Applied Soil Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Distinct responses of fungal and bacterial denitrification genes to seasonal changes, nitrogen deposition and precipitation reduction in subtropical forest soils","authors":"Qirun Chen ,&nbsp;Fengyi Han ,&nbsp;Maokui Lyu ,&nbsp;Zhiwei Zeng ,&nbsp;Yanjiang Cai ,&nbsp;Yuheng Cheng ,&nbsp;Zi-Yang He ,&nbsp;Milin Deng ,&nbsp;Jinsheng Xie ,&nbsp;Yongxin Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106322","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106322","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>China's subtropical forests are widely recognized as one of the world's largest natural sources of nitrous oxide (N₂O), primarily due to high nitrogen (N) deposition from anthropogenic activities. Climate change has made precipitation reduction increasingly common in subtropical regions, significantly influencing N₂O emissions. Denitrification is the main process contributing to N₂O emissions in subtropical forest soils; however, most previous studies have focused on bacterial denitrification, often overlooking fungal denitrification. In this study, a factorial experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design with four replicates per treatment, in a subtropical forest soil. We examine the effects of simulated N deposition, precipitation reduction, and their combination on the abundance of genes encoding nitrite reductase enzymes, including bacterial (<em>nirK</em>, <em>nirS</em>) and fungal (<em>nirK</em>) variants, with a focus on their seasonal dynamics during summer and winter. N deposition and precipitation reduction treatments showed distinct effects. N deposition significantly reduced fungal and bacterial <em>nirK</em> abundance in winter and decreased bacterial <em>nirS</em> abundance in summer. Precipitation reduction further suppressed bacterial <em>nirK</em> and <em>nirS</em> abundance in winter but had no effect on fungal <em>nirK</em>. In addition to treatment effects, seasonal variation also shaped gene abundances, with higher fungal <em>nirK</em> levels in winter and higher bacterial <em>nirK</em> in summer, while bacterial <em>nirS</em> remained seasonally stable. Predictor analysis using random forest models identified available phosphorus (AP) as the strongest driver of fungal <em>nirK</em> abundance. In contrast, bacterial <em>nirK</em> was primarily influenced by soil pH and AP, while ammonium was the key regulator of bacterial <em>nirS</em>. These results highlight the distinct responses of fungal and bacterial denitrifiers to seasonal changes, nitrogen deposition, and precipitation reduction, emphasizing the need to consider both microbial groups when examining biogeochemical cycles and their environmental controls under future climate scenarios. These insights are crucial for refining predictive models of N₂O fluxes and for designing informed management practices in subtropical forest ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 106322"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144663276","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":"Impact of plant protection product applications on soil microbial nitrogen cycle function not fully captured by gene quantification","authors":"Laura Å. Medici ,&nbsp;Pascal A. Niklaus ,&nbsp;Florian Walder ,&nbsp;Miriam Langer","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106297","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106297","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The widespread use of plant protection products (PPPs) in agriculture raises concerns about their long-term impact on soil health and nitrogen (N) cycling. Current regulatory assessments focus mostly on single active ingredients and microbial mineralisation, ignoring the complexities of formulated PPPs and their influence on microbial functions. We investigated the effects of realistic PPP application scenarios on soil N cycling using a controlled incubation experiment with increasing PPP intensities, measuring potential nitrification (PN), denitrifying enzyme activity (DEA), and N₂O reduction capacity (NRC), alongside molecular analyses of key microbial genes involved in N-cycling. Functional assays were more sensitive to PPP exposure than gene abundances, indicating severe disruptions to N cycling. Among measured processes, PN was the most PPP-sensitive, showing substantial reductions across treatments. DEA and NRC were also strongly inhibited, exhibiting complex temporal patterns. While gene abundances were less responsive, there were significant positive correlations between the gene abundance of archaeal and bacterial ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) and PN, as well as between nitrite reductase (nirK) and DEA. Our findings underscore the importance of updated risk assessments that integrate both molecular and functional indicators. We propose a tiered