Applied Soil Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Microbial community resistance is associated with soil carbon degradation under warming condition in dryland agroecosystems","authors":"Jiejun Qi ,&nbsp;Min Gao ,&nbsp;Ziheng Peng ,&nbsp;Haibo Pan ,&nbsp;Shi Chen ,&nbsp;Mingmei Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106168","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106168","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil microorganisms play a critical role in regulating carbon cycling, particularly under the influence of climate change. Understanding the relationship between the ecological stability of belowground communities and soil carbon cycling under warming conditions is essential for predicting global soil carbon storage. In this study, we conducted a large-scale soil microcosm experiment using 25 paired maize and rice ecosystems distributed along a latitudinal gradient across China to explore how microbial communities in these two cropping systems respond differently to climate warming and how these responses affect soil carbon cycling. In maize soils, we observed that microbial diversity resistance was positively correlated with mean annual temperature (MAT). Moreover, both microbial diversity resistance and community resistance were higher at lower latitudes in maize soils. These low-latitude maize soils also exhibited greater microbial co-occurrence network stability and stronger phylogenetic conservation under warming conditions. However, these patterns were not observed in rice soils. Interestingly, in maize soils, community resistance was negatively correlated with the variation in organic carbon degradation-related functions under warming. Furthermore, the original organic carbon content in these soils was positively correlated with microbial community resistance and negatively correlated with functional variation in organic carbon degradation. Taken together, our results highlight the critical role of habitat in shaping microbial responses to warming, and suggest that soil microorganisms can regulate their metabolic processes to mitigate soil carbon loss under global change scenarios.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 106168"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143922556","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":"Earthworm community structure under different land-use systems across various soil conditions","authors":"Merit Sutri ,&nbsp;Annely Kuu ,&nbsp;Jordi Escuer-Gatius ,&nbsp;Kadri Konsap ,&nbsp;Merrit Shanskiy ,&nbsp;Endla Reintam ,&nbsp;Mari Ivask","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106151","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106151","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Earthworms contribute to several soil processes and therefore influence the ecosystem services provided by soil. Land-use intensification and climate change are considered the main threats to soil health and biodiversity loss and several strategies have been proposed to address these concerns at the EU level. However, less is known about how land use affects earthworm communities across various soil conditions and how climatic conditions could affect the communities under boreal conditions. We used earthworm community data with information on land use, soil properties and climate before sampling across multiple years to understand the main factors shaping earthworm communities in Estonian agroecosystems. The land use systems included arable fields (cropland and temporary grasslands) and grasslands (transitional grasslands, semi-natural grasslands and natural grasslands). Greater earthworm Shannon's index in grasslands than in arable fields was primarily due to differences in the presence of epigeic species. We observed that the two anecic species in Estonian soils exhibited notably different tolerances to habitat conditions<em>. Lumbricus terrestris</em> was more sensitive to land-use intensity but less affected by soil properties, whereas <em>Aporrectodea longa</em>, despite being the dominant anecic species in most arable fields, showed a narrower tolerance to soil properties. Soil moisture content influenced the earthworm community positively; therefore, changes in the climatic conditions could modify the earthworm communities. Statistically significant relationships with climatic conditions on the year of sampling suggest that low precipitation and humidity during the summer can have a negative influence on earthworm species diversity and increase the proportion of the dominant species. The results of this paper indicate that land use is the main factor in selecting species composition, while soil properties mostly control the abundance of the species. While grasslands had higher biodiversity, future policy development should consider that natural grasslands on less fertile soils have a limited impact on increasing earthworm species richness and are less likely to be protected from biodiversity loss.