European Journal of Soil Biology最新文献

{"title":"How arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus alters plant-soil feedback affecting biomass production in conspecific and heterospecific plants","authors":"Xu Han ,&nbsp;Tingting Xia ,&nbsp;Kaiping Shen ,&nbsp;Bangli Wu ,&nbsp;Yuejun He","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103779","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103779","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The interactions of plants and soil mediated by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi usually cause changes in soil biotic and abiotic conditions, further shifting subsequent plant performance during the plant-soil feedback (PSF). AM fungal propagules can initiate colonization to establish symbiosis that modulates host growth and soil nutrient availability. However, how AM fungi affect symbiotic performance and soil nutrients via fungal propagules to drive PSF remains unclear. In the present study, a PSF experiment was conducted, in which two grasses and two forbs were planted into pots with or without AM fungus <em>Funneliformis mosseae</em> to create conditioned soil substrates. Subsequently, these plants were planted separately into the conditioned soil substrates in feedback phase. The results showed that AM propagule legacy of the soil conditioning phase was positively related to mycorrhizal colonization, soil hyphal length and spores of the feedback phase. Mycorrhizal colonization and hyphal length were greater in forbs than in grasses in the feedback phase. AM fungus significantly promoted plant biomass production. Simultaneously, AM fungus enhanced positive feedback for forbs and negative feedback for grasses, but the mycorrhizal promotion on biomass production differently decreased in conspecific and heterospecific soils over time. Moreover, AM fungus altered soil nutrient legacy in the PSF. The structural equation model further presented that AM fungal performance was primarily determined by previous AM propagules, while the AM fungal performance and subsequent soil nutrients exerted direct and indirect promotions on the PSF of biomass production. We concluded that AM fungus promotes PSF of biomass production by modulating soil nutrients, with persistent contributions to biomass production in conspecific and heterospecific plants decreasing over time. This study highlights the persistent contribution of AM fungi in driving PSF process, which contributes to understanding the dynamic mechanisms of plant-mycorrhizae-soil interactions in the natural community.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103779"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145358163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microbial mechanism of soil organic carbon content under waterlogging and water table fluctuation in drained peat soils","authors":"Xiaohan Li ,&nbsp;Yang Wang ,&nbsp;Jiye Cai ,&nbsp;Guangyuan Xu ,&nbsp;Hongkai Li ,&nbsp;Yanmin Dong ,&nbsp;Shasha Liu ,&nbsp;Ziping Liu ,&nbsp;Shengzhong Wang ,&nbsp;Zhiwei Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103773","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103773","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Peatlands serve as crucial reservoirs within the global carbon cycle; however, widespread degradation has led to significant reductions in soil organic carbon (SOC) contents. The effects of rewetting on the active SOC and the underlying microbial mechanisms in degraded peatlands are still not fully elucidated. This study examined changes in bulk and active SOC contents, as well as microbial community composition and enzyme activities via controlled water table (WT) manipulation in intact peat columns sourced from drained sites in the Changbai Mountains. The results demonstrated that variations in WT significantly influenced microbial biomass and enzymatic activities within the surface soil layer. Waterlogging resulted in decreased total bacterial and actinomycete biomass, accompanied by a marked increase in fungal biomass, especially under WT fluctuation. Soil oxidase and hydrolase activities only increased significantly under WT fluctuation treatments. SOC contents rose under waterlogged conditions but declined with WT fluctuation. Both dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and microbial biomass carbon were elevated in surface soils subjected to waterlogged and WT fluctuation compared to those in drained peat. However, the easily oxidizable carbon contents were only elevated in surface soils subjected to waterlogged treatments compared to those in drained peat. Soil moisture content had the greatest positive influence, while pH had the greatest negative influence on SOC contents. Actinomycete and DOC had negative impacts on SOC contents under varied WT conditions. This study clarifies the regulatory influence of WT on microbial community dynamics and enzyme activities relevant to SOC storage in degraded peatlands, highlighting the importance of WT management for effective peatland restoration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103773"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145047933","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of low-density polyethylene microplastics on soil functions and microbial communities across soil depths","authors":"Jing Lu ,&nbsp;Yongfen Long ,&nbsp;Bin Hou ,&nbsp;Xuetao Guo ,&nbsp;Yu Zhang ,&nbsp;Hongjuan Bai ,&nbsp;Yating Jia","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103778","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103778","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The ecological risks posed by soil microplastics contamination have become a growing global concern. Although the effect of microplastics on topsoil physicochemical properties and microbial composition have attracted attention, variations in enzyme activities and microbial succession across different soil depths remain unexplored. In this study, a two-month