Applied Soil Ecology最新文献

{"title":"“Land use is reliably predicted by soil burst respiration profiles”","authors":"Jeremiah Daniel Vallotton ,&nbsp;Louis-Pierre Comeau ,&nbsp;Claudia Goyer ,&nbsp;Cameron Wagg ,&nbsp;Adrian Unc","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106315","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106315","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Studies examining soil respiration across land uses have been published for over 100 years, but few studies have examined how variability in rates of respiration during a test period could elucidate microbial responses to wet-dry events and connect them to land use. Our study examined the interplay between land uses (LU) and maximum potential soil respiration across Atlantic Canada using partitioned profiles of ‘burst’ respiration measurements. We found that Crop Agriculture respiration peaked in the first 24 h of the incubation, while Forest peaked during the second and third 24 h periods. Pasture respiration was intermediary, peaking in the first two 24 h periods. These specific proportional respiration intervals were crucial in successfully predicting Crop Agriculture, Forest and Pasture LUs using machine learning models, with accuracy equivalent to comprehensive soil physicochemical parameters. Wetland respiration profiles were inconsistent with minimal predictive power, likely due to high variability of mineral and carbon (C) content. While early (24 h) respiration was proportionally largest for managed soils, indicating the impact of management in increasing respiration, absolute total respiration over 72 h was largest for natural soils, indicating their likely larger putative contribution, per unit area, to the atmospheric C pool. This study points to a novel approach for assessing the effect of agricultural and natural management on soils, that recognizes consistent gradients in the functional status of soil C as directly linked to land use and land management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"214 ","pages":"Article 106315"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144694778","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":"Inconsistent short-term effects of enhanced structural complexity on soil microbial properties across German forests","authors":"Rike Schwarz ,&nbsp;Nico Eisenhauer ,&nbsp;Christian Ammer ,&nbsp;Pia M. Bradler ,&nbsp;Orsi Decker ,&nbsp;Benjamin M. Delory ,&nbsp;Peter Dietrich ,&nbsp;Andreas Fichtner ,&nbsp;Yuanyuan Huang ,&nbsp;Ludwig Lettenmaier ,&nbsp;Michael Junginger ,&nbsp;Oliver Mitesser ,&nbsp;Jörg Müller ,&nbsp;Goddert von Oheimb ,&nbsp;Kerstin Pierick ,&nbsp;Michael Scherer-Lorenzen ,&nbsp;Simone Cesarz","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106335","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106335","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Structural and biotic homogenization can result from forestry practices lacking promotion of canopy gaps and deadwood. This can lead to biodiversity loss and impaired ecosystem functions. Enhancing structural complexity (ESC) has been proposed to counteract these effects, but its impact on soil properties remains insufficiently understood. Overall, we hypothesize that ESC enhances soil abiotic properties, their spatial variability, and microbial functioning, with effects modulated by environmental context and increasing over time. Data were collected from 148 patches (50 × 50 m) in eight beech forests across Germany. In half of the patches, structural complexity was enhanced by felling 30 % of the basal area of living trees through two spatial patterns—aggregated (one large gap) and distributed (small gaps)—combined with leaving or removing deadwood (stumps, logs, snags). The other half served as controls, representing managed, homogeneous production forests. Soil carbon (C) %, nitrogen (N) %, and C:N ratio increased near deadwood. Soil microbial biomass and activity were significantly affected in three of eight forest sites, effects ranging from −30 % to +62 %. Higher soil water content was associated with increased microbial biomass, and greater understorey biomass correlated with a lower microbial respiratory quotient. However, no temporal trends were observed over five years. Although soil properties showed resistance to structural interventions, site-specific effects underline the importance of soil moisture and the understorey vegetation for microbial functioning. Further research building on our results is needed to develop practical forest management strategies to clarify how structural complexity may support soil functioning and ecosystem resilience.