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"211 ","pages":"Article 106151"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143918353","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 and root trenching reshape microbial functions regulating root litter decomposition and soil carbon dynamics","authors":"Lixia Wang ,&nbsp;Shuangjia Fu ,&nbsp;Haoying Gao ,&nbsp;Huichao Li ,&nbsp;Yang Liu ,&nbsp;Lin Xu ,&nbsp;Li Zhang ,&nbsp;Han Li ,&nbsp;Chengming You ,&nbsp;Sining Liu ,&nbsp;Hongwei Xu ,&nbsp;Bo Tan ,&nbsp;Zhenfeng Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106153","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106153","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Root litter decomposition is a key process shaping soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics, mediated by interactions among ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, saprotrophic (SAP) fungi, and bacteria. However, the microbial mechanisms regulating SOC dynamics across forest types remain unclear. Here, we used a trenching experiment in paired natural forest and plantation systems to evaluate changes in microbial communities, enzyme activities, carbon-degradation gene abundance, and root litter decomposition.</div><div>After two years of decomposition, root litter in the plantation retained significantly more carbon, cellulose, and lignin than that in natural forests. Plantation soils exhibited significantly higher abundance of microbial genes associated with SOC degradation, including those related to starch, cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, chitin, and lignin. Effect size of trenching on chitin degradation gene was greater in the plantation (Cohen's d = 1.044, 95 % CI: 0.039–2.022) than in the natural forest. While trenching had no significant main effect on most enzyme activities, a significant interaction between forest type and trenching was observed for peroxidase (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). In natural forests, structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that trenching altered the bacterial-to-fungal biomass ratio, which in turn affected phenoloxidase activity and was associated with lignin and cellulose remaining in root litter.</div><div>Our findings demonstrate that root litter decomposed more slowly in plantations than in natural forests, despite higher SOC-degradation gene abundance. In natural forests, microbial community composition influenced oxidative enzyme activity, which was closely linked to litter decomposition. Overall, enzyme activity, rather than gene abundance, better explained short-term SOC dynamics, highlighting the need to integrate microbial function into carbon models.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"211 ","pages":"Article 106153"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143918354","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":"Reduced soil diazotroph diversity decreases nitrogen fixation rates, but depends on land management","authors":"Brandon Kristy ,&nbsp;Jaime Davidson ,&nbsp;Sarah E. Evans ,&nbsp;Lisa K. Tiemann","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106152","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106152","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil diazotrophs convert atmospheric nitrogen into plant-available ammonium through free-living nitrogen fixation (FLNF). This sustainable nitrogen source can reduce our dependence on synthetic fertilizer inputs in conventional agricultural systems. However, we know little about the effect of diazotroph diversity on FLNF, especially given that FLNF is intermediate within the broad-narrow functional spectrum. Here, we determined how management-mediated shifts in diazotroph diversity would impact their ecosystem function (FLNF) by quantifying diazotroph diversity across a long-term management gradient during and after the growing season. In addition to field observations, we leveraged the same management gradient to manipulate diversity in soil microcosms via chloroform fumigation exposure. In the field, diazotroph diversity was significantly higher after the growing season, and the biologically-based annual cropping system harbored the highest diazotroph diversity. However, perennial cropping systems maintained the highest FLNF despite lower diazotroph diversity, and both soil moisture and temperature were stronger predictors of FLNF. Based on these results, integrating diverse perennial crops into agricultural landscape could result in greater N from FLNF, particularly at the end of the growing season. When we reduced biodiversity in a manipulation experiment, the diversity-FLNF association was stronger than in the field experiment, suggesting that FLNF communities are not as functionally redundant as taxonomically ‘broad’ ecosystem functions. The strength of diversity-FLNF correlation varied by previous land management. Diazotroph diversity better predicted FLNF in annual and forest soil microcosms, and microbial biomass carbon better predicted FLNF in perennial soil microcosms. Taken together, our results show that while diazotroph diversity influences FLNF, especially under extreme environmental disturbances, abiotic factors like soil moisture and temperature are stronger constraints on FLNF in the field.