Applied Soil Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Hydrological fluctuations govern the decline of microbial carbon pump efficiency by shifting microbial life history strategies and assembly processes in reservoir drawdown zones","authors":"Shengman Zhang ,&nbsp;Yuchun Wang ,&nbsp;Xueping Chen ,&nbsp;Ziyuan Zhang ,&nbsp;Dong Zhang ,&nbsp;Xiangfeng Huang ,&nbsp;Fushun Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106839","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106839","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurately assessing the carbon transformation and accumulation efficiency of the soil microbial carbon pump (MCP) is fundamental for deciphering microbially mediated soil carbon sequestration potential. Large-scale river damming has significantly expanded the reservoir drawdown zones globally. However, the mechanisms through which reservoir operations impact soil MCP efficiency within these zones remain poorly understood. This study collected surface soils (0–10 cm) across seven locations and three elevations in the Three Gorges Reservoir drawdown zone. Through soil microcosm incubation experiments integrated with isotope tracing and high-throughput sequencing, we investigated the spatial evolution and regulatory mechanisms of soil MCP efficiency along flooding gradient. Results demonstrated that with increasing flooding duration, the microbial metabolic quotient (qCO₂) increased from 1.88 to 4.45 μgCO₂-C·mg⁻¹MBC·h⁻¹, while microbial carbon accumulation efficiency (mCAE) declined from 38.98% to 21.75%, and amino sugar accumulation efficiency (AAE) decreased from 1.79% to 0.65%. Concomitantly, microbial life-history strategies shifted from K- to r-strategy, and deterministic processes gained prominence in community assembly. Correlation analyses and structural equation modeling identified assembly processes, microbial characteristics, and carbon degradation functional genes as the core drivers of MCP efficiency variation. This study provides the first evidence that reservoir operations significantly reduce soil MCP efficiency in the drawdown zone and reveals the critical regulatory roles of microbial life-history strategies and assembly processes. These findings advance our understanding of MCP processes and their impact on carbon pool stability within reservoir drawdown zones, offering crucial theoretical support for guiding ecological restoration and environmental management in this earth-critical zone, while concurrently enhancing the global carbon sequestration capacity of drawdown zone ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"220 ","pages":"Article 106839"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146077140","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":"Innovative use of modified biochar for cadmium remediation in saline soils: Integrating biological and physicochemical strategies with implications for Cd uptake in garden cress (Lepidium sativum)","authors":"Pouria Karimi ,&nbsp;Mohammad Rafiee ,&nbsp;Mohsen Saadani ,&nbsp;Hassan Etesami ,&nbsp;Fatemeh Amereh ,&nbsp;Ahmadreza Yazdanbakhsh","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106823","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106823","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cadmium (Cd) contamination in saline soils poses a serious challenge to agricultural productivity and food safety. Although biochar and earthworms have been widely studied as separate remediation agents, their combined performance and mechanisms under saline conditions remain poorly understood. This study evaluated the effectiveness of ball-milled biochar (MBC) and Fe-Mn modified biochar (FMBC), alone and in combination with the earthworm <em>Eisenia fetida</em>, for Cd stabilization at two contamination levels (4 and 8 mg kg⁻¹). <em>Lepidium sativum</em> (garden cress) was used as an indicator plant to assess the implications of Cd stabilization for crop safety. Results showed that FMBC reduced the exchangeable Cd fraction by up to 72% and increased the stable carbonate- and Fe-Mn oxide-bound forms by 64% compared with the control. The co-application of FMBC and <em>E. fetida</em> further enhanced Cd immobilization efficiency by approximately 25% relative to FMBC alone. Earthworm activity increased the organic-bound Cd fraction through bioturbation and stimulation of microbial processes, while FMBC improved microbial colonization and pH buffering in the rhizosphere. Despite the negative influence of salinity, FMBC (2%) effectively mitigated Cd mobility and lowered plant Cd uptake by 79%. Risk assessment code (RAC) analysis confirmed that FMBC combined with earthworms reduced the environmental Cd risk from “very high” to “moderate.” These findings highlight the potential of integrating modified biochar with <em>E. fetida</em> as a synergistic and sustainable strategy to mitigate Cd bioavailability and promote safer crop production in saline-contaminated soils.