Soil microbial communities are central to ecosystem functioning, influencing organic matter decomposition, nutrient cycling, and plant nutrition. Plant microbiomes, including mycorrhizal symbioses, play a key role in plant nutrient uptake and are strongly influenced by soil management. Land-use change, agroforestry management, and landscape structure can strongly impact the composition of soil microbial communities and plant development. In France, the structure of wine-growing landscapes can be highly heterogeneous. However, the combined effects of agroforestry practices and landscape heterogeneity on soil microbial communities in viticultural systems remain poorly documented. To better understand these effects, we conducted a controlled experiment using soils collected from a vineyard and an adjacent forest within the same landscape. Specifically, we compared vineyard soil, forest soil and their mixture to assess how their associated microbiota influence vine growth, plant-driven microbiota recruitment, and microbial activities. Although physicochemical analyses showed that forest soil contained substantially higher levels of organic matter (283.7 vs 54.3 g·kg−1 dry soil) and nitrogen (13.3 vs 3.2 g·kg−1), the enzymatic activity patterns differed between soils, with vineyard and mixed soils exhibiting higher functional activity than forest soil. We found that vine growth and nitrogen status were significantly influenced by soil origin. Plants grown in mixed soil exhibited greater aboveground biomass and development (fresh weight ∼32 g·plant−1; length ∼57 cm) than those grown in vineyard soil (∼19 g·plant−1; ∼28 cm) or forest soil (25.60 g·plant−1; ∼32.16 cm). Moreover, fungal and bacterial diversity analyses revealed distinct microbial community compositions, with vineyard soils hosting taxa adapted to disturbed environments, whereas forest soils harbored greater microbial richness. Overall, these results indicate that differences in vine growth cannot be explained solely by soil organic matter content and may also reflect differences in soil microbial communities, especially in the mixed soil treatment.
While plastic greenhouse cultivation (PGC) significantly enhances agricultural productivity, its long-term impacts on soil ecosystems remain insufficiently understood. This study systematically investigated soils subjected to PGC for durations ranging from 0 to 20 years in Zhoukou City, Henan Province, China. These greenhouse soils were compared with adjacent open-field soils to evaluate the temporal changes in soil environmental factors, protist community dynamics, and a composite soil functional status index (CSFSI). Our results revealed that prolonged PGC was closely correlated with soil acidification, salinization, organic matter loss, and accumulation of phthalates (PAEs), with the most pronounced changes occurring within the first decade. A significant decline in soil protist α-diversity was observed with prolonged PGC (e.g., a 45.59% reduction in the Shannon index). Protist community structure shifted markedly, with Cercozoa suffering an 84.19% reduction. Furthermore, prolonged PGC was also associated with reduced complexity in protist co-occurrence networks. Statistical analyses identified PGC duration as the factor most strongly associated with explaining variations in both protist community attributes and decline in the CSFSI, with its combined effect surpassing that of any single soil property or contaminant (e.g., PAEs) in this study. Interestingly, changes in protist co-occurrence network complexity were more sensitively correlated with declines in the CSFSI than changes in taxonomic diversity alone. Collectively, these findings shed light on the potential links between prolonged PGC and soil ecosystem degradation, offering valuable insights for formulating targeted soil remediation and sustainable agricultural management strategies.
Sustainable agricultural practices are critical for optimizing soil biological health. Legume/maize intercropping mitigates land degradation induced by long-term monocropping by improving resource use efficiency and regulating belowground ecological processes. However, how intercropping affects soil nematode food webs and sustains soil biological health remain inadequately elucidated. To address this knowledge gap, two different legume/maize intercropping systems (peanut/maize and alfalfa/maize) were established to disentangle the interactions among soil nematode food webs, soil properties and crop performance. The findings demonstrated both intercropping systems significantly increased soil total carbon and nitrogen and enhanced maize yield compared to monocropping. The peanut/maize system exhibited significant increases of 3.33% in soil total nitrogen and 7.69% in land equivalent ratio relative to the alfalfa/maize system. Intercropping also boosted the soil nematode food web richness, diversity and structure indices in maize rows, the total abundance in both peanut and alfalfa rows, and the biomass of omnivore-predators in the rows of three crops. Partial least squares path modeling further revealed that intercropping optimized both crop performance and soil properties in both systems, which synergistically drove the improvement of soil biological health indicated by soil nematodes, and explained a larger proportion of the variation in the peanut/maize system. In conclusion, peanut/maize intercropping achieved a synergistic balance between soil biological health maintenance and high crop performance by strengthening the interactions among soils, nematode food webs and crops, and exhibited superior performance in sustaining soil biological health relative to alfalfa/maize intercropping.