approach, using gene quantification as an initial screening tool, followed by functional assays to capture biologically relevant changes. Post-registration monitoring of PPP mixtures under field conditions is likewise essential to address cumulative and long-term impacts. Overall, this study highlights the vulnerability of soil N cycling to PPP exposure and provides a framework to enhance environmental risk assessments aimed at safeguarding soil ecosystem functions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 106297"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144653604","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":"Toxicity of polyethylene microplastics and atrazine to microorganisms in soil and gut of earthworms","authors":"Hao Jia ,&nbsp;Siqi Zhou ,&nbsp;Ning Lei ,&nbsp;Guanghui Sun ,&nbsp;Ming Li","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106319","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106319","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nowadays, microplastics (MPs) extensively exist in soil environment, atrazine is an extensively utilized herbicide which residues accumulate in soil. The harmful effects of atrazine on earthworms are well investigated, however, the toxicity of co-exposure of MPs and atrazine to bacterial community in soil and gut of earthworms was unclear. Herein, the changes of bacterial communities in the soil and the gut of earthworms exposed to binary pollutants (MPs and atrazine) were investigated. The results showed that atrazine increased relative abundance of some soil indigenous atrazine-degrading bacteria (<em>Pseudomonas</em>, <em>Flavobacterium</em>) and gut-colonizing bacteria (<em>Algoriphagus</em>, <em>Aeromonas</em>) in the soil after 28 days, however, the relative abundance of <em>Verminephrobacter</em> and <em>Muribaculaceae</em> in earthworm gut decreased from 5.6 % to 1.0 % and from 7.3 % to 2.2 %, respectively. After introducing MPs, the relative abundance of <em>Verminephrobacter</em> and <em>Aeromonas</em> (intestinal dysbiosis markers) in earthworm gut enhanced from 5.6 % to 13.5 % and from 0.2 % to 3.1 %, respectively. Co-exposure to atrazine and MPs increased the relative abundance of <em>Bacteroidota</em>. Single or binary of atrazine and MPs have adverse effects on metabolism of gut microbiota. The results revealed the adverse effects of MPs and atrazine on microorganisms in soil and earthworm gut, deepening the knowledge of the influence of MPs and atrazine on soil ecology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 106319"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144653605","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":"Advances on microbial mechanisms of nitrogen transformation during nitrification and denitrification at soil aggregates scale","authors":"Haidi Wang ,&nbsp;Zhengjun Cui ,&nbsp;Yuhong Gao ,&nbsp;Bin Yan ,&nbsp;Bing Wu ,&nbsp;Yifan Wang ,&nbsp;Xingkang Ma ,&nbsp;Jing Han ,&nbsp;Yali Li","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106326","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106326","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil aggregate is a basic structural unit of soil, consisting of primary particles (sand, silt, clay), cementing materials and pores. Specific and independent microhabitats composed of soil aggregates of different particle sizes are biochemical reactors for soil nitrogen transformation. Differences in the physical and chemical properties of microhabitats lead to different microbial differentiation characteristics, which further influence key processes of the nitrogen cycle. The fixation and transformation of nitrogen is carried out by large, small and micro-aggregates together. However, the relative contribution of aggregates of different particle sizes to the key process of the nitrogen cycle is not clear, nor is the interception and retention of different forms of nitrogen. This paper reviews studies on nitrogen transformation during nitrification and denitrification at the soil aggregate scale. We summarize recent advances in aggregate-microbe interactions and key nitrogen cycling processes within aggregates, with emphasis on microbial differentiation patterns. Future research should prioritize two directions: (1) Enhancing the monitoring and quantification of in−situ soil, particularly through ¹⁵N isotope tracing technology to clarify the fate of exogenous nitrogen and plant-microbe competition for nitrogen forms; (2) Development of predictive models for aggregate spatial distribution based on microbial environmental thresholds. These efforts will promote long-term supply and efficient utilization of soil nitrogen, and provide a solid scientific foundation for advancing the theory of micro-scale nitrogen cycling.