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"214 ","pages":"Article 106335"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144686253","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":"Liming mitigates earthworm-induced CO2 and N2O emissions from a sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) forest soil","authors":"Florian Jordan ,&nbsp;Robert Bradley ,&nbsp;Rock Ouimet","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106318","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106318","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sugar maple (<em>Acer saccharum</em> Marsh.) forests in southern Quebec (Canada) are used for multiple human activities, with potential impacts on soil greenhouse gas emissions. Here, we studied the principal and interactive effects of three anthropogenic factors, namely (1) changes in leaf litter quality due to stand conversion, (2) application of dolomitic lime, and (3) the introduction of non-native earthworms, on soil CO₂ and N₂O emissions and related soil properties. These three experimental factors were arranged in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial array to obtain eight treatments that we replicated four times in a complete randomized block design. Treatments were applied to mesocosms containing sugar maple forest soil and incubated for 15 months, during which we monitored soil CO₂ and N₂O emissions. At the end of the trial, we sampled soils at four depths and measured pH, mineralizable nitrogen, soil aggregate stability (WSAI), δ¹³C, and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM). Liming reduced CO₂ emissions across all earthworm × litter-type combinations. By contrast, earthworms increased CO₂ only when combined with the sugar maple-American beech (<em>Fagus grandifolia</em> Ehrh.) litter mixture. Both liming and earthworms increased WSAI. However, we found a negative relationship between WSAI and cumulative CO₂ in soils (0–20 cm depth) without earthworms, but a positive relationship between these two variables in soils without liming. These two contrasting relationships highlight the biochemical differences in aggregates formed by liming and those formed by earthworms. Earthworms increased both nitrification and N₂O emissions whereas liming increased soil pH while reducing the positive effect of earthworms on N₂O. We found no treatment effects of either δ¹³C or MAOM. We conclude that the spread of non-native earthworms in sugar maple forests of southern Quebec will potentially increase soil N₂O and CO₂ emissions, but these could be mitigated by liming.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"214 ","pages":"Article 106318"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144694779","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":"Reliability of earthworm data from citizen science: Lessons from 7 years of a French national monitoring protocol","authors":"Kevin Hoeffner ,&nbsp;Benjamin Bergerot ,&nbsp;Kevin R. Butt ,&nbsp;Sylvain Gérard ,&nbsp;Céline Pelosi ,&nbsp;Guénola Pérès ,&nbsp;Maria J.I. Briones ,&nbsp;Thibaud Decaëns ,&nbsp;Natacha Delaveau ,&nbsp;Sarah Guillocheau ,&nbsp;Mickaël Hedde ,&nbsp;Hoël Hotte ,&nbsp;Renée-Claire Le Bayon ,&nbsp;Bart Muys ,&nbsp;Helen R.P. Phillips ,&nbsp;Maxime Poupelin ,&nbsp;Daniel Cluzeau","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106329","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106329","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Monitoring biodiversity is seldom comprehensive, as the spatio-temporal resolution needed to accurately reflect dynamic changes of these communities in diverse environments is often lacking. Citizen science offers a promising tool to help fill these gaps, engaging a wider audience in monitoring efforts and thus enhancing our understanding of earthworm ecology. However, a significant challenge arises as earthworms are difficult to identify to the species level in the field by non-experts, necessitating the use of morphotypes as taxonomic proxies. This study evaluates the reliability of earthworm classification into four earthworm morphotypes within the ‘500 ENI’ (Non-intended Effects) Monitoring Network in France. The network relies on annual sampling conducted in agricultural lands by non-specialist participants with subsequent identification verification by earthworm taxonomists. Analyzing &gt;48,000 individual earthworms collected over 950 plots, we calculated two indices: the misclassification rate (MR) and the undetected rate (UR) to assess the reliability of classification into earthworm morphotypes. The results indicated an average MR of 28 % and an average UR of 32 %, which both varied according to morphotypes. Endogeics had lower error rates compared to epigeics, anecics with a red anterior, and anecics with a black anterior. Our findings underscored the significant impact of sampler experience and earthworm community composition on the reliability of classification of individuals into morphotypes by citizens. The results highlight the critical need for enhanced support and guidance for participants with limited experience. Furthermore, we recommend providing additional training or resources to aid in morphotype classification, especially for earthworm communities exhibiting low abundance, low adult proportion, or low morphotype diversity. Encouraging participants to sample during periods favorable for detecting reliable total and adult abundances would also help optimize morphotype detection.