Wildfires increasingly influence boreal forest soil greenhouse gas (GHG) dynamics through pyrocarbon (PyC) production. However, the mechanisms by which fire-altered microbial communities regulate the temperature sensitivity (Q10) of post-fire GHG fluxes remain poorly understood. Here, we quantified seasonal CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O fluxes in a Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii) forest, applying a field manipulation (10 t/ha PyC addition) to burned and unburned soils to simulate post-fire legacies. Key findings were as follows: (1) Fire increased soil CO2 emissions (+6.5% global warming potential, GWP), reduced CH4 uptake and decreased N2O emissions, collectively elevating GWP. (2) PyC application amplified divergent GHG responses; in unburned soils, it increased CO2 emissions (+33.6% GWP) while reducing CH4 uptake and N2O emissions; in burned soils, it suppressed CO2/N2O emissions (−26.9% GWP) and enhanced CH4 uptake. (3) Microbial community shifts drove Q10 variations, projecting increasing GWP differences under warming between PyC-amended burned/unburned soils. Crucially, PyC application in intact forests exacerbated GHG emissions, undermining carbon sequestration goals, whereas naturally occurring PyC partially mitigated fire-induced GWP increases. These results challenge conventional PyC management strategies. Our results indicate that the direct application of PyC to unburned boreal forest soils as a carbon sequestration strategy may not be effective for climate mitigation as it can amplify GHG emissions and exacerbate the greenhouse effect. Conversely, PyC left in the areas after fires appear to help mitigate some of the negative impacts of fire on soil GHG fluxes. This highlights the need to consider PyC from wildfires as an active soil component rather than merely a fire residue and suggests that its role in post-fire ecosystem recovery warrants further attention in the context of climate change mitigation strategies.
Physical control measures are widely used to manage Spartina alterniflora in coastal wetlands, yet their consequences for soil microbial necromass formation and microbial community reassembly across soil profiles remain poorly understood. Here, we compared an unmanaged Phragmites australis-dominated community with residual S. alterniflora presence within the same invaded coastal landscape (CK) with two post-removal management treatments, deep tillage (DT) and plastic mulching (PM), across a 0–100 cm soil profile in Hangzhou Bay, China, 18 months after treatment. We quantified fungal necromass carbon (FNC), bacterial necromass carbon (BNC), total microbial necromass carbon (MNC), and related soil carbon variables, and characterized bacterial and fungal diversity and community composition. Across treatments and depths, FNC consistently exceeded BNC, suggesting a dominant contribution of fungal residues to microbial-derived soil carbon pools. DT was associated with relatively high microbial necromass in the 20–100 cm profile and with higher necromass-to-SOC ratios in mid-profile layers, whereas PM reduced FNC, BNC, MNC, and SOC-related variables in most layers below 10 cm. Bacterial community composition was significantly affected by treatment, depth, and their interaction, whereas fungal community composition was mainly affected by treatment. Treatment separation remained significant for bacteria in both surface and deep soils, but for fungi mainly in surface soils. Exploratory Mantel and random forest analyses further showed that necromass patterns covaried with environmental conditions, microbial biomass, and community attributes in a treatment-specific manner. Overall, contrasting S. alterniflora control measures were associated with distinct post-treatment microbial and carbon-related profiles, indicating that restoration effectiveness should be evaluated not only by aboveground S. alterniflora suppression but also by the capacity of management practices to sustain belowground microbial processes and microbial-derived carbon across the soil profile.