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"211 ","pages":"Article 106152"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143918355","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–fungal interkingdom interactions mediate effects of biodiversity on soil carbon dynamics in wheat fields under long-term fertilization","authors":"Wenguang Li ,&nbsp;Jiarui Zhao ,&nbsp;Tianyu Feng ,&nbsp;Xuechen Zhang ,&nbsp;Ziyan Li ,&nbsp;Wei Zheng ,&nbsp;Bingnian Zhai","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106167","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106167","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bacterial–fungal interkingdom interactions (BFIs) determine the compositions of microbial communities and performance of ecosystem functions. However, it is still unclear whether and how BFIs drive soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics under field fertilization conditions. Thus, we conducted a field experiment for 7 years using a split-plot design, with chemical nitrogen (N) fertilizer application rates (0, 75, 150, 225, and 300 kg ha⁻¹) as the main plots and manure application rates (0 and 30,000 kg ha⁻¹) as the subplots. The results showed that particulate organic C (POC) was more responsive to fertilization than mineral-associated organic C (MAOC), making it a valuable indicator for diagnosing changes in farmland C pools. Moderate N application (150 or 225 kg ha⁻¹) and manure addition increased microbial metabolic activities, including cumulative C mineralization (CCM) and the metabolic quotient (qCO₂), as well as soil enzyme activities, whereas N rates exceeding 225 kg ha⁻¹ had adverse effects. A significant positive correlation was consistently observed between the total richness of microbial species and complexity of BFIs, suggesting that high richness possibly creates complex symbiotic networks by promoting more interspecies interactions. The ratio of positive and negative associations between bacteria and fungi mediated the effect of microbial richness on network complexity, ultimately influencing soil C mineralization through enzyme activities. These findings suggest that interspecies interactions within complex networks, especially competition and cooperation between bacteria and fungi, are more predictive of microbial community-mediated C processes than microbial diversity, which is measured in simple quantities. This study enhances our understanding of C dynamics mediated by microbial interactions under fertilization inducing in dryland wheat fields.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"211 ","pages":"Article 106167"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143918356","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":"Enhancing microbial carbon use efficiency via exogenous carbon inputs: Implications for soil carbon sequestration and phosphorus availability","authors":"Weihua Su ,&nbsp;Yutong Ma ,&nbsp;Mingxiu Hua ,&nbsp;Hao Chen ,&nbsp;Zhiguang Liu ,&nbsp;Shenqiang Wang ,&nbsp;Yu Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106160","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106160","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Exogenous carbon (C) inputs have been shown to enhance microbial C use efficiency (CUE), thereby promoting soil C sequestration and fertility. However, the underlying mechanisms through which microbial CUE influences the phosphorus (P) availability remain poorly understood. This study aimed to elucidate the impact of carbon inputs—specifically, organic fertilizer and straw—on microbial CUE and its subsequent effects on soil organic C (SOC) pools and P availability. Over a five-year field experiment, we observed that substituting 30 % of chemical P fertilizer with organic fertilizer (OM) and incorporating straw into the soil (ST) significantly enhanced microbial CUE. This led to increases of 45.15 % and 95.2 % in microbial biomass C (MBC), and 51.8 % and 72.8 % in microbial biomass P (MBP), respectively, compared to treatment with chemical P fertilizer alone (CF). SOC content increased by 21.3 % and 23.4 %, with corresponding increases in particulate organic C (POC) of 1.4 g kg⁻¹ and 1.2 g kg⁻¹, and in mineral-associated organic C (MAOC) of 1.8 g kg⁻¹ and 2.2 g kg⁻¹. Among the various P pools, labile organic P (LP_o) exhibited the most significant response to carbon inputs, with increases of 72.6 % to 84.7 %, while available P (AP) increased by 17.6 % and 18.5 %. Partial least squares path modeling indicated that carbon inputs directly enhance microbial CUE, which in turn influences P availability via two primary metabolic pathways. First, increased CUE promotes C anabolism, leading to the formation of microbial residues (MBC and MBP) and by-products (LP_o). Second, enhanced CUE improves C catabolism, stimulating the production of enzymes (β-1,4-glucosidase and alkaline phosphatase) and mineralization of LP_o and MBP, ultimately increasing AP. Our findings highlight the dual role of enhanced microbial CUE in advancing C sequestration and improving P availability, providing new insights into the beneficial effects of exogenous carbon inputs on overall soil health.