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"214 ","pages":"Article 106329"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144679881","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":"Nitrogen-salt interaction in Pennisetum giganteum: Effects on soil, rhizosphere, and ion transport processes","authors":"Peng Wang ,&nbsp;Chen Zhang ,&nbsp;Kok Sin Woon ,&nbsp;Wenyu Li ,&nbsp;Xu Pei ,&nbsp;Mengxue Liu ,&nbsp;Kun Zhang ,&nbsp;Wenyan Li ,&nbsp;Junkang Guo ,&nbsp;Zhen Zhang ,&nbsp;Yongtao Li","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106312","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106312","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The continuous expansion of soil salinization poses challenges to agricultural development. Nitrogen (N), the most commonly used fertilizer, helps alleviate salt stress either at appropriate concentrations or through N assimilation. Fertilization management is crucial for plant survival and saline soil quality. Although the individual effects of N and salt have been widely studied, their combined impact on <em>Pennisetum giganteum</em> (<em>P. giganteum</em>) remains insufficiently explored. In this study, laboratory and field experiments were combined to investigate changes in soil N transformation, salt ion transport in <em>P. giganteum</em>, and the effects of N-salt interaction on the rhizosphere microbial community (RMC). The results indicated that N-salt interaction increased <em>P. giganteum</em> height and yield by 50.80 % and 67.23 %, respectively. The structural equation model indicated that N uptake had the most significant effect on yield (path coefficient = 0.963), with NO₃⁻-N positively affecting N uptake. NO₃⁻-N was more strongly correlated with height and yield than NH₄⁺-N. 16S sequencing, principal coordinate analysis, and redundancy analysis revealed that denitrifying genera (e.g., <em>Dechloromonas</em>) decreased significantly under high-level N-salt interaction, while nitrification-related genera (e.g., <em>Nitrospira</em>) increased, thereby generating more NO₃⁻-N to promote <em>P. giganteum</em> growth. Soil electrical conductivity was the key factor affecting the RMC at the tillering stage. Additionally, <em>P. giganteum</em> may adapt to different salinity levels through distinct salt tolerance mechanisms. This study confirmed that N alleviates salt stress, and revealed the mechanisms of N transformation in the rhizosphere microenvironment and the transport of salt ions in <em>P. giganteum</em> under N-salt interaction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"214 ","pages":"Article 106312"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144679950","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":"Vegetation restoration promotes glomalin-related soil protein accumulation via mineral interactions in a Karst Region, southwest China","authors":"Xiao Lan ,&nbsp;Zihong Zhu ,&nbsp;Xinyu Hou ,&nbsp;Kongcao Xiao ,&nbsp;Zhongcheng Wang ,&nbsp;Dejun Li","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106333","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106333","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP), a key biomolecule regulating soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics, plays a critical role in promoting SOC storage and stabilization. However, its response to vegetation restoration in high-mineral karst ecosystems remains poorly understood. This study investigated the effects of vegetation restoration (cropland, shrubland, and secondary forest) on GRSP accumulation and its contribution to SOC in a karst region of southwest China. Vegetation restoration significantly increased SOC and total GRSP contents, with secondary forest exhibiting 211.2 % higher SOC and 55.3 % higher total GRSP compared to cropland. Conversely, total GRSP's contribution to SOC decreased by 50.3 % in the secondary forest relative to cropland, likely due to the “dilution effect” from increased plant-derived carbon inputs. Random forest modeling showed that soil minerals (e.g., exchangeable Ca/Mg) and labile nitrogen were key factors in regulating total GRSP accumulation. This study highlights the pivotal role of soil minerals in mediating GRSP accumulation during vegetation restoration, providing new insights into microbial-controlled carbon sequestration mechanisms in karst ecosystems. These findings are crucial for optimizing ecological restoration strategies to