incubation experiment was conducted to assess the effects of low-density polyethylene microplastics (LDPE-MP) at varying concentrations (0.5 % and 2.0 %) on enzyme activities and microbial communities across vertical soil profiles. The results indicated that LDPE-MP improved the activities of urease and fluorescein diacetate esterase (FDAse) while inhibiting alkaline phosphatase (AKP), with these effects showing limited concentration-dependent patterns within the tested range. Furthermore, LDPE-MP decreased the species richness and α-diversity of bacterial community, primarily impacting non-dominant taxa rather than keystone species. This selective perturbation weakened microbial network interactions, diminishing community complexity and ecological stability. Notably, LDPE-MP stimulated the proliferation of cooperative metabolic genera (including denitrifying bacteria, carbon catabolism bacteria, and MP degradation bacteria), but competitively inhibited the growth of nitrogen-fixing and assimilation bacteria and phosphate conversion bacteria. These alterations might potentially alter nitrogen/carbon cycle and soil fertility. Interestingly, these effects are more pronounced in the topsoil than subsurface soil, indicating that their adverse impacts at the subsurface soil layer are mitigated. In addition, synergistic relationships were observed between MP-associated bacteria and taxa producing FDAse/urease, explaining enhanced MP physicochemical alterations in topsoil. The study underscored how microplastics exposure impact the soil bacterial communities and soil functions by restructuring the microbial interaction network across soil depths.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103778"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145424533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Soil extracellular enzyme stoichiometry reveals the nutrient limitations of soil microbial metabolism under precipitation changes in Ningxia desert steppe of China","authors":"Jiali Lian ,&nbsp;Jing Chen ,&nbsp;Cui Han ,&nbsp;Ying Zhao ,&nbsp;Xueqin Yang ,&nbsp;Jianping Li","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103774","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103774","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil microbial communities and extracellular enzyme activity in arid ecosystems are highly sensitive to precipitation changes, yet their metabolic responses remain poorly understood. Through a field precipitation experiment in the Ningxia's desert steppe, we found that increased precipitation significantly enhanced C-, N-, and P-acquiring enzyme activities, with extracellular enzyme stoichiometry revealing microbial P limitation. Soil microbial communities were dominated by the phyla <em>Actinobacteriota</em>, <em>Chloroflexi</em>, and <em>Proteobacteria</em> (bacteria) and <em>Ascomycota</em> (fungi) under altered precipitation. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that biotic factors (community structure/diversity) exerted stronger control over metabolic limitations than abiotic factors, with P limitation surpassing C limitation. These findings highlight P availability as a critical constraint on microbial function in arid grasslands. Our study provides actionable insights for grassland restoration, suggesting targeted P fertilization could mitigate microbial nutrient limitations and enhance ecosystem resilience under climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103774"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145156414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes in trait assemblages of oribatid mite communities during natural succession on post-mining sites","authors":"Andrés A. Salazar-Fillippo ,&nbsp;Rudy van Diggelen ,&nbsp;Jozef Stary ,&nbsp;Ladislav Miko ,&nbsp;Jan Frouz","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103777","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103777","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mining severely impacts ecosystems, yet our understanding of how biotic communities and environmental conditions co-develop during post-disturbance recovery remains limited. This knowledge is crucial for assessing restoration efforts in post-mining sites, which also offer ideal conditions to study how the ecosystem assembles during succession. This is particularly relevant for soil communities that are often overlooked but play a pivotal role in ecological processes. Here we use trait-based approaches to describe the response of soil community adaptations to the changing environment. We used a chronosequence of unreclaimed post-mining sites in the northwest borders of the Czech Republic, spanning four age ranges: 1–10 years, 11–20 years, 21–30 years, and 31–41 years since brown coal extraction. We focused on oribatid mites and assessed community-level trait syndromes using three complementary approaches: functional diversity metrics, RLQ, and fourth corner. We found five traits responding to the environmental gradient: mean body length, concealability, reproductive mode, sensillus shape, and sclerotization. These traits shaped oribatid mite communities in response to specific environmental parameters, revealing distinct groups of pioneers, mid-, and late-colonizers with varying ecological adaptations. Our results indicate that environmental constraints affecting traits separately may homogenise oribatid mite communities into ecomorphological groups during different successional stages. This approach highlights a strong and integral association of oribatid mites with ecosystem development following major disturbance. These outcomes show how soil communities can describe successional trajectories in post-mining sites and may thus support the assessment of restoration projects through complementary biomonitoring.