In compliance with China's household contract responsibility system for grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, grasslands are primarily managed under either the multi-household pattern (MMP) or the single-household pattern (SMP). Although the effects of these management patterns on vegetation and soil carbon have been extensively studied, their effects on soil carbon mineralization potential remain poorly tested. We conducted a 136-day laboratory incubation to compare soil carbon mineralization between MMP and SMP, integrating measurements of soil physicochemical properties, vegetation biomass, organic matter sources and stability, microbial communities, and functional genes, to identify the underlying drivers. Cumulative carbon mineralization (Ccum) did not differ significantly between MMP and SMP. Instead, Ccum varied across soil depths, with greater values in the topsoil (0–0.15 m) than the subsoil (0.15–0.30 m) under both management patterns. In the topsoil, Ccum was primarily associated with belowground biomass and lignin phenol concentrations. In contrast, subsoil Ccum was mainly explained by soil physicochemical properties and the abundance of functional genes involved in starch and lignin degradation. Within 0–0.30 m, soil physicochemical properties were the strongest direct predictor of Ccum (path coefficient = 0.58). These findings highlight that at equal stocking rates, MMP matches SMP in carbon release but boosts topsoil SOC by 17% and subsoil nitrogen retention by 29%, suggesting that MMP contributes to improved soil carbon storage and nutrient retention on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau.
Fire is a key ecological driver that shapes ecosystems by altering vegetation, soil properties, and biodiversity. We examined the short-term effects of low-to-moderate severity fire on soil microbiota in Argentina's Chaco Serrano forest using integrated molecular, biogeochemical, and remote-sensing approaches. Burned soils showed marked compositional shifts, with Actinobacteria (e.g., Paenarthrobacter, Crossiella) increasing and Proteobacteria and Bacteroidota declining, consistent with heat-resistant traits such as spore formation. Although alpha diversity remained largely stable, forest soils displayed reduced richness. Fire also modified soil properties, raising pH and reducing organic carbon, reflecting surface biomass combustion. Vegetation type strongly modulated microbial responses: forest patches exhibited the greatest divergence, whereas shrubland and grassland were less affected. Fire severity (dNBR) further explained variation in beta diversity. Several taxa showed vegetation-dependent responses, including Sphingomonas, which increased in burned forest and shrubland but declined in grassland. No strong correlations were detected between microbial composition and soil chemistry, indicating that additional environmental factors or microbial resilience mechanisms influence post-fire dynamics. Overall, our findings show that even low-severity fires can restructure soil microbial communities, with vegetation patch identity playing a central role. These compositional changes, particularly the rise of Actinobacteria, may alter early nutrient cycling pathways. These findings improve our understanding of fire ecology in understudied South American ecosystems and highlight the need for long-term monitoring of functional impacts. This study underscores the need to interpret short-term microbial shifts within broader recovery trajectories, and highlights the importance of minimizing early disturbance, retaining surface cover, and considering vegetation patch structure to improve post-fire assessments and ecosystem recovery predictions in fire-prone South American landscapes.
Reclaimed soils in alpine mining areas often suffer from poor structure, nutrient depletion, and disrupted microbial communities. Organic amendments such as humic acid, sheep manure, and structural materials can improve soil quality, but their combined effects on soil properties, plant growth, and microbial communities under alpine mining conditions remain unclear. This study evaluated the effects of these amendments on soil physicochemical properties, heavy metal dynamics, plant growth, and bacterial communities in reconstructed soils from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Humic acid improved soil structure, reduced bulk density, and enhanced water retention, whereas sheep manure increased nutrient availability but also elevated soluble salt levels. Grass fiber promoted macropore formation and improved soil structural conditions. All amendments reduced Cu and Hg, while combined treatments influenced Cr and Zn dynamics. Plant growth was strongly influenced by amendment type, with the grass fiber-supplemented treatment promoting biomass accumulation and root development. Bacterial communities were not fundamentally restructured but exhibited shifts in dominant taxa: humic acid favored carbon-cycling heterotrophs, sheep manure enriched copiotrophic Proteobacteria, and combined treatments with grass fiber enhanced evenness and decomposer taxa. Soil organic matter, salinity, moisture, and nutrient availability were key drivers of microbial composition. Functional predictions suggested shifts toward enhanced metabolic activity, nutrient transformation, and growth-related functions under amended conditions. Overall, the integrated application of humic acid, sheep manure, and grass fiber improved soil quality, plant growth, and microbial functional diversity, providing insights into effective ecological restoration strategies for alpine mining regions.