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"220 ","pages":"Article 106823"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146185707","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":"Rubber based agroforestry systems enhance soil organic carbon sequestration through changes in soil properties and microbial community structure","authors":"Ashar Tahir ,&nbsp;Yingying Zhang ,&nbsp;Chuan Yang ,&nbsp;Wenxian Xu ,&nbsp;Hassam Tahir ,&nbsp;Hafiz Muhammad Mazhar Abbas ,&nbsp;Zhixiang Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106842","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106842","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rubber monoculture (RM) often causes soil degradation and loss of ecosystem functioning. In contrast, rubber-based agroforestry systems (RAFs) can enhance soil organic carbon (SOC); however, the mechanisms regulating SOC fractions and microbial communities remain poorly understood. This study examined six RAFs comprising <em>Hevea brasiliensis</em> intercropped with <em>Alpinia katsumadai</em> (AKH), <em>Alpinia oxyphylla</em> (AOM), <em>Coffea arabica</em> (CAA), <em>Cinnamomum cassia</em> (CCA), <em>Pandanus amaryllifolius</em> (PAR), and <em>Theobroma cacao</em> (TCA), compared with RM. We quantified SOC fractions (mineral-associated organic carbon, MAOC; particulate-organic carbon, POC), soil properties, enzyme activities, microbial community structure, and microbial co-occurrence networks. After nine years, RAFs significantly increased SOC by 16.3–75.8% (8.96 ± 1.96 g. kg⁻¹) relative to RM, with similar gains in MAOC (18.4–82%), POC (26.5–61.6%), and microbial biomass carbon (MBC; 21.9–47.9%). In the 0–20 cm layer, SOC and MAOC stocks were 18.3–30.8 Mg. ha⁻¹ and 13.7–24.3 Mg. ha⁻¹, respectively, compared with 18.4 and 14.5 Mg. ha⁻¹ in RM. Using RM as the baseline, CAA, CCA, AOM, and AKH accumulated SOC at rates of 1.38, 0.83, 0.59, and 0.43 Mg. C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, respectively. RAFs also increased soil pH, reduced bulk density, and enhanced carbon-, nitrogen-, and phosphorus-acquiring enzyme activities. Microbial richness rose in AOM (bacteria, 19.9%) and CCA (fungi, 93.4%). Co-occurrence network analysis showed higher modularity (48%) and fewer antagonistic (2–27%) associations in bacteria, while fungal networks exhibited greater connectivity (18–109%) and clustering (65–190%) than RM. Partial least squares path modeling identified soil properties, MBC, and enzyme activities as significant mediators of SOC fractions. These results suggest that RAFs not only enhance soil fertility and enrich SOC pool but also restructure belowground microbial interactions toward more cooperative networks. Integrating diverse trees, shrubs, and herbs within rubber plantations thus offers a promising strategy to increase ecosystem services, climate resilience, and long-term sustainability in tropical rubber production landscapes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"220 ","pages":"Article 106842"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146186036","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":"Network architecture across trophic levels governs ecosystem multifunctionality in subtropical riparian soils","authors":"Guanglong Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhongyi Li ,&nbsp;Yue Ke ,&nbsp;Hanyi Li ,&nbsp;Xilin Xiao ,&nbsp;Jingchun Liu ,&nbsp;Haoliang Lu ,&nbsp;Hualong Hong ,&nbsp;Chongling Yan","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106841","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106841","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil multifunctionality in riparian zones regulates the transfer of energy, matter, and biodiversity across landscapes, yet the mechanisms sustaining this multifunctionality remain inadequately understood. Here, we conducted a field investigation across subtropical riparian zones along three major rivers in southeastern China—the Minjiang, Jiulong, and Jinjiang Rivers—to examine the relationships between soil microbial biodiversity, co-occurrence network complexity, and soil multifunctionality (SMF). Our finds revealed that fungal α-diversity, particularly the richness of symbiotrophic and saprotrophic fungi, and soil organic carbon (SOC) content were the primary biotic and abiotic predictors of SMF, respectively. Additionally, fungal richness, niche width, and the stability of the fungal community were significantly correlated with SMF. Structural equation modeling indicated potential trophic linkages within the microbial food web, where greater diversity of higher trophic levels enhanced SMF, likely through cascading effects on the diversity and composition of lower trophic levels. Notably, the complexity of microbial co-occurrence networks, especially among lower trophic levels, exerted a significant positive influence on SMF. Overall, these results highlight the crucial role of multitrophic microbial network structure in sustaining riparian ecosystem functions. These insights provide a mechanistic framework for riparian ecosystem management, emphasizing that conservation of keystone fungal guilds (e.g., symbiotic and saprotrophic fungi) and enhancement of SOC sequestration should be central to riparian restoration efforts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"220 ","pages":"Article 