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 106326"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144653600","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":"Metagenomic study on microbial function in increasing total nitrogen content in soil under crop rotation systems","authors":"Hao Wang ,&nbsp;JinPing Chen ,&nbsp;Yongchao Wang ,&nbsp;Jiameng Guo ,&nbsp;Ruixin Shao ,&nbsp;Shulan Wang ,&nbsp;Qinghua Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106331","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106331","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Leguminous crops, which are vital bioresources, increase total nitrogen (TN) levels in soil, effectively improving microbial and plant nutrition and achieving environment-sustainable agricultural production. However, the specific processes of the nitrogen cycle and the role of soil microorganisms in increasing TN levels after soybean planting remain unclear. Herein, a comparative analysis of microbial nitrogen-cycling genes in soil was conducted based on a 12-year crop rotation involving wheat–maize (WM), wheat–cotton (WC), and wheat–soybean (WS) rotations. After 12 years, the WS treatment increased soil TN content by 9.1 % and 19.4 % compared with the WC and WM treatments, respectively, highlighting its unique nitrogen-enriching effects. Microbial community analysis indicated that the WS treatment significantly increased Shannon and β-diversity indices, both of which were positively correlated with TN content. Network analysis revealed three characteristic modules: module 1 (dominated by Proteobacteria/Actinobacteria) exhibited no significant correlation with TN; module 2 (dominated by Acidobacteria/Cyanobacteria), negative correlation; and module 3 (dominated by Thaumarchaeota), positive correlation. The analysis of nitrogen-cycling functional genes revealed that the <em>nifH</em> (nitrogen fixation) and <em>nxrB</em> (nitrite oxidation) genes were significantly enriched in WS soils, whereas the <em>hao</em> (hydroxylamine oxidation) gene abundance increased in WM soils. Further tracing indicated that WM promoted the accumulation of the <em>hao</em> gene by facilitating the proliferation of the Gemmatimonadetes phylum, whereas WS enhanced the expression of the <em>nxrB</em> gene by enriching Actinobacteria and key genera (e.g., Modestobacter, Pediococcus) and increased the abundance of the <em>nifH</em> gene by promoting <em>Bradyrhizobium</em> proliferation. This study confirmed that the WS system enhanced soil TN through a triple mechanism of constructing high-diversity microbial communities, optimizing functional microbial structures, and the promotion of functional gene expression to promote N accumulation in the soil, thereby providing a theoretical basis for improving soil nitrogen reservoirs via coordinated crop configuration and microbial regulation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 106331"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144653602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes in soil mesofauna communities with increasing proportions of Douglas-fir and silver fir in European beech forests","authors":"Ronja Wenglein ,&nbsp;Isabelle Lanzrein ,&nbsp;Marlene Graf ,&nbsp;Jörg-Alfred Salamon ,&nbsp;Bernhard Klarner ,&nbsp;Wolfgang W. Weisser ,&nbsp;Peter Annighöfer ,&nbsp;Stefan Scheu","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106328","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106328","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Temperate forests are challenged by increasing temperature and drought events due to climate change. In order to enhance forest resilience, mixed forest stands are increasingly promoted. However, little is known on how different mixture proportions affect soil animal communities as drivers of litter decomposition and other ecosystem functions. We investigated major soil mesofauna groups, including oribatid mites (Oribatida, Acari) and collembolans (Collembola, Insecta) as detritivores and mesostigmatid mites (Mesostigmata, Acari) as predators, in mixed stands of European beech (<em>Fagus sylvatica</em>) with two conifer species of different proportions including non-native Douglas-fir (<em>Pseudotsuga menziesii</em>) and native silver fir (<em>Abies alba</em>) in southern Germany. Oribatid mites were most abundant and diverse, and responded sensitively to changes in forest type with an altered community composition at species- as well as family-level. Collembolans were less abundant and featured lower diversity, which was higher in Douglas-fir - beech compared to silver fir - beech mixtures. Mesostigmatid mites were least abundant, while reaching an intermediate species richness, and did not significantly respond to forest mixtures. However, only species composition of oribatid mites at both family- and species-level responded to differences in forest types pointing to similar effects of low and high conifer proportions in mixed beech stands on soil mesofauna communities, indicating that in particular oribatid mites may serve as indicator for consequences of planting different mixed forest types. Overall, the results indicate that the consequences of planting non-native and native conifers, such as Douglas-fir and silver fir, in mixed stands with beech are similar with the mesofauna community in both overlapping in large with that in pure beech stands.