Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Mengke Cai, Guang Zhao, Bo Zhao, Nan Cong, Zhoutao Zheng, Juntao Zhu, Xiaoqing Duan, Yangjian Zhang
Summary: Climate warming will significantly impact variations in soil organic carbon, especially in alpine ecosystems. Microbial necromass carbon is a key contributor to stable soil organic carbon pools. However, the accumulation and persistence of soil microbial necromass carbon under different levels of warming are poorly understood.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Futing Liu, Dan Kou, Yongliang Chen, Kai Xue, Jessica G. Ernakovich, Leiyi Chen, Guibiao Yang, Yuanhe Yang
Summary: Permafrost thaw induces changes in soil microbial structure and functional genes, especially enhancing stable carbon decomposition. These results suggest that upland thermokarst may reinforce a warmer climate trend.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kai Fang, Leiyi Chen, Shuqi Qin, Qiwen Zhang, Xuning Liu, Pengdong Chen, Yuanhe Yang
Summary: This study investigated the stability of soil organic matter in the Tibetan alpine permafrost region and found that SOM stability increased from the southeastern to northwestern plateau, with stronger stability associated with higher mineral-organic associations and more arid conditions. The study highlights the importance of considering mineral variables in Earth system models to better predict soil carbon dynamics across permafrost regions.
GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Xuehui Feng, Shuqi Qin, Dianye Zhang, Pengdong Chen, Jie Hu, Guanqin Wang, Yang Liu, Bin Wei, Qinlu Li, Yuanhe Yang, Leiyi Chen
Summary: Research findings show that nitrogen input can significantly increase microbial carbon use efficiency in soil, due to enhanced microbial growth. Contrary to the prevailing view, this increase is not mainly driven by the reduction of stoichiometric imbalance, but is strongly associated with the increased soil carbon accessibility resulting from weakened mineral protection.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Xiaoyue Wang, Chao Liang, Jingdong Mao, Yuji Jiang, Qing Bian, Yuting Liang, Yan Chen, Bo Sun
Summary: Managing above-ground plant carbon inputs is important for achieving carbon neutrality and mitigating climate change. The chemical complexity of plant residues plays a key role in carbon sequestration. This study found that residue chemistry diverges during the initial 0.5-3 year period and then converges to a common array of compounds during the 3-9 year period. Keystone taxa, particularly Alphaproteobacteria of the Rhizobiales order, regulate the divergence and convergence of residue chemistry.
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
Ecology
Leiyi Chen, Yuanhe Yang
Summary: The study points out that overlooking the non-linear relationship between topsoil Delta C-14 and plant carbon input in Wu et al.'s analysis is the key reason for the disagreement between their findings and the findings of this study. Despite this, plant carbon input remains the main factor influencing topsoil carbon turnover.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Guibiao Yang, Yunfeng Peng, Benjamin W. Abbott, Christina Biasi, Bin Wei, Dianye Zhang, Jun Wang, Jianchun Yu, Fei Li, Guanqin Wang, Dan Kou, Futing Liu, Yuanhe Yang
Summary: This study highlights the importance of soil phosphorus availability in regulating plant growth, vegetation productivity, and net ecosystem productivity in a permafrost ecosystem after thaw. The results of a 3-year field observation and in-situ fertilization experiment show that phosphorus addition has a stronger effect on plant growth than nitrogen addition, indicating the crucial role of soil phosphorus availability in altering the trajectory of permafrost carbon cycle under climate warming.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Zongyao Qian, Yanni Li, Hu Du, Kelin Wang, Dejun Li
Summary: Increasing plant species diversity positively correlated with microbial necromass C content, but not significantly related to the contribution of microbial necromass C to the SOC pool. Increasing plant species diversity benefited microbial necromass C accumulation via enhancing the mineral protection.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tao Sun, Xiali Mao, Kefeng Han, Xiangjie Wang, Qi Cheng, Xiu Liu, Jingjie Zhou, Qingxu Ma, Zhihua Ni, Lianghuan Wu
Summary: Nitrogen addition has significant impacts on aboveground and belowground processes, affecting plant productivity, microbial activity, and soil properties, which in turn alters the fate of soil organic carbon (SOC). However, the effects of nitrogen addition on different SOC fractions and the underlying mechanisms are still unclear.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jiguang Feng, Keyi He, Qiufang Zhang, Mengguang Han, Biao Zhu
Summary: Global changes can alter plant inputs and affect soil carbon and microbial communities in forests. A meta-analysis of 166 experiments worldwide revealed that alterations in aboveground litter and/or root inputs had profound effects on soil carbon and microbial communities. Litter addition stimulated soil organic carbon (SOC) pools and microbial biomass, whereas removal of litter, roots or both (no inputs) decreased them. The responses to litter alterations positively correlated with litter input rate and total litter input.