106841"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146186071","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":"Ecotoxicological responses to 6PPD-Q: Oxidative stress, gene expression dysregulation, and transcriptomic alterations in Eisenia fetida","authors":"Xiaoyi Wang,&nbsp;Qian Wang,&nbsp;Huijuan Lv,&nbsp;Xiangfeng Yao,&nbsp;Xianxu Li,&nbsp;Ruomeng Shi,&nbsp;Jia Ding,&nbsp;Ravil Baibekov,&nbsp;Lubsan-zondy Budazhapov,&nbsp;Jun Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106859","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106859","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>N</em>-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-<em>N</em>′-phenyl-<em>p</em>-phenylenediamine quinone (6PPD-Q), a highly toxic environmental transformation product of the tire antioxidant <em>N</em>-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-<em>N</em>′-phenyl-<em>p</em>-phenylenediamine (6PPD), persistently accumulates in soil via tire-wear particles, posing a potential threat to soil ecosystems. Therefore, in the present study, <em>Eisenia fetida</em> was selected as the test organism to conduct a 28-day exposure experiment to 6PPD-Q. Three exposure concentrations of 6PPD-Q (10, 100, and 1000 μg/kg) were set. Combining organismal, physiological, biochemical, molecular and transcriptomic approaches, we systematically investigated the ecotoxicity of 6PPD-Q in soil and its underlying mechanisms. The results demonstrated that 6PPD-Q exposure inhibited the growth, development and reproductive capacity of earthworms. Specifically, the growth inhibition rate and reduction rate of juvenile earthworms in the high-concentration group exceeded 60%. Meanwhile, the expression levels of related functional genes were downregulated. 6PPD-Q exposure induced the excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), thereby triggering a series of changes in the activities of antioxidant enzymes. The results of related functional gene assays and molecular docking (6PPD-Q with SOD and TCTP) further verified the aforementioned phenotypic changes and oxidative stress responses. In addition, oxidative stress further caused intestinal tissue damage and pathological changes in earthworms. Transcriptomic analysis identified 405 differentially expressed genes, revealing considerable perturbations in pathways related to xenobiotic metabolism, detoxification defense, lipid homeostasis, and DNA protection. Overall, this study provides multi-level data and scientific evidence, which supports the ecological risk assessment and environmental regulation of 6PPD-Q in soil ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"220 ","pages":"Article 106859"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146185776","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 presence modulates soil bacterial diversity, composition, network complexity, and functions under drought in timothy-red clover mixed stands","authors":"Chathuranga De Silva ,&nbsp;Rhea Amor Lumactud ,&nbsp;Hari P. Poudel ,&nbsp;Malinda S. Thilakarathna","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106824","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106824","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Drought disrupts soil microbial communities by altering their diversity, composition, and network stability, impacting biogeochemical cycles that are critical for plant growth. While legume-based forage systems may enhance microbial resilience through nitrogen inputs, the response of soil bacterial communities to drought across different forage systems remains largely unexplored. This greenhouse study investigated soil bacterial community dynamics in timothy grass (<em>Phleum pratense</em> L.) monocultures versus timothy-red clover (<em>Trifolium pratense</em> L.) mixed stands under moderate (40% field capacity, FC), severe (20% FC), and no-drought (80% FC) conditions, followed by a post-drought recovery. Four weeks of drought significantly increased bacterial alpha and beta diversity in clover-timothy mixed stand soils, while grass monoculture soils showed no notable changes. Compositional shifts in mixed stand favors drought-tolerant Actinomycetota while reducing the desiccation-sensitive taxa. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed that mixed stands form larger, more complex, and more stable bacterial networks under moderate drought (during drought phase), and severe drought (during recovery phase) compared to grass monocultures. Notably, mixed stands exhibited enriched predicted nitrogen-cycling functions, potentially driven by nitrogen release from nodule senescence, with denitrification rates significantly exceeding those in monocultures, under both drought and recovery phases. Correspondingly, mixed stands outperformed the grass monocultures, exhibiting higher biomass, lower shoot C:N ratios, and increased total shoot nitrogen content, likely driven by legume rhizodeposition. These findings underscore the critical role of grass-legume mixtures in maintaining microbial network stability, nitrogen cycling, and forage productivity under drought and post-drought recovery, providing valuable insights for sustainable agriculture