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 106328"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144653599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Soil microbial community harboring key genes drives rhizosphere phosphorus mobilization of phosphorus-accumulating Polygonum hydropiper","authors":"Daihua Ye ,&nbsp;Yuyue Lin ,&nbsp;Tao Liu ,&nbsp;Xizhou Zhang ,&nbsp;Yu Tang ,&nbsp;Keji Wang ,&nbsp;Huagang Huang ,&nbsp;Haiying Yu ,&nbsp;Yongdong Wang ,&nbsp;Xinhua He ,&nbsp;Tingxuan Li","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106314","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106314","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>It is important to know how microbial community and P cycling genes respond in rhizosphere of P-accumulating plants under different P treatments, and whether they would affect the changes in rhizosphere P availability and plant P uptake. Here, a pot experiment was conducted with a P-accumulating species <em>Polygonum hydropiper</em> under three P levels to analyze rhizosphere microbial structure and interactions, P cycling genes and their correlations with soil P availability and plant P accumulation. <em>P. hydropiper</em> showed an enhanced growth and P accumulation under high-P treatment compared with low-P and normal-P treatments. Available P (AP) concentration in rhizosphere soil was higher than in bulk soil under high-P treatment. Acidobacteria, Actinomycetota, Pseudomonadota, Verrucomicrobia, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Chytridiomycota were significantly enriched in rhizosphere soil and closely related to other taxa within each intra-trophic network. Compared to bulk soil, the abundance of genes involved in P uptake and transport, and organic phosphonates degradation was higher in rhizosphere of <em>P. hydropiper</em>. Higher abundance of inorganic P solubilization genes were found in rhizosphere of <em>P. hydropiper</em> under high-P treatment than under normal-P treatment. Notably, <em>phnW</em> and <em>gcd</em> were the first two significant predictor of soil AP concentration in rhizosphere of <em>P. hydropiper</em>, followed by <em>phnA</em> and <em>glpT</em>, which were mainly harbored in Pseudomonadota, Actinomycetota, Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Bacteroidota, Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadetes, and Nitrospirae. Moreover, these microbial taxa positively correlated with plant biomass production and P accumulation. These findings revealed that rhizosphere P mobilization was driven by microorganisms harboring key P-cycling genes, and thus facilitated plant P uptake.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 106314"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144653601","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":"Bacillus-loaded biochar as a dual strategy for Fusarium wilt control and soil health improvement in Peanut cultivation","authors":"Qibiao Li ,&nbsp;Yonghua Hu ,&nbsp;Xuejiao Zhang ,&nbsp;Lei Xu ,&nbsp;Zhijun Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106325","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106325","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The combination of biocontrol agent and biochar presents an eco-friendly alternative for managing soilborne diseases, reducing the dependence on chemical fungicides. However, it remains unclear how biocontrol agent loaded biochar alleviates wilt disease and its interactions with soil microorganisms. This study investigated the effects of <em>Bacillus subtilis</em> BT-loaded biochar (BTBC) compared to the application of the biocontrol strain (BT) and biochar (BC) in controlling peanut wilt disease and its rhizosphere regulation mechanisms. The results showed that BTBC significantly increased the intensity of <em>B.subtilis</em> in the rhizosphere (by 2.7 times) and roots (by 65.3 times) compared to the disease control (FO). It also decreased the disease incidence of peanuts by 75 % and the abundance of <em>Fusarium oxysporum</em> in roots by 94.7 %, simultaneously enhancing the resistance against disturbance of the rhizosphere microbial community. BTBC significantly increased the content of soil organic matter and available potassium, and notably improved the dry weight of peanut pods. In conclusion, the application of <em>B.subtilis</em> loaded biochar not only boosted the colonization of <em>B.subtilis</em> in the environment and its efficacy against <em>F.oxysporum</em>-induced wilt disease, but also improved the soil nutrients and microbial community's resistance to disturbance. These findings provide new insights into managing and controlling the peanut wilt disease.