joanna R. Ridgeway, Ember M. Morrissey, Edward R. Brzostek
Summary: Efforts to manage soil carbon sequestration in bioenergy agriculture are limited by our understanding of how plant and microbial traits influence the formation of soil organic carbon (SOC). This study compared the litter of corn and miscanthus and found that the easy decomposability of corn litter promoted greater microbial carbon use efficiency and the formation of more mineral-associated SOC compared to the more complex miscanthus litter. The study also showed that modeling microbial trait differences improved the prediction of litter carbon fate in SOC. This research provides insights into the importance of litter quality and microbial efficiency in SOC formation and offers a basis for modeling SOC transformations.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Xiaojuan Feng, Simin Wang
Summary: Microbe-mediated carbon transformation is crucial for soil carbon sequestration, serving as a key strategy for long-term carbon neutrality. Evaluating the efficiency of microbial necromass accumulation in relation to plant carbon input or microbial respiration can provide insights into promoting soil carbon sequestration from an ecosystem perspective.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Weichao Liu, Zhenjiao Zhang, Jiaxin Li, Yuhao Wen, Fuhe Liu, Wei Zhang, Hanyu Liu, Chengjie Ren, Xinhui Han
Summary: Soil microorganisms play a crucial role in biogeochemical cycles, but their response to fires is not well understood. A global meta-analysis of 371 cases from 81 published studies was conducted to explore the comprehensive effects of fires on soil microbial properties. The results show that fires increase microbial metabolic quotient and decrease soil microbial biomass carbon and fungal biomass. The intensity of the fire and ecosystem types and climate zones also impact these responses.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Qianxi Li, Wei Jia, Junjun Wu, Lingling Wang, Feng Huang, Xiaoli Cheng
Summary: In this study, the changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) relative stability following afforestation were explored, and the underlying mechanisms were investigated. The results showed that afforestation significantly increased the concentration of all carbon fractions but decreased SOC relative stability. Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) was found to have a significant and positive relationship with the proportions of stabilized C in total SOC. Overall, this study revealed the decline in SOC relative stability following afforestation, and provided new insights into the assessment of carbon neutrality under global afforestation.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jin-Tao Li, Yan Zhang, Hongyang Chen, Huiming Sun, Weitao Tian, Jinquan Li, Xiang Liu, Shurong Zhou, Changming Fang, Bo Li, Ming Nie
Summary: The thermal compensatory response of microbial respiration plays a regulatory role in the enhancement of soil respiration caused by climate warming. Low soil moisture suppresses this compensatory response, leading to an enhanced response to warming.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Jinjing Lu, Shengping Li, Xueping Wu, Guopeng Liang, Chunhua Gao, Jianhua Li, Dongsheng Jin, Bisheng Wang, Mengni Zhang, Fengjun Zheng, Aurore Degre
Summary: This study investigated the relationship between microbial community structure in different sized aggregates and inner C accumulation. The results showed that the contribution of microorganisms to C accumulation varied with aggregate sizes, with larger aggregates being more important in improving unstable C accumulation and C derived from straw.
ARCHIVES OF AGRONOMY AND SOIL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Baoyu Sun, Ming Jiang, Guangxuan Han, Liwen Zhang, Jian Zhou, Chenyu Bian, Ying Du, Liming Yan, Jianyang Xia
Summary: This study demonstrates that climate warming reduces the resistance and resilience of wetland ecosystems to severe flooding. The warming experiment showed that plant community structure changed rapidly under warming, leading to a reduction in vegetation productivity's resistance to flooding. Additionally, slower post-flooding carbon processes were observed under warming. These findings suggest an increased impact of extreme hydrological events on wetland ecosystems in a warmer climate.
Article
Ecology
Junjiong Shao, Xuhui Zhou, Peipei Zhang, Deping Zhai, Tengfei Yuan, Zhen Li, Yanghui He, Nate G. McDowell
Summary: This study explores the relationship between hydraulic traits and the mortality and recovery of subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests (SEBF) trees. The results show that species with greater embolism resistance have longer survival time and exhibit higher resistance and faster recovery of photosynthesis and transpiration under drought conditions. Other plant traits cannot explain the interspecific variation in drought resistance and recovery. This highlights the unique importance of embolism resistance in driving carbon and water processes in SEBFs.
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Ning Wei, Jianyang Xia, Jian Zhou, Lifen Jiang, Erqian Cui, Jiaye Ping, Yiqi Luo
Summary: This study diagnosed the sources of uncertainty in terrestrial carbon storage in Earth system models and found that the improvement in simulating net primary production led to the convergence of global terrestrial carbon storage among models. However, the bias in ecosystem carbon residence time still persists, causing the persistent underestimation of land carbon storage.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Junjiong Shao, Gaobo Li, Yan Li, Xuhui Zhou
Summary: This study examined the responses of plant growth, productivity, and crop yield to warming and the role of genetically-based intraspecific differences. The results showed that genetically-based intraspecific responses accounted for 34.7% of the total variance in warming responses, with large variability. The responses of plant productivity and crop yield were larger than those of organ level traits and biomass allocation.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiaotong Liu, Qiang Li, Senwen Tan, Xueping Wu, Xiaojun Song, Huizhou Gao, Zixuan Han, Angyuan Jia, Guopeng Liang, Shengping Li
Summary: The study found that no-tillage (NT) and subsoiling (SS) decreased soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization but increased Q(10) due to their large amounts of macro-aggregates with low SOC quality. Increased soil moisture could lower Q(10).
