Soil Biology & Biochemistry最新文献

{"title":"The role of earthworms in the transformation of labile plant litter into mineral-associated organic matter","authors":"Chao Song ,&nbsp;Yacouba Zi ,&nbsp;Marie-France Dignac ,&nbsp;Nicolas Bottinelli ,&nbsp;Axel Felbacq ,&nbsp;Shanshan Song ,&nbsp;Cornelia Rumpel","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109859","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109859","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although it has been recognized that the formation of organo-mineral complexes may be fostered by soil fauna, their formation pathways are far from understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the processes involved in earthworm-mediated mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) formation. To this end, we used microcosms to produce casts with three different temperate earthworm species (epigeic <em>Lumbricus castaneus</em> [LC], epi-anecic <em>Lumbricus terrestris</em> [LT], endogeic <em>Aporrectodea icterica</em> [AI]) fed with ¹³C-enriched <em>Miscanthus</em> litter in two contrasting soil types (Luvisol, Cambisol). To investigate MAOM formation processes, we used ¹³C isotope tracing to track litter-derived carbon origin and neutral sugar biomarkers to resolve microbial transformation pathways.</div><div>Our results indicated that cast MAOM-C concentrations increased compared to the control treatment without earthworms, with LC casts in Luvisol exhibiting the highest MAOM-C concentration (24.1 mg g⁻¹). MAOM-C contribution to casts decreased in the order LC &gt; LT &gt; AI. Sugar biomarkers revealed species- and soil-dependent stabilization pathways: MAOM of LC casts in Luvisol contained high proportions of plant-derived arabinose, while MAOM of AI casts in Cambisol were enriched in microbial-derived hexoses (mannose) and deoxy-hexoses (rhamnose, fucose). We conclude that earthworms depending on species and soil type accelerated MAOM formation via synergistic pathways: (1) direct stabilization of plant sugars and (2) microbial transformation of labile litter into necromass during cast formation. We suggest that earthworm-driven MAOM formation depends on species-specific traits (e.g., LC's capacity for litter fragmentation) and soil properties (e.g., clay and CaCO₃ content).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 109859"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144097518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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 controls of nitrogen retention and N2O production in cropping systems supporting soil carbon accrual","authors":"Aurélien Saghaï,&nbsp;Oliver C. Moore,&nbsp;Christopher M. Jones,&nbsp;Sara Hallin","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109858","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109858","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The fate of nitrate is central for increasing nitrogen use efficiency in cropping systems. It is influenced by ammonifiers and denitrifiers, two microbial guilds that compete for nitrate and contribute to nitrogen retention and loss, respectively, with the latter in the form of dinitrogen gas and the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N₂O). We hypothesized that cropping systems causing higher soil carbon:nitrate favor ammonifiers and thereby lower N₂O emissions and improve crop yield. We sampled long-term field experiments comparing annual cereal, w/wo straw return, and ley rotations under four fertilization regimes replicated in three pedoclimatic zones in Sweden. Soil carbon content has decreased in the cereal rotations since the establishment of the experiments, whereas positive effects of leys on soil carbon varied depending on clay content. Nevertheless, the ley rotations displayed consistently lower nitrate levels irrespective of fertilization regime, lower N₂O production rates, and similar or higher cereal yields compared to cereal cropping. Sequencing of 16S rRNA genes showed major differences in the soil microbiome between ley and cereal rotations, with some effects of fertilization. To tease apart effects on the functional guilds, we quantified the genetic potential of ammonifying (<em>nrfA</em>), denitrifying (<em>nirK</em>, <em>nirS</em>) and N₂O reducing (<em>nosZ</em>I and <em>nosZ</em>II) microbial communities. Nitrate availability rather than carbon content explained the apparent control of carbon:nitrate on ammonifiers <em>vs</em> denitrifiers, with lower levels favoring the former. Altogether, our findings highlight the importance of integrating carbon and nitrogen management strategies to improve soil carbon content while also reducing N₂O emissions from cropping systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 109858"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144097533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Minerals, microbes and melanin drive differential incorporation