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 106325"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144634100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microbial drivers of soil C:N:P stoichiometry dynamics during ecological restoration in sandy ecosystems","authors":"Xuyang Wang ,&nbsp;Bo Yao ,&nbsp;Hongling Yang ,&nbsp;Xiaoming Mou ,&nbsp;Yuqiang Li ,&nbsp;Yulin Li","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106321","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106321","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil microbes drive plant diversity and productivity in terrestrial ecosystems and are directly involved in plant nutrient acquisition and soil nutrient cycling. However, the microbiological mechanisms of soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) stoichiometry during vegetation restoration in sandy land remain unclear. This study investigated the ecological stoichiometric characteristics of SOC, TN, and TP in semi-arid degraded sandy land and the underlying mechanisms using space for time substitution for sites in different stages of vegetation restoration: mobile dunes (MD), semi-mobile dunes (SMD), semi-fixed dunes (SFD), fixed dunes (FD), and sparse forest grassland (SFG). SOC, TN, and TP contents increased significantly with restoration of sandy vegetation, indicating a gradual improvement in soil quality. The increase of SOC:TP and TN:TP with vegetation restoration indicated that the accumulation rate of carbon and nitrogen was faster than that of phosphorus, and phosphorus became a key limiting element after vegetation restoration. Decreased SOC:TN indicated accelerated organic matter decomposition and enhanced nitrogen mineralization. In the MD and SMD stages, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus lacked stable organic carriers (such as humus), resulting in no significant correlation between SOC, TN and TP contents. However, with the restoration of vegetation in sandy land, the significant correlation between SOC and TN was enhanced, and the correlation between TN and TP was stronger than that between SOC and TN, SOC and TP. The enhancement of extracellular enzyme activities driven by precipitation prompted a succession of microbial communities from copiotrophic (dominated by <em>Ascomycetes</em>) to oligotrophic (dominated by <em>Acidobacteria</em>) during vegetation restoration in sandy land. We found that vegetation restoration and precipitation shape nutrient dynamics via their influence on microbial and extracellular activity. This has important implications for developing effective strategies to mitigate desertification and its impact on global ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 106321"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144634097","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":"Temporal dynamics of abundant and rare nitrifying and denitrifying communities in paddy soils under wetting-drying cycles","authors":"Huan-Qin Li ,&nbsp;Wen-Lei Wang ,&nbsp;Zhi-Wei Wei ,&nbsp;Jian-Qiang Su","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106320","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106320","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wetting-drying cycles, a common water-saving practice in paddy soils, significantly influence soil microbial communities that regulate nitrogen cycling through nitrification and denitrification. However, the responses of nitrifying and denitrifying communities to these cycles, especially the roles of abundant and rare subcommunities, remain poorly understood. Here, we used next-generation sequencing of functional genes (<em>AOA</em>, <em>AOB</em>, <em>nirK</em>, and <em>nirS</em>) to explore the temporal dynamics of nitrifier and denitrifier communities during wetting-drying cycles. Our results revealed divergent response patterns: <em>nirS</em>-type denitrifiers exhibited unique dynamics compared to <em>AOA</em>, <em>AOB</em>, and <em>nirK</em> communities. Abundant taxa in <em>AOA</em>, <em>AOB</em>, and <em>nirS</em> communities showed more pronounced changes than their rare counterparts, while nirK communities exhibited the opposite pattern. The higher abundance of <em>AOB</em> compared to <em>AOA</em> highlighted their dominant role in nitrification. Strong correlations among the four N-cycling genes indicated complex microbial interactions and coordinated responses to environmental fluctuations. These findings enhance our understanding of microbial-driven N cycling in paddy soils and inform strategies for sustainable agriculture management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 106320"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144634099","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}