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"211 ","pages":"Article 106160"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143912193","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":"Computed tomography-based root structure variables determines root decomposition given a broad range of root and soil variables","authors":"Yingzhou Tang ,&nbsp;JingWei Lian ,&nbsp;Xuefei Cheng ,&nbsp;Xin Liu ,&nbsp;Hui Nie ,&nbsp;Lei Wang ,&nbsp;Dezong Sui ,&nbsp;G. Geoff Wang ,&nbsp;Jinchi Zhang ,&nbsp;Lu Zhai","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106163","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106163","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Previous studies have identified the critical roles of root structure in root decomposition, but the complexity of root structure may not be fully captured by traditional measures, leading to critical uncertainty in quantifying root structure and understanding its effects. To address the knowledge gap, we used new measures based on root-structure scanning with Computed Tomography (CT) and compared the performance of the CT-based root structure variables with the traditional ones in explaining the variation in root decomposition. In addition, we considered the effects of other root and soil factors in the analysis. Given the large number of variables used, we first applied principal component analysis (PCA) to represent the variation in root attributes (structure and connectivity) and soil properties (physical, chemical, and biological ones) with a few PCA axes. Our results showed that: (1) Root variables had greater relative importance than soil variables in root decomposition; (2) The root effects were dominated by root structure variables, and more variance for the root decomposition was explained by adding the CT-based variables which even had slightly greater relative importance than the traditional structure variables; (3) The soil effects on decomposition were dominated by the biological properties where soil catalytic hydrolase was more important than soil phosphatase. Therefore, we validated the capability of CT-based root structure variables to determine root decomposition, given that CT scanning has few destructive effects on the soil-root environment and its variables can capture fine and complicated changes in the root structure. In addition to root decomposition, CT-based root structure variables are potentially applied to understanding other biogeochemical processes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"211 ","pages":"Article 106163"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143912191","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":"Dynamic changes in soil characteristics, enzyme activity, and microbial communities during montane riparian forest succession","authors":"Xiaoli Han ,&nbsp;Qian Luo ,&nbsp;Yuhan Chen ,&nbsp;Yajie Xuan ,&nbsp;Chunguo Huang ,&nbsp;Bitao Liu ,&nbsp;Yunxiang Zhang ,&nbsp;Xiaogang Wu ,&nbsp;Yinglong Chen ,&nbsp;Jinping Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106158","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106158","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Montane riparian forests offer crucial ecosystem services and showcase a diverse array of successional vegetation dynamics, yet the belowground ecosystem processes underlying these services remain poorly understood. While aboveground succession patterns have been documented through stand structure analysis and chronosequence approaches, critical knowledge gaps persist in understanding how belowground systems drive vegetation reshaping. In particular, the dynamics of belowground ecosystems, including soil microbial communities, soil physicochemical properties, and enzyme activities, and how their assembly responds to vegetation succession and site conditions across successional gradients remain poorly quantified. In this study, five representative vegetation communities were selected, representing secondary successional stages (Gra: grassland; Shr: shrubs; Pio<img>W: pioneer woods; Lat<img>W: late successional woods; Top-W: top successional woods) across floodplains and terraces within riparian zones on the Loess Plateau of China. Shifts in microbial structure during secondary succession and across site conditions were examined using 16S and ITS rDNA Illumina sequencing, along with the assessment of eight soil parameters and three soil enzyme activities. Our findings showed that during the process of succession, Top-W stage exhibited elevated levels of TN, TP, NH₄⁺, NO₃⁻, and AP compared to earlier stages, accompanied by reduced pH. Soil enzyme activities varied significantly among different successional stages and site conditions. Bacteria communities demonstrated greater alpha diversity (Shannon and Chao 1) variability across successional stages than fungi. Specifically, the relative abundance of <em>Firmicutes</em> and <em>Actinobacteriota</em> (cipiotrophs) decreased from Shr to Lat-W stages, while <em>Chloroflexi</em> (oligotrophs) increased. Functional categories associated with C cycling were more prevalent at Gra and Shr stages, whereas nitrogen fixation and N cycling were more prevalent at Lat-W and Top-W stages. Notably, Shr stages were dominated by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, whereas the Lat-W and Top-W stages showed increased <em>Basidiomycota</em> abundance and ectomycorrhizal associations. Furthermore, floodplains maintained higher soil moisture but lower enzyme activities compared to terraces, reflecting distinct microbial communities between these habitats. Soil pH, MO, and