Microplastic pollution and plant invasion are two major environmental challenges facing terrestrial ecosystems. However, previous studies have largely focused on their effects on individual invasive or native plant species, or on plant communities, and knowledge of how microplastics influence interactions between invasive and native plants remains limited. In this study, we used three pairs of native and invasive plant species and established treatments with two microplastic types that differed in polymer form and particle size, namely PE and PP, together with three planting patterns: native species grown alone, invasive species grown alone, and the two groups grown in mixture. The results showed that PE decreased leaf P and increased leaf N:P in native species, but had no significant effects on the physiological traits of invasive species. Under PP treatment, specific leaf area, crown width, leaf nitrogen concentration, aboveground biomass, and total biomass (TB) of invasive species were significantly reduced. In native species, malondialdehyde concentration and root shoot ratio increased significantly, whereas aboveground biomass, root biomass, and TB decreased significantly. Compared with the control, native and invasive species still maintained a certain degree of functional trait differentiation under both PE and PP treatments. The RDI of invasive species under both PE and PP was significantly higher than that 0.5, whereas no difference was observed between the control and 0.5, indicating that microplastics can help an initially disadvantaged invasive species acquire a competitive advantage. However, the underlying mechanisms differed between the two microplastic types. Compared to intraspecific competition, PP caused interspecific interactions between invasive and native species to exert a significant inhibitory effect on native species, whereas PE may have increased the relative growth advantage of invasive species in mixture by disrupting nutrient balance in native species. Our findings demonstrate that microplastic pollution can enables an originally disadvantaged invasive species to gain a competitive advantage, and provide valuable insights for the management of biological invasions under intensifying microplastic pollution.
The combined application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer and straw return is a promising strategy for improving agricultural sustainability. However, how these practices interact with soil fertility to influence arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)-mediated plant performance and ecosystem multifunctionality in paddy soils remains unclear. In this study, we collected two paddy soils with contrasting fertility levels and amended them with three straw types—wheat straw (WS), rape straw (RS), and Astragalus sinicus L. (AS)—under varying N fertilization rates for rice cultivation. We quantified AMF abundance, diversity, and community composition, together with multiple ecosystem function variables in hyphosphere soil, and examined their relationships with plant performance. The effects of N fertilization and straw incorporation on rice productivity depended strongly on initial soil fertility. In low-fertility soil, high N input (150 mg N kg−1) combined with straw return, especially AS straw, significantly increased rice N uptake and biomass. In contrast, in high-fertility soil, low N input (75 mg N kg−1) with straw return was optimal for biomass production. Partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) showed that N input level and straw type affected plant N uptake and growth by modifying hyphosphere AMF attributes and soil ecosystem functions. Regarding AMF attributes, greater plant biomass in both soils was associated with a higher relative abundance of Glomus sp. clB, as identified by random forest analysis. By integrating 16 ecological functions, we found that N fertilization under straw-return conditions significantly enhanced most soil functions and the ecosystem multifunctionality index, both of which were closely associated with increased rice N uptake and biomass. Overall, our findings demonstrate that optimizing N and straw inputs can improve crop productivity by regulating AMF communities and soil functions, although the optimal strategy is fertility dependent. We therefore advocate site-specific, fertility-based nutrient management that leverages beneficial AMF taxa to maximize both yield and ecosystem multifunctionality in sustainable rice production.
Cereal/legume intercropping is a vital strategy for improving crop yield and resource efficiency in nutrient-poor areas. However, it is not well understood how intercropping under different phosphorus (P) levels influences plant growth and nutrient uptake by rhizosphere bacterial communities, and associated metabolic processes. We conducted a pot experiment to investigate the effects of P (50 and 200 mg kg−1) and planting modes (monocropped maize, monocropped alfalfa, and intercropped maize/alfalfa) on plant growth, rhizosphere soil bacterial communities and metabolome. Results showed that under low P condition, intercropping increased root biomass, plant nitrogen and P content, but reduced shoot biomass in both crops, and maize emerged as the most effective intercrop. Conversely, under high P condition, intercropping increased alfalfa shoot biomass but reduced maize shoot biomass, and alfalfa emerged as the most effective intercrop. Both P-fertilization and intercropping could alter the rhizosphere bacterial composition, soil metabolome, and enhance the stability of the co-occurrence network. Under low P condition, intercropping mainly affected P-mobilizing pathways (e.g., the citric acid cycle), and bacterial communities showed significant correlations with soil phosphatase and organic acids. Under high P condition, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was the dominant factor strongly associated with bacterial community shifts, and metabolic pathways shifted toward pyrimidine metabolism. Overall, this study showed that maize/alfalfa intercropping and P-fertilization could optimize plant growth and nutrient uptake by reshaping rhizosphere bacterial community and metabolic functions, offering an insight into nutrient-use efficiency in poor soils.