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
Environmental Sciences
William J. Riley, Zelalem A. Mekonnen, Jinyun Tang, Qing Zhu, Nicholas J. Bouskill, Robert F. Grant
Summary: Plant growth and distribution in high-latitude tundra ecosystems are limited by nutrient availability, and the acquisition of nutrients by plants during the non-growing season significantly affects vegetation dynamics. Utilizing a mechanistic model, this study demonstrates that nutrient uptake during the non-growing season enhances shrub growth and expansion rates.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chao Wu, Stephen Sitch, Chris Huntingford, Lina M. Mercado, Sergey Venevsky, Gitta Lasslop, Sally Archibald, A. Carla Staver
Summary: Fire is a significant climate-driven disturbance in terrestrial ecosystems, whose changes can affect the global carbon cycle and climate change. Changes in human demography tend to suppress global fire activity and attenuate warming.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
B. A. Gay, N. J. Pastick, A. E. Zufle, A. H. Armstrong, K. R. Miner, J. J. Qu
Summary: Positive feedback between permafrost degradation and soil carbon release has significant impacts on land-atmosphere interactions and the global carbon cycle. This research integrates artificial intelligence tools and field-scale surveys to better understand and predict permafrost carbon cycling dynamics.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biodiversity Conservation
Chao Liang, Johannes Lehmann
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Yan Zhang, Jin-Tao Li, Xiao Xu, Hong-Yang Chen, Ting Zhu, Jian-Jun Xu, Xiao-Ni Xu, Jin-Quan Li, Chao Liang, Bo Li, Chang-Ming Fang, Ming Nie
Summary: By analysing subtropical forest soils from a 2,000 km transect across China, the authors show that temperature fluctuations can induce the thermal adaptation of microbial respiration, in contrast to findings derived from mean temperature alone.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(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
Biodiversity Conservation
Xinchang Kou, Elly Morrien, Yijia Tian, Xiaoke Zhang, Caiyan Lu, Hongtu Xie, Wenju Liang, Qi Li, Chao Liang
Summary: This study illustrates that the soil food web indirectly influences soil organic carbon (SOC) transformation and stabilization by regulating the role of microbes. Soil fauna acts as a temporary storage container and influences SOC sequestration through feeding on soil microbes. Our findings demonstrate that the soil food web regulates exogenous carbon turnover and mediates soil carbon sequestration through microbial necromass accumulation.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Dianye Zhang, Lu Wang, Shuqi Qin, Dan Kou, Siyu Wang, Zhihu Zheng, Josep Penuelas, Yuanhe Yang
Summary: The nutrient limitation of plants and microbes in cold permafrost areas has significant impacts on the carbon cycle of ecosystems. This study examined the microbial nutrient limitation in the Tibetan alpine permafrost region using multiple methods and found that nitrogen and phosphorus co-limitation is widespread, especially in the surface soil. Soil resource stoichiometry and microbial community composition were identified as the key predictors of the magnitude of microbial nutrient limitation.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Xiaoyue Wang, Chao Liang, Jingdong Mao, Yuji Jiang, Qing Bian, Yuting Liang, Yan Chen, Bo Sun
Summary: Managing above-ground plant carbon inputs is important for achieving carbon neutrality and mitigating climate change. The chemical complexity of plant residues plays a key role in carbon sequestration. This study found that residue chemistry diverges during the initial 0.5-3 year period and then converges to a common array of compounds during the 3-9 year period. Keystone taxa, particularly Alphaproteobacteria of the Rhizobiales order, regulate the divergence and convergence of residue chemistry.