in climate-challenged environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"220 ","pages":"Article 106824"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146186085","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 hummock–hollow microtopography on soil microbial communities and their links to soil carbon cycling in a sedge peatland of the Changbai mountains","authors":"Biyu Shi ,&nbsp;Ming Wang ,&nbsp;Guodong Wang ,&nbsp;Xingli Li ,&nbsp;Tao Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106861","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106861","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In peatlands, hummock<strong>–</strong>hollow microtopography generates distinct environmental gradients, leading to significant variations in carbon emissions and stocks between hummocks and hollows. However, the influence of such microtopographic differences on soil microbial communities remains poorly understood, hindering a clear understanding of the mechanisms underlying microtopography-driven carbon cycling. Here, we used high-throughput sequencing to investigate how hummock-hollow microtopography affects bacterial and fungal communities, as well as their relationships with soil carbon emissions, in the sedge peatlands of the Changbai Mountains in Northeast China. Our results revealed that soil CO₂ and CH₄ emissions varied significantly across three microtopographic positions, with hummocks exhibiting the highest CO₂ emissions, whereas under-hummock and hollow soils presented higher CH₄ emissions than hummocks did. Bacterial community metrics displayed significant variations across microtopographic positions, with hummocks exhibiting higher bacterial Shannon indices, a greater abundance of the bacterial phylum Proteobacteria, and more complex co-occurrence networks, whereas Chloroflexi were more abundant in hollows and Bacteroidetes were more abundant in under-hummocks. In contrast, microtopography had no significant effect on fungal diversity, community composition, and co-occurrence networks. Partial least squares path models showed that microtopographic variations between hummocks and under-hummocks created divergent hydrothermal conditions, which in turn altered the availability of organic substrates and nutrients. These environmental differences further shape bacterial communities and thereby modulate the significant variations in carbon emissions across microtopographic positions. Our study highlights that microtopography-driven environmental heterogeneity primarily regulates bacterial but not fungal community dynamics and that this bacterial-mediated pathway constitutes a core mechanism shaping peatland carbon cycling.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"220 ","pages":"Article 106861"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146186072","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":"Three decades of green manure rotations sustain soil nitrogen supply by microbial functional restructuring under reduced mineral fertilization","authors":"Lu Yang ,&nbsp;Jia Liu ,&nbsp;Junjie Huang ,&nbsp;Zhan Jiang ,&nbsp;Ming Liu ,&nbsp;Weidong Cao","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106873","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106873","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Green manure (GM) crops are widely adopted to enhance soil nitrogen (N) stocks under reduced fertilizer input. However, the microbial mechanisms governing N cycling in long-term GM-based rice systems remain insufficiently understood. Through a 31-year field experiment comparing a conventional rice-rice-winter fallow system with full fertilizer rate (F) to GM-integrated rotations (rice-rice-Chinese milk vetch or rice-rice-rapeseed rotation) with 50% fertilizer reduction (50%F + M and 50%F + R), we combined soil basic properties, enzyme activities, and microbial taxonomic and functional profiles. Despite reduced fertilizer input, both GM-inclusive treatments sustained soil total N and soil organic carbon (C), while significantly reduced nitrate reductase activity by 62.8%, pH by 8.1% and C/N ratio by 5.9% on average. The sustained N supply was associated with a functional restructuring of the microbial community, characterized by reductions of gene abundance in dissimilatory nitrate reduction to nitrate (e.g., <em>narH</em> and <em>napA</em>), to ammonia (e.g., <em>nirB</em> and <em>nrfA</em>), and particularly denitrification (<em>norB</em> and <em>nosZ</em> by 9%–17%), indicating a downregulation of N loss pathways. Random forest and correlation analyses identified the GM-induced mild but significant decrease in pH and C/N ratio as the key edaphic drivers of this shift. Lowered pH likely directly inhibited key enzymes like NrfA, while a reduced C/N ratio potentially constrained electron donor availability for energy-intensive reductive pathways. Metagenomic assembly further revealed that 13 out of the 15 bacterial MAGs had collective genes encoding enzymes for multi-step N -transformation potential. Collectively, these changes rewired the soil N cycle toward conservation, maintaining net mineralization and N availability. Our study provides