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103777"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145358164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assembly processes, ecological strategies, and functional potentials of abundant and rare microbial taxa in biological soil crusts from two habitats in arid ecosystems","authors":"Yansong Wang,&nbsp;Zengru Wang,&nbsp;Yubing Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103786","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103786","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biological soil crusts (BSCs) cover approximately 40 % of arid and semi-arid lands and are pivotal for terrestrial biogeochemical cycling. Bacteria and fungi constitute the main active constituents of BSC microbial communities, with abundant and rare taxa playing distinct roles. We investigated differences in assembly processes, adaptive strategies, and functional potential between abundant and rare bacterial and fungal taxa across BSC developments in two distinct habitats—the nutrient-poor Tengger Desert and the relatively fertile Loess Plateau. Our results reveal that stochastic dispersal limitation chiefly dominates abundant and permanently rare bacterial taxa in both habitats. In contrast, homogeneous selection dominated transiently and conditionally rare taxa, while deterministic selection pressure was more pronounced in the Tengger Desert owing to its lower nutrient availability. The successional development of BSCs drives a shift from r-to K-strategies in both habitats, with this transition being particularly pronounced in the Tengger Desert. Rare bacterial taxa harbor functional gene repertoires disproportionate to their low relative abundances and thus make outsized contributions to biogeochemical cycling; moreover, their functional potential increases progressively throughout BSC development. Functional connectivity between abundant and rare taxa was strengthened under nutrient-poor conditions. Variation in soil organic carbon content and pH emerged as primary drivers of the assembly and functional patterns. These findings indicate that nutrient-limited conditions differentially alter assembly processes and functional potential of rare and abundant taxa, and that ecological strategies shift with succession in both habitats. Our study reveals how contrasting nutrient availabilities in two arid habitats drive microbial assembly dynamics, adaptive strategies, and functional differentiation throughout BSC successional development, offering theoretical guidance for studying microbial communities and functions in arid ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103786"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145525781","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Linking microbial community assembly to β-diversity and soil respiration under canopy nitrogen addition and understory removal in a subtropical forest","authors":"Debao Li ,&nbsp;Yan Li ,&nbsp;Haibian Xu ,&nbsp;Jianping Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103783","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103783","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biodiversity plays a crucial role in regulating ecosystem functions. However, the contribution of β-diversity to ecosystem functioning remains less well understood than that of α-diversity, especially in the context of global change. Here, we evaluated the impact of nitrogen addition and understory removal on the association between soil microbial β-diversity and soil respiration in a subtropical planted forest using a five-year factorial experiment. Four treatments were compared: a control, canopy nitrogen addition (2.5 g N m⁻² year⁻¹), understory removal, and nitrogen addition combined with understory removal. We found that both understory removal and nitrogen addition significantly altered the soil temperature, moisture, nutrient availability, and pH, leading to strong environmental filtering. This strengthened the role of deterministic processes (i.e., homogeneous selection) in bacterial community assembly. The dominance of homogeneous selection in community assembly reduced bacterial β-diversity. By contrast, nitrogen addition and understory removal did not impact soil fungal community assembly or β-diversity. In addition, soil bacterial β-diversity correlated positively with respiration, unlike fungal β-diversity, which showed no link. Our findings suggest that local-scale disturbances can disrupt bacterial-driven ecosystem processes in forest plantation. Furthermore, the presence of understory vegetation can at least partially mitigate the effects of nitrogen deposition on soil bacterial β-diversity and soil respiration. Therefore, the preservation of understory vegetation may sustain soil functional diversity in plantations experiencing high rates of nitrogen deposition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103783"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145424537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Legume integration into rice cropping systems buffers topsoil functional potential against microbial diversity loss","authors":"Bin Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhanbo Wei ,&nbsp;Rui Zhu ,&nbsp;Evgenios Agathokleous ,&nbsp;Jiacheng Zhao ,&nbsp;Eiko E. Kuramae","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103775","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103775","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Intensive cropping systems pose a growing threat to soil microbial diversity, potentially impairing essential agroecosystem functions. Introducing legume crops or implementing fallow periods into these systems are promising strategies to alleviate such negative impacts. However, how these strategies affect the resilience of soil functions to microbial diversity loss remains largely unexplored, particularly in deeper soil layers. In this study, we employed a dilution-to-extinction approach to simulate microbial diversity loss and investigated its effect on functional potential in both topsoil (0–20 cm) and subsoil (40–60 cm) under three crop rotation systems (i.e., rice-fallow, rice-wheat, rice-milk vetch). Soil functional potential was indicated by measuring the copy number of functional genes using high-throughput qPCR. Our results indicate that microbial diversity loss significantly reduced abundance of genes associated with C degradation, C fixation, N mineralization, nitrification, and denitrification in the topsoil of rice-fallow and rice-wheat systems. In contrast, the rice-milk vetch system preserved abundance of these functional genes in the topsoil following microbial diversity loss, highlighting the potential of tailored cropping strategies to counteract the adverse effect of intensive agriculture. Furthermore, while abundance of genes associated with nitrification was also reduced in subsoil by microbial diversity loss, that of genes associated with C degradation and denitrification generally increased for all cropping systems. This highlights the vulnerability of subsoil function potential to microbial diversity loss, potentially enhancing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to positive climate feedbacks. We concluded that integrating legume crops can maintain soil functional potential in topsoil even in the face of reduced microbial diversity, which is crucial for developing sustainable agricultural practices and ensuring long-term agroecosystem resilience.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103775"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145119973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Strip-intercropping of eight crop species shows limited within-field variation of soil bacterial communities","authors":"Joliese Teunissen ,&nbsp;Anne Kupczok ,&nbsp;Dirk F. van Apeldoorn ,&nbsp;Stefan Geisen","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103782","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103782","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The current crop system needs to become more sustainable to halt the severe environmental impacts associated with intensive monocultures. Alternative agricultural methods, like intercropping, could increase sustainability by better utilizing the biological functions of the plant-soil ecosystem, particularly through plant-associated bacteria. Soil bacteria are key players in supplying many ecosystem functions and thus contribute to plant performance. The effect of intercropping on soil bacteria is a crucial but understudied part of integrating intercropping into the global agricultural system. Here we characterized the effect of intercropping on soil bacterial communities, by comparing intra-versus interspecific crop interactions within one organic strip-intercropping field. We determined the alpha diversity and community composition of soil bacteria across 8 crop species and 16 crop combinations. We found that bacterial alpha diversity was not affected by crop species or crop combination. In contrast, bacterial community composition was influenced by crop species, with certain crops such as parsnip, potato and celeriac shaping their associated bacterial community in both intra- and interspecific crop interactions. Minute differences (&lt;3 %) in soil moisture between crop species determined the strongest patterns observed here. Our findings highlight that crop diversification in the context of strip-intercropping does not always modulate soil bacterial communities under field conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103782"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145424535","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigation of the seasonal dynamics of grassland soil bacterivores in top- and subsoils","authors":"Verena Groß ,&nbsp;Mathilde Borg Dahl ,&nbsp;Jana Täumer ,&nbsp;Kenneth Dumack ,&nbsp;Haitao Wang ,&nbsp;Michael Bonkowski ,&nbsp;Tim Urich","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103784","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103784","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bacterivorous micro- and macro-organisms are important functional guilds in the soil microbial food web, where their activities influence the community composition. Few studies to date have holistically considered the spatial and seasonal dynamics of such bacterivores in temperate grassland soils; studies of subsoil microbial food webs are particularly scarce. This represents a potential knowledge gap, as environmental conditions (e.g. season and soil depth) may affect prokaryotic and eukaryotic bacterivores differentially. Using a quantitative metatranscriptomic approach, we studied the abundance of SSU rRNA transcripts of bacterivorous bacteria, protists, and nematodes in two German grassland sites from top- and subsoils across seasons. The combined transcript abundance of all bacterivores was significantly reduced with depth. A reduction in the transcript predator-prey ratio was seen for bacterivorous protists, nematodes, and <em>Bdellovibrionota</em>. In contrast, facultative bacterivorous <em>Myxococcota</em> showed a consistently high transcript predator-prey ratio at both depths, suggesting that they dominate the bacterivore functional guild in subsoils. The transcript abundance of all bacterivores and their potential bacterial prey exhibited similar seasonal patterns at both depths. The predator-prey ratio showed bacterivore-specific seasonal and depth-dependent variations. Although this methodology has limitations, as transcript abundance does not directly reflect organism's abundance — our findings suggest a notable role for predatory bacteria as potential main consumers of bacterial biomass in subsoils. In general, increasing soil depth appears to influence the structure of the bacterivorous community, potentially reflected in a shift in the ratio of eukaryotic predators to bacterial prey.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"127 ","pages":"Article 103784"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145473907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}