Article
Soil Science
Weina Jia, Tiantian Zheng, Yu Zhao, Fangbo Deng, Yali Yang, Chao Liang, Hongbo He, Xudong Zhang
Summary: Elevated carbon dioxide (eCO2) affects the translocation of photosynthesized carbon (C) from plants to soil, which is predominantly executed by soil microorganisms. However, the response strategy and mediation of the bacterial community on photosynthesized C allocation belowground remains elusive under eCO2 coupled with nitrogen (N) availability. Our study sheds new light on the functional traits and mechanisms of the bacterial community in regulating C and N stoichiometry under eCO2.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Tiantian Zheng, Anja Miltner, Chao Liang, Karolina M. Nowak, Matthias Kastner
Summary: Microbial biomass residues play an important role in biogeochemical cycling, but the mechanism by which they are sequestered in soil organic matter remains elusive. This study revealed that bacterial biomass is predominantly utilized by fungi and stabilized as fungal necromass, contributing to soil organic carbon sequestration. The study also identified three phases in the metabolism of microbial biomass residues, with the final phase focused on C preservation rather than energy production.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jie Hu, Luyao Kang, Ziliang Li, Xuehui Feng, Caifan Liang, Zan Wu, Wei Zhou, Xuning Liu, Yuanhe Yang, Leiyi Chen
Summary: The mechanisms of photochemical and biological degradation of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in thermokarst lakes are not well understood. This study used advanced techniques to show that photo-produced aromatic compounds, rather than aliphatic compounds, stimulate the microbial degradation of DOC. These findings highlight the importance of aromatic compounds in regulating the sunlight effects on DOC biodegradation in thermokarst lakes.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Yuxuan Bai, Yunfeng Peng, Wei Zhou, Yuhong Xie, Qinlu Li, Guibiao Yang, Leiyi Chen, Biao Zhu, Yuanhe Yang
Summary: This study successfully simulated permafrost warming and subsequent active layer deepening in a mountain permafrost region using a novel experimental design and heating methods. The warmed plots experienced an increase in surface soil temperature of 2 degrees C and a deepening of the active layer by 12.6 cm. This experiment is significant for understanding the impact of climate warming on permafrost ecosystems and potential carbon-climate feedback.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ziliang Li, Weijie Xu, Luyao Kang, Yakov Kuzyakov, Leiyi Chen, Mei He, Futing Liu, Dianye Zhang, Wei Zhou, Xuning Liu, Yuanhe Yang
Summary: The mineralization of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in thermokarst lakes plays an important role in the permafrost carbon cycle, but its complex interactions are not well understood. This study used large-scale lake sampling and laboratory incubations to investigate the patterns and drivers of DOM biodegradation. The results showed that labile carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) inputs stimulated DOM biodegradation, with the combined labile C and nutrient additions inducing stronger microbial mineralization. The intensity of aquatic priming was driven by DOM quality, while the P effect decreased with DOM recalcitrance.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Luyao Kang, Leiyi Chen, Ziliang Li, Jianjun Wang, Kai Xue, Ye Deng, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Yutong Song, Dianye Zhang, Guibiao Yang, Wei Zhou, Xuning Liu, Futing Liu, Yuanhe Yang
Summary: The formation of thermokarst lakes can release a significant amount of carbon and impact the climate. Prokaryotes play a crucial role in regulating biogeochemical cycles in thermokarst lakes, but their large-scale patterns and drivers are not well understood.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Jian Li, Zhan-Feng Liu, Ming-Kang Jin, Wei Zhang, Hans Lambers, Dafeng Hui, Chao Liang, Jing Zhang, Donghai Wu, Jordi Sardans, Josep Penuelas, Daniel F. Petticord, David W. Frey, Yong-Guan Zhu
Summary: This study investigates the effects of nutrient addition on soil priming effect (PE), and finds that glucose addition increases soil organic matter decomposition and induces positive priming in both leguminous and non-leguminous forests. The balance between soil available nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) affects the PE, which is dependent on the composition of rhizosphere microbial communities.
Article
Microbiology
Kaikai Min, Tiantian Zheng, Xuefeng Zhu, Xuelian Bao, Laurel Lynch, Chao Liang
Summary: Litter decomposition is a crucial ecosystem process that influences energy and nutrient cycling. This study found that deciduous litter decomposes faster than coniferous litter, with different bacterial community composition and diversity. Decomposition of coniferous litter resulted in strong environmental selection and biological interactions, leading to a shift in community assembly.
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY
(2023)