a mechanistic framework for designing sustainable green manure-based cropping systems that harness synergistic soil-microbe interactions to enhance N retention and reduce reliance on synthetic inputs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"220 ","pages":"Article 106873"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146185696","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":"Characterising soil microbial communities in thinned and unthinned eucalyptus forest in southwestern Australia","authors":"Aaron J. Brace ,&nbsp;Laurence Dugal ,&nbsp;Josephine Hyde ,&nbsp;Kristen Fernandes ,&nbsp;Anna J.M. Hopkins ,&nbsp;Emma Stevens ,&nbsp;Gavan S. McGrath ,&nbsp;Katinka X. Ruthrof","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106829","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106829","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change stress in forested ecosystems globally has led to die-off events, and management actions are needed to help mitigate these pressures. Forest thinning has been proposed to reduce competition for moisture between trees, however, the effects of forest thinning on lesser-studied organisms, such as soil microbial communities, need quantification. Soil microbial communities are essential for processes such as nutrient cycling and can be used as indicators of below-ground health and as an overall proxy for biodiversity. This study examined soil microbial communities, and site and soil characteristics, directly at the base of trees and in inter-tree spaces in a paired thinned, and unthinned forest stand in the Northern Jarrah (<em>Eucalyptus marginata</em>, Donn ex Sm) Forest, southwestern Australia, two years post-thinning. We found that the sampling location was more important to the soil microbial community than the thinning operation. We observed only subtle shifts in the relative abundances of bacterial and fungal families and functional groups, and no differences in richness and diversity indices between the thinned and unthinned plots. By examining short-term effects of forest thinning on the soil microbiome, this study contributes to our understanding of how below-ground biodiversity responds to disturbance, and also to a growing awareness that below-ground biodiversity should be included in impact assessments. It is crucial to understand soil microbial responses to forest management practices, because techniques such as thinning will be increasingly used in the future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"220 ","pages":"Article 106829"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146186037","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":"Irrigation and straw particle size jointly drive soil bacterial community assembly to regulate nutrient cycling in paddy fields","authors":"Jinhua Zhang ,&nbsp;Han Han ,&nbsp;Bingxiao Liu ,&nbsp;Xiangping Guo ,&nbsp;Xing Yang ,&nbsp;Wenye Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106874","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106874","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The challenges of water scarcity and imperative of food security necessitate rice production systems that conserve water and enhance yield. Water-saving irrigation and straw return are widely implemented practices. However, the mechanisms of their interaction—specifically, how irrigation and straw physical characteristics influence soil bacterial community structure and function via water-substrate interactions—remain insufficiently understood. The frequent and shallow irrigation (FSI), which maintained anaerobic conditions, was associated with significantly elevated dissolved organic carbon and enriched anaerobic bacterial communities, suggesting accelerated carbon and nitrogen turnover. In contrast, the controlled irrigation (CI), characterized by alternating aerobic and anaerobic phases, was linked to enhanced NO₃⁻-N production and increased soil organic carbon accumulation. A significant interaction between straw particle size and irrigation was observed: under CI, powdered straw was more effective in enhancing nitrification and SOC accumulation, likely due to its greater specific surface area, whereas under FSI, segmental straw appeared to provide a more stable carbon source. Temporal succession over two years showed a shift in the core bacterial community from Pseudomonadota to Chloroflexota. Predicted functional gene profiles (via PICRUSt2) indicated that FSI with powdered straw was associated with the upregulation of genes involved in carbon and nitrogen metabolism, while inferred metabolic functions under CI were largely unaffected by straw particle size, collectively indicating that irrigation method predominantly governs soil nutrient cycling and bacterial community assembly. This study substantiates that integrating CI with powdered straw return is an optimal strategy to concurrently achieve water conservation and soil nitrogen accumulation in rice production.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"220 ","pages":"Article 106874"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146186050","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}