enhance long-term soil carbon storage in mineral-rich environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"214 ","pages":"Article 106333"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144679949","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":"Forest conversion alters microbial decomposition of soil organic matter","authors":"Xinjing Qu ,&nbsp;Jiahuan Guo ,&nbsp;Haiyun Zi ,&nbsp;Yakov Kuzyakov ,&nbsp;Biao Zhu ,&nbsp;Xiaogang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106336","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106336","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil microorganisms are critical to maintain carbon (C) balance by decomposition of plant residues and microbial necromass. The effects of deforestation on mechanisms and factors of microbially mediated decomposition of organic compounds in soil remain unclear. Topsoil (0–20 cm) was sampled from native forests, plantations, and croplands at six sites in subtropical China using space-for-time substitution. Metagenomic sequencing combined with the Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes (CAZyme) database was used to trace microbial C-degradation potentials under deforestation. Forest conversion altered the community composition of C-degrading microorganisms, leading to a shift from oligotrophic Acidobacteria to dominance of other low-abundance taxa. The effects of forest conversion to cropland on microbial C-degradation potentials was stronger than that of conversion to plantations. After forest conversion to cropland, the abundance of genes involved in the degradation of plant-derived hemicellulose and cellulose and bacteria-derived peptidoglycan increased by 11 %–19 %, whereas the abundance of genes encoding the degradation of plant-derived lignin and fungi-derived glucans decreased by more than 20 %. This indicated a shift in microbial C-degradation preference from recalcitrant compounds to labile substrates. The increase in total phosphorus content in soil and pH, and the decrease in the carbon-to‑nitrogen ratio after deforestation, were the most important factors driving the change of CAZyme C-degradation genes. The C-degradation genes partially explained microbial enzyme activities, such as decreased of GH39 (β-xylosidase) with the corresponding enzyme activities. Overall, changes in microbial C-degradation genes and soil properties after forest conversion shifts microbial C-degradation preferences and impact soil C cycling by land-use change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"214 ","pages":"Article 106336"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144672501","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":"Bacterial communities driving cabbage yield increases and pathogenic risks reduces following wastewater irrigation: Effects of nitrification inhibitors on different soil-vegetable systems","authors":"Manyun Zhang ,&nbsp;Minzhe Zhou ,&nbsp;Xinlin Zhao ,&nbsp;Shahla Hosseini Bai ,&nbsp;Hua Wang ,&nbsp;Bin Ma ,&nbsp;Tangrong Zhou ,&nbsp;Yan Wang ,&nbsp;Zhenrong Huang ,&nbsp;Benliang Zhao ,&nbsp;Wenhui Tang ,&nbsp;Falin Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106324","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106324","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wastewater irrigation has the potential to enhance crop productivity but could have negative impacts on soil-vegetable systems health. This study was conducted to explore the effects of wastewater and nitrification inhibitors dicyandiamide (DCD), and 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) on the soil potential pathogenicity and vegetable yield in different soil-vegetable systems. The extra DMPP significantly increased cabbage yield by improving vegetable quality, increasing the endophytic bacterial community diversity, and enhancing <em>nir</em>B gene abundance, compared with wastewater irrigation alone. Compared with control treatment, wastewater irrigation alone increased soil potential pathogenicity by 17.39 % and 2.58 % in neutral and acidic soils, respectively. Relative to the wastewater irrigation alone, the extra DMPP could reduce soil potential pathogenicity in neutral and acidic soils by 2.87 % and 5.50 % via increasing the endophytic bacterial community stability and increasing the proportions of soil <em>Myxococcota</em>, <em>Gemmatimonadota</em>, <em>Actinobacteriota</em> and <em>Proteobacteria</em>, respectively.