of fungal necromass carbon and nitrogen into mineral-associated organic matter","authors":"Katilyn V. Beidler ,&nbsp;Elizabeth Huenupi ,&nbsp;Lang C. DeLancey ,&nbsp;François Maillard ,&nbsp;Bowen Zhang ,&nbsp;Per Persson ,&nbsp;Peter G. Kennedy ,&nbsp;Richard Phillips","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109843","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109843","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite the importance of mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) in long-term soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) persistence, and the significant contribution of fungal necromass to this pool, the factors controlling the formation of fungal-derived MAOM remain unclear. This study investigated how fungal necromass chemistry, specifically melanin, interacts with soil mineral properties and microbial communities to influence MAOM formation and persistence. We cultured the fungus <em>Hyaloscypha bicolor</em> to produce ¹³C- and ¹⁵N-labeled necromass with varying melanin content (high or low) and incubated it in both live and autoclaved soils collected from six Indiana forests that differed in their clay and iron oxide (FeOx) content. After 38 days, we found that seven times more fungal-derived N was incorporated into MAOM than fungal-derived C, with fungal N comprising 20 % of the MAOM-N pool. Low melanin necromass formed more MAOM-C than high melanin necromass, although site-level differences in overall MAOM formation were substantial. Soil clay and FeOx content were strong predictors of MAOM formation, explaining ∼60 % and ∼68 % of the variation in MAOM-C and MAOM-N, respectively. However, microbial communities also significantly influenced MAOM formation, with MAOM-C formation enhanced and MAOM-N formation reduced in autoclaved soils. Furthermore, the relative abundance of fungal saprotrophs was negatively correlated, and bacterial richness was positively correlated with MAOM formation, and these relationships were influenced by necromass melanin content. Collectively, this study reveals that microbial communities and soil properties interactively mediate the incorporation of fungal necromass C and N into MAOM, with microbes differentially influencing C and N incorporation, and these processes being further modulated by necromass melanization.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 109843"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144066347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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 bacterial neutral lipid fatty acids: Markers for carbon storage or necromass?","authors":"Stefan Gorka ,&nbsp;Alberto Canarini ,&nbsp;Hannes Schmidt ,&nbsp;Christina Kaiser","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109855","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109855","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Intracellular carbon storage is a common strategy of soil microbes to cope with resource fluctuations. While fungal neutral lipid fatty acids (NLFAs) are widely accepted indicators of carbon storage, bacterial NLFAs are more ambiguous: they have been interpreted either as storage compounds or as degradation products of phospholipids, suggesting necromass. These conflicting interpretations limit the use of bacterial NLFAs in understanding microbial physiology and carbon cycling in soils. In this perspective, we revisit the functional origin of bacterial NLFAs by synthesising findings from microbial culture studies, screening of soil bacterial genomes, and a ¹³C-labelling soil experiment. Our results suggest that many soil bacteria possess the genetic and physiological capacity to synthesise storage lipids, and actively allocate excess carbon into NLFAs under carbon-rich conditions—supporting their interpretation as storage rather than necromass markers. We also highlight assumptions about phospholipid degradation and note that its products are not necessarily recovered as NLFAs. We conclude that soil bacterial NLFAs are mainly derived from storage compounds, although contributions from degraded phospholipids and possibly other intracellular lipids need further validation. We propose targeted experiments to clarify their biochemical origin, and highlight bacterial NLFAs as underused but promising markers in soil science.