TN contents were key factors driving bacterial dynamics, while SOC and Pro enzyme activity were pivotal in shaping fungal dynamics. The study provides a foundation for understanding the “microbial communities-soil properties-vegetation succession” interaction mechanism and reveals the linkages between soil microbial community and riparian ecosystem functions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"211 ","pages":"Article 106158"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143912192","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":"Long-term effects of forest liming on soil invertebrates","authors":"Jens Schirmel ,&nbsp;Martin Greve","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106143","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106143","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forests are highly sensitive to air pollution and affected by acidification. Compensatory liming of forests as a preventive soil protection measure has therefore been common practice throughout Europe for decades to counteract the negative effects of acidification. Liming increases the soil pH and promotes soil processes which in turn can affect soil organisms. As cross-taxon research on the long-term consequences of forest liming is scarce, we investigated the long-term (&gt;30 years) effects of different liming treatments on the diversity and biomass of soil organisms in forests in south-western Germany. We found that the total biomass of soil overwintering and ground-dwelling arthropods was highest in the treatment with the highest liming intensity. Furthermore, the density of earthworms increased with increasing liming intensity. This was also reflected in the effects on the community structure of ground-dwelling arthropods. In contrast, the alpha diversity – expressed as the richness of operational taxonomic units based on next-generation sequencing DNA metabarcoding – was not affected by forest liming. Our results indicate that forest liming can have long-lasting effects on soil organisms and that high liming intensities (&gt;9000 kg ha⁻¹) can increase the biomass and densities of soil arthropods and earthworms. The extent to which this influences soil ecosystem functions, as well as the effects of liming in regions with differing soil conditions, warrants further investigation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"211 ","pages":"Article 106143"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143911451","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":"Acidulated composts govern the soil solution nutrient composition through changes in key functional bacterial community of alkaline soils","authors":"Sandeep Bedwal ,&nbsp;Arvind Kumar Rai ,&nbsp;Nirmalendu Basak ,&nbsp;Priyanka Chandra ,&nbsp;Parul Sundha ,&nbsp;Amresh Chaudhary ,&nbsp;Harshpreet Kaur ,&nbsp;Subedar Patel ,&nbsp;Sanjay Kumar ,&nbsp;Rajender Kumar Yadav","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106164","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106164","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil chemical degradation is an important concern for sustainable crop production in arid and semi–arid regions worldwide. This study evaluated the soil alkalinity stress alleviation potential of rapid acidulated compost developed from the elemental S (S°), consortia of S°–oxidizers, and composts in surface soil (0 − 15 cm) depth of high pH belongs family of <em>Typic Natrustalf</em>. The acidified compost decreased the total alkalinity, [CO₃²⁻ + HCO₃⁻]/[Cl⁻ + SO₄²⁻] and [Na⁺] / [Cl⁻ + SO₄²⁻] ratio. The concentration of NH₄⁺, NO₃⁻, total nitrogen, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, dissolved reactive P, and total P was greater in the soil solution of the acidified compost–treated soils. The acidulated compost also increased the S (CaCl₂–extractable and water–soluble) and P (water–soluble and calcium–bound) pools. Besides, C, N, P, and S associated with microbial biomass, the soil enzymes such as fluorescein diacetate, dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, and <em>β</em>–glucosidase were increased appreciably after acidulated compost application. While the arylsulphatase activity declined after compost application. The acidulated compost reshaped the bacterial assemblage by an appreciable decline in <em>nirK</em> and <em>nosZ</em> abundance. The <em>nosZ</em> abundance was greater than <em>nirK</em>. It also improved the biota harbouring <em>nifH</em>, <em>phoD,</em> and <em>soxB</em> genes. It altered the microbial assemblage of the N cycle by a twofold decline in <em>amoB</em> and a 1.6 times increase in <em>amoA</em> gene abundance. The compost–induced changes in microbial population explained about 50 % variability in the mustard yield. This study concluded that the acidulation of compost before application in the field using S° and consortia of S°–oxidizers can be an effective strategy to alleviate the alkalinity stress, manage nitrous oxide emission with improved soil health in alkaline soils and alkali irrigated agro–ecologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"211 ","pages":"Article 106164"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143908105","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}