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"214 ","pages":"Article 106324"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144672181","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":"Initial litter quality modulates the positive effects of soil fauna on litter mass and component loss: a global synthesis","authors":"Guiqing Zhu ,&nbsp;Fuzhong Wu ,&nbsp;Cuihuan Li ,&nbsp;Kai Yue ,&nbsp;Jun Su ,&nbsp;Chaoxiang Yuan ,&nbsp;Hongrong Guo ,&nbsp;Jielu Wu ,&nbsp;Xue Zhang ,&nbsp;Yan Peng","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106332","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106332","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil fauna plays a crucial role in litter decomposition, but its contribution to the loss of mass and the associated litter components such as carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), lignin, and cellulose, as well as litter stoichiometry (e.g., C:N, C:P, N:P, and lignin:N ratio) are not clear. Here, we performed a meta-analysis using 7973 paired observations from 198 peer-reviewed publications to fill this knowledge gap. These observations were from litterbags including and excluding soil fauna, using physical methods (mesh sizes ≤0.1 mm, from 0.1 up to 2 mm, and &gt; 2 mm) or chemical techniques. We found that soil fauna showed an overall positive effect on litter decomposition, increasing the loss of litter mass, C, N, P, and lignin by 24.9, 15.3, 19.9, 19.2, and 20.9 % on average, respectively, but decreasing the C:P ratio by 12.3 %. Plant functional type and exclusion technique had significant impacts on C loss. Exclusion technique and leaf litter shape also significantly influenced the C:N ratio. The effect of soil fauna on the loss of litter mass and components increased along with the decomposing process. Initial litter quality, especially C concentration, C:N ratio, and lignin:N ratio, was the dominant factor controlling litter mass, N, and P loss. Our findings highlight the critical role of soil fauna in regulating litter decomposition and the associated C and nutrient loss processes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 106332"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144665635","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":"Log decomposition and forest gaps synergistically shape the structure and function of wood-inhabiting microbial communities in forest ecosystems","authors":"Qin Wang ,&nbsp;Zhuang Wang ,&nbsp;Josep Peñuelas ,&nbsp;Rui Cao ,&nbsp;Lifeng Wang ,&nbsp;Wanqin Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106316","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106316","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the intricate relationships between microbes, log decomposition, and forest disturbance is vital for conserving microbial diversity and maintaining the health of forest ecosystems. However, the successional dynamics of wood-inhabiting microbial communities across different decay stages and their responses to varying forest gap positions remain poorly understood. Here, we present results from a 6-year in-situ experiment using Minjiang fir (<em>Abies faxoniana</em>) logs across five decay classes (I–V, representing increasing levels of decay) placed in gap centers, gap edges and under a closed canopy on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, China. Using high-throughput sequencing coupled with FUNGuild and Functional Annotation of Prokaryotic Taxa (FAPROTAX) analyses, we identified a total of 6193 fungal and 10,530 bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Fungal diversity in decaying logs initially increased, peaking in class III (maximum increase: 64 %), before declining in later stages. In contrast, bacterial diversity increased continuously, reaching its highest levels in decay classes IV and V (maximum increase: 27 %). Both fungal and bacterial species richness in decaying logs were greater at the center of forest gaps than under the closed canopy. Highly decayed logs favored specific fungal functional groups, such as ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi. Bacterial functional groups associated with the carbon cycle peaked in highly decayed logs (class V), whereas those linked to the nitrogen cycle were more abundant under the closed canopy. The dominant phyla, genera, and functional groups of fungi and bacteria were primarily driven by changes in log water content mediated by forest gaps, and the resulting pH and nutrient dynamics, rather than by temperature. These results highlight the pivotal roles of decaying logs and forest gaps in shaping the structural and functional succession of microbial communities. Therefore, maintaining coarse woody debris across various decomposition stages, particularly advanced decay classes, along with moderate gap disturbance, promotes the conservation of wood-inhabiting microbial diversity in forest ecosystems. Our study provides in-depth insights into the positive effects of forest disturbances, which are essential for informing sustainable forest management practices and preserving ecosystem health.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 106316"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144653603","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}