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 109855"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144066395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Deciphering the energy use channels in soil organic Matter: Impacts of long-term manure addition and necromass revealed by LC-FT-ICR-MS","authors":"Konstantin Stumpf ,&nbsp;Carsten Simon ,&nbsp;Anja Miltner ,&nbsp;Thomas Maskow ,&nbsp;Oliver J. Lechtenfeld","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109857","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109857","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Manuring of arable soils has been reported to increase soil organic matter (SOM) contents, microbial activity, and abundance of microbial metabolites, suggesting an increasing abundance of necromass markers in general. SOM's chemical complexity hampers our understanding of mechanistic links between SOM transformation, necromass imprints, and energy storage. Non-targeted molecular-level techniques can provide insight into SOM's molecular composition, energetic fingerprint and effects of manuring. We compared water-extractable organic matter (WEOM) from long-term manured soils with a set of fresh plant, bacterial and fungal necromass extracts by liquid chromatography Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (LC-FT-ICR-MS). Manuring increased WEOM complexity in polar, unsaturated, oxidized, and energy-poor compounds. These changes were linked to a 2-3-fold increase in necromass markers. In comparison to unfertilized soil, manured WEOM was dominated by bacterial necromass markers over fungal ones, suggesting bacterial control of changes in WEOM's energetic properties. Although unfertilized soils showed a smaller necromass imprint, fungal N-containing markers were present, suggesting a more dominant fungal energy use channel, and potential N mining. Despite the parallel shifts in necromass imprints and NOSC between soils, 83 % of molecular formulas were not assigned to any necromass, but explained most of the shift to a more bioavailable, oxidized and energy-poor WEOM due to long-term manuring. This may result from manure promoted oxidation of pre-existing SOM not associated to fresh necromass (“priming”) or incomplete coverage of necromass compositional variability. We demonstrate the potential of LC-FT-ICR-MS to complement classical necromass marker studies by reporting ∼600 novel, readily soluble microbial necromass markers, thereby providing an avenue to build comprehensive databases for a more robust annotation of SOM sources and transformation processes in the future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 109857"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143979591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Root exudate stoichiometry is a key driver of soil N cycling: implications for forest responses to global change","authors":"Manon Rumeau, Johanna Pihlblad, Fotis Sgouridis, George Fereday, Michaela K. Reay, Yolima Carrillo, Iain P. Hartley, Emma Sayer, Liz Hamilton, A. Rob Mackenzie, Sami Ullah","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109856","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109856","url":null,"abstract":"Root exudate profile is expected to be altered by global change drivers, with significant implications for plant nutrition. Exposure to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (eCO₂) increases the quantity and alters the quality of exudates, which likely affects microbial activity and nitrogen (N) cycling. However, it is uncertain whether such changes will result in greater N availability for plants. In this field experiment, we used an automated root exudation system in a forest soil to mimic the increase in exudate C:N ratio observed under eCO₂. After six months of continuous application, we measured N transformation rates in O-horizon soils and in root and fungi exclusion soil bags (41 μm and 1 μm mesh sizes) to partition the role of fungi and bacteria. Increasing exudate C:N ratio stimulated gross N mineralization, especially in the rhizosphere, by shifting microbial nutrient acquisition strategy towards a N-mining strategy. High exudate C:N ratio increased nitrification in the absence of roots when both fungi and bacteria were present. These results demonstrate that N transformations are driven more by the C:N stoichiometry than by labile C alone in root exudates, and are largely influenced by the rhizosphere environment. Exudate stoichiometry thus may play a key role in alleviating N limitation under future atmospheric CO₂ concentration.","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":9.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143979568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Molecular evidence for microbial methane oxidation associated with complete ammonia oxidizers in paddy soils","authors":"Zongjing Kang ,&nbsp;Shuling Wang ,&nbsp;Lu Lu ,&nbsp;Xia Zhu-Barker ,&nbsp;Junji Yuan ,&nbsp;Yongxin Lin ,&nbsp;Zhongjun Jia ,&nbsp;Alan L. Wright ,&nbsp;Andreas Kappler ,&nbsp;Sara Kleindienst ,&nbsp;Xianjun Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109847","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109847","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The evolutionary relatedness of ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) of ammonia oxidizers and methane monooxygenase (MMO) of methane oxidizers has long been recognized, and both aerobic AMO and MMO-carrying microorganisms can mutually catalyze oxidation of methane and ammonia. However, this