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Guopeng Liang, Pengyan Sun, Bonnie G. Waring
Summary: Nitrogen agronomic efficiency (NAE) is crucial for global food security, but its long-term changes and controlling factors under nitrogen (N) application are unknown. A meta-analysis of 477 studies found that overall NAE did not significantly change in the long term at the global scale, but a third of studies showed evidence of consistent directional changes in NAE over time. Annual precipitation played a key role in explaining the temporal trend of NAE.
SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH
(2022)
Review
Plant Sciences
Nianpeng He, Pu Yan, Congcong Liu, Li Xu, Mingxu Li, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Guangsheng Zhou, Guoyi Zhou, Shirong Liu, Xuhui Zhou, Shenggong Li, Shuli Niu, Xingguo Han, Thomas N. Buckley, Lawren Sack, Guirui Yu
Summary: With the rapid accumulation of plant trait data, there are major opportunities to integrate these data into predicting ecosystem primary productivity across different spatial extents. However, scaling up to the ecosystem scale has remained challenging. This study demonstrates the need to combine community-level traits and environmental factors to predict ecosystem productivity at landscape or biogeographic scales, and highlights the potential for integrating traits into ecological models to estimate productivity-related ecosystem functions and anticipate the response of terrestrial ecosystems to global change.
TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lingyan Zhou, Xuhui Zhou, Yanghui He, Yuling Fu, Zhenggang Du, Meng Lu, Xiaoying Sun, Chenghao Li, Chunyan Lu, Ruiqiang Liu, Guiyao Zhou, Shahla Hosseni Bai, Madhav P. Thakur
Summary: Biomass allocation in plants is crucial for understanding and predicting terrestrial carbon storage. This meta-analysis reveals that the warming effect on the root:shoot ratio of plants is influenced by precipitation and the type of mycorrhizal fungi associated with them.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Guopeng Liang
Summary: Long-term nitrogen fertilization increases cereal yield and enhances its stability. Soil properties play a major role in the variations of cereal yield and stability in response to nitrogen fertilization.
GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY-AGRICULTURE POLICY ECONOMICS AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Guiyao Zhou, Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja, Shengen Liu, Hang-Wei Hu, Ji-Zheng He, Xinxin Wang, Zheng Jiang, Xuhui Zhou, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
Summary: This study provides new insights into the patterns and functional trade-offs in the multidimensional rewilding of Mediterranean forests, highlighting the importance of biodiversity for long-term restoration efforts.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yanghui He, Xuhui Zhou, Zhen Jia, Lingyan Zhou, Hongyang Chen, Ruiqiang Liu, Zhenggang Du, Guiyao Zhou, Junjiong Shao, Junxia Ding, Kelong Chen, Iain P. Hartley
Summary: Research suggests that long-term warming reduces carbon emissions from soil, primarily due to substrate depletion rather than microbial adaptation. Additionally, nitrogen addition can alleviate the effects of this reduction.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ximei Han, Guiyao Zhou, Qin Luo, Olga Ferlian, Lingyan Zhou, Jingjing Meng, Yuan Qi, Jianing Pei, Yanghui He, Ruiqiang Liu, Zhenggang Du, Jilan Long, Xuhui Zhou, Nico Eisenhauer
Summary: The effect of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations on plant biomass responses is still unclear, particularly in terms of how it affects phosphorus cycling in terrestrial ecosystems.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Guodong Zhang, Guiyao Zhou, Xuhui Zhou, Lingyan Zhou, Junjiong Shao, Ruiqiang Liu, Jing Gao, Yanghui He, Zhenggang Du, Jianwei Tang, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
Summary: Tropical forests are productive and vulnerable ecosystems, and forestation programs aim to plant millions of trees in these regions. However, little is known about how different types of tree mycorrhizae affect soil respiration and carbon stocks in tropical forests.
JOURNAL OF PLANT ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Lingyan Zhou, Madhav P. P. Thakur, Zhen Jia, Yu Hong, Wenjie Yang, Shuqing An, Xuhui Zhou
Summary: Tropical forests in the Anthropocene are subject to disturbances that create canopy gaps, affecting forest structure and function. This study investigated the effect of canopy gaps on seedlings from different successional stages in a tropical montane forest in China. Results showed that seedlings from early- and mid-successional stages had a greater growth response to increased light intensity under small and large canopy gaps compared to those from the late-successional stage. Light condition and specific leaf area were the most important factors influencing seedlings' relative growth rate across successional stages. The study highlights the distinct impact of disturbance-induced canopy gaps on seedling regeneration and emphasizes the potential detrimental effects on forest structure and successional trajectory.
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2023)