process remains unclear for complete ammonia oxidizer (comammox) <em>Nitrospira</em>. The absence of pure cultures of comammox <em>Nitrospira</em> from soil, combined with the lack of effective selective chemical inhibitors to distinguish between ammonia or methane oxidation, poses a technical challenge in directly assessing their contribution to methane oxidation. Ammonium oxidation almost stops below 4 °C, but methane oxidation and comammox <em>Nitrospira</em> remained active in paddy soils. To address this gap, we conducted ¹³CO₂ or ¹³CH₄-DNA-based stable isotope probing (SIP) incubation experiments using purple and black paddy soils employing 0 °C to selectively inhibit ammonia oxidation in soil microcosms to assess the involvement of comammox <em>Nitrospira</em> in methane oxidation. Results showed that at 25 °C, <em>amoA</em> genes from comammox clade A, ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) were labelled in ¹³CO₂ microcosms, and <em>amoA</em> genes from comammox clade B and <em>pmoA</em> genes from methanotrophs were labelled in both ¹³CO₂ and ¹³CH₄ microcosms, indicating both ammonia oxidation and methane oxidation. However, at 0 °C, only <em>amoA</em> genes from comammox clade B and <em>pmoA</em> genes from methanotrophs were labelled in ¹³CO₂ or ¹³CH₄ microcosms, with detectable methane oxidation and no evidence for ammonia oxidation. These findings suggest that comammox clade B retains activity at near-freezing temperatures, potentially contributing to methane oxidation under cold conditions. This study underscores a previously unrecognized potential methane-oxidizing function of comammox clade B, offering new insights into their metabolic versatility and broader ecological role in the carbon cycle.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 109847"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143940229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Feasibility and limitations of using specific nitrification inhibitors to differentiate ammonia oxidizer activity","authors":"Che Tan ,&nbsp;Yu Zeng ,&nbsp;Cécile Gubry-Rangin ,&nbsp;Chang Yin ,&nbsp;Yongchao Liang","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109848","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109848","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The application of nitrification inhibitors targeting distinct ammonia-oxidizing guilds—complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox), ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), and bacteria (AOB)—has facilitated elucidating their functional significance across diverse ecosystems. However, the specificity and reliability of these inhibitors remain controversial and have not been thoroughly evaluated. In this study, we first conducted a meta-analysis of several specific nitrification inhibitors: acetylene, 1-octyne, 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP), 2-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (PTIO), and chlorate, focusing on their effects on AOA, AOB and comammox <em>Nitrospira</em>. Acetylene broadly inhibited the growth of all ammonia oxidizers. Both 1-octyne and higher concentrations (≥1.5%) of DMPP exhibited dual regulatory effects: inhibiting the growth of AOB and comammox <em>Nitrospira</em> (clade B for 1-octyne; all clades for DMPP) while stimulating AOA growth. PTIO inhibited AOA and AOB but had no significant effect on comammox <em>Nitrospira</em> clade A growth. In contrast, chlorate specifically inhibited comammox <em>Nitrospira</em> growth. To assess the ecological relevance of these synthesized patterns, particularly the guild-specific effects, we conducted microcosm experiments. The results revealed that PTIO failed to inhibit AOA growth in wetland soil. The specificity of 1-octyne and chlorate is dose-dependent. Notably, chlorate at 10 mM completely inhibited the growth of all ammonia oxidizers, while its addition consistently stimulated soil nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions, indicating it cannot reliably differentiate the contribution of different nitrifier guilds to N₂O emissions. These findings collectively challenge the conventional use of inhibitor-based assays, underscoring the necessity to evaluate the effectiveness of inhibitors in distinguishing the functional importance of ammonia oxidizers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 109848"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143931170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ecoregional patterns of protist communities in mineral and organic soils: assembly processes, functional traits and diversity of testate amoebae in Northern Eurasia","authors":"Jiahui Su ,&nbsp;Yuri A. Mazei ,&nbsp;Andrey N. Tsyganov ,&nbsp;Natalia G. Mazei ,&nbsp;Victor A. Chernyshov ,&nbsp;Alexander A. Komarov ,&nbsp;Kirill V. Babeshko ,&nbsp;Edward A.D. Mitchell ,&nbsp;Satoshi Shimano ,&nbsp;Pavel Krasilnikov ,&nbsp;Damir A. Saldaev ,&nbsp;Basil N. Yakimov","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109841","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109841","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil microbial communities play a crucial role in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Rapid changes in climate and land-use will likely cause major changes in belowground biodiversity with unknown consequences on ecosystem functioning. The functional traits, taxonomic and functional diversities of soil microorganisms are known to vary in relation to soil type and climate, but few studies have compared these patterns and explored assembly community mechanisms systematically in contrasted ecological conditions. Here we address this gap and focus on testate amoebae, a key group of shell-producing microbial predators known to play significant roles in C and N cycling in terrestrial ecosystem. We used morphological approach to assess and compare their taxonomic and functional diversity in organic (Histosols) and mineral soils in six regions (320 samples) spanning a wide range of latitudes (52–67°N, ∼2126 km) and longitudes (46–107°E, ∼3927 km) in Central-North Eurasia. Our study revealed significant differences in testate amoeba community composition, diversity, functional traits and assembly mechanisms among ecoregions and soil type. In the ecoregions with drier soils, testate amoeba taxonomic and functional diversities were higher in organic soils compared to mineral soils, while the opposite was observed in ecoregions with wetter soils. With respect to morphological traits, in drier-soil ecoregions such as forest-steppes, testate amoebae were longer and had a relatively smaller aperture in organic soils, while the opposite is true in wetter-soil ecoregions such as taiga and tundra. Habitat filtering was identified as the leading assembly process in mineral soils, while biotic factors were more influential in organic soils. This study provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of testate amoeba communities, enhancing our understanding of how abiotic and biotic factors shape microbial communities in ecosystems, highlighting the role of soil moisture regime, and offering valuable insights for predicting ecological responses to environmental changes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 109841"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143931169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interrelationships among methods of estimating microbial biomass across multiple soil orders and biomes","authors":"Z.W. Buell ,&nbsp;J. Dabbs ,&nbsp;J.M. Steinweg ,&nbsp;L.A. Kluber ,&nbsp;J.R. Phillips ,&nbsp;Z.K. Yang ,&nbsp;S.W. Roth ,&nbsp;R.M. Miller ,&nbsp;J.L.M. Gutknecht ,&nbsp;C.W. Schadt ,&nbsp;M.A. Mayes","doi":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109844","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109844","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the role of soil microbes is critical to ecosystem processes, and more thorough comparisons of measurement proxies for soil microbial biomass could broaden the inclusion of explicit microbial parameterization in soil carbon cycling and earth system models. We measured physical, chemical, and biological data from eight soil orders representing 11 major biomes and four climate regions. Four prominent methods to measure microbial abundance—chloroform fumigation extraction (CFE), total DNA yield, gene copy number by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (GCN), and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA)—were compared to assess their relationships with each other and with soil characteristics. Correlations were observed when comparing methods, with CFE correlating strongly with total DNA yield, GCN, and PLFA; CFE with bacterial GCN and bacterial PLFA; and to a lesser extent, total PLFA and total DNA yield. Correlations improved with the removal of organic soils (Histosols, Gelisols). Comparisons involving extracted DNA were improved by correcting for clay content, due to DNA extraction inefficiencies in clay-rich soils. Correlations involving fungi (PLFA or GCN) were always less significant. These methods could serve as reliable, inter-relatable proxies for the estimation of total soil microbial biomass while recognizing that the proxies are less effective at parsing differences between bacteria and fungi. We provide specific equations to relate measures of soil microbial biomass by these four different methods to enable microbial models to utilize a greater diversity of observed data sources in parameterizations and simulations. Caveats for the equations and their values are also discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21888,"journal":{"name":"Soil Biology & Biochemistry","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 109844"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143926418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}