Soil erosion poses a serious threat to global black soil security, yet long-term threshold feedback between erosion sensitivity and risk remains unclear. Clarifying spatiotemporal erosion patterns, sensitivity dynamics, and multi-factor drivers is critical for targeted prevention strategies. To address this gap, we quantified erosion intensity, sensitivity, and risk across the black soil region of Northeast China (BSNC) from 1980 to 2020 by integrating the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) with the Geographical Detector (GeoDetector). The results reveal that the high-risk centre of soil erosion has shifted from the Changbai Mountains to agricultural plains including the Song-Liao and flood plain. A positive feedback loop between erosion intensity and sensitivity keeps plain areas persistently locked at a mild-to-moderate intensity level. Critical soil erosion sensitivity thresholds show prominent hierarchical spatial divergence: the western steppe requires only 65% vegetation cover to curb erosion, whereas eastern agricultural plains require coverage above 82%. The steppe also exhibits an erosion-triggering rainfall erosivity threshold of only 1040 MJ·mm·hm−2·h−1·a−1, far below mountain zones. The Song-Liao plain exhibits a bimodal soil erosion susceptibility (Skd) distribution, with both Skd I and Skd V areas exceeding 30% of the total land. GeoDetector results indicate that the interaction between soil erodibility and land use reaches 0.4979, far higher than any single factor, highlighting that synergistic amplification of multiple factors drives erosion risk accumulation in the region. The nonlinear vegetation thresholds, positive feedback loops, and gentle-slope erosion mechanisms revealed here offer a transferable framework for other intensively farmed gentle-slope regions.

Karst aquatic ecosystems are important reservoirs of dissolved carbon (C), supporting dynamic CO2 fluxes through the biological C pump. However, our current understanding of how sophisticated interactions between aquatic microbiomes and dissolved C turnover constrain the timing of CO2 sequestration and emission remains limited. Here we capture an extreme drought event and the ensuing relatively wet conditions from systematic investigations in karst lakes, demonstrating that temporally distinct microbiomes are tuned to the metabolic patterns of dissolved C and thereby modulate CO2 emissions. Specifically, we find that the extreme drought accelerates respiration of dissolved organic C, sharply increasing the CO2 evasion rate. Wet conditions stimulate photosynthetic uptake of dissolved inorganic C, consuming lake CO2 while promoting labile organic C formation. We therefore propose that during the observed extreme drought, pulses of CO2 emissions from the study karst lakes occur after wet conditions end, as a consequence of rapid remineralization of newly produced bioavailable organic C. Our findings highlight the crucial importance of managing periodic CO2 outgassing from karst waters under drought conditions for the implementation of region-specific C neutrality strategies.

It is essential to distinguish the effects of climate signals and cave microenvironments on speleothem 518O, 513C, and element/Ca records, because cave microenvironments can interfere with the reconstruction of climate signals preserved by speleothems. However, it remains difficult to separate the impacts of direct climate signals and cave microenvironments-including cave air temperature and CO2 concentration-on these proxies, even after numerous cave monitoring and laboratory simulation experiments. In this study, we compared outdoor Artificial Cave monitoring with natural cave monitoring, providing an innovative and efficient method to discriminate the effects of climate signals and cave microenvironments on the proxies. We presented seven years of time-series data from Shawan Cave (natural cave) and more than two years of time-series data from the outdoor Artificial Cave located in Guizhou Province, Southwest China, for 518O, 513C, and elemental compositions of cave drip water along with microenvironmental conditions. In Shawan Cave, the seasonal changes in drip water 518O and 513CDIC, which showed a significant inverse correlation with cave airpCO2, were attributed to the wide range of cave air pCO2 (972-21,627 ppm), The irregular seasonal changes in drip water Mg/Ca were affected by the opposing seasonal variations in rainfall amount and cave airpCO2. In contrast, in the Artificial Cave, the wider range of cave air temperature (11.78-25.25 degrees C) appeared to influence the seasonality of cave water 518O and Mg/Ca values. Meanwhile, the 518O and Mg/Ca values of water isolated from the cave were mainly affected by rainfall 518O and rainfall amount, respectively. The 513CDIC values in cave water and in water isolated from the cave were primarily influenced by rainfall amount, because the narrow range of cave airpCO2 was insufficient to drive a notable change in cave water 513CDIC. Our study highlights that cave microenvironments, rather than direct climate signals, are key drivers of seasonal amplitudes in speleothems proxies in caves with wide ranges of cave air temperature and pCO2. When the ranges of cave air temperature and pCO2 are narrow, speleothem proxies primarily record precipitation and air temperature.

Karst cave systems represent significant reservoirs of Radon-222 (222Rn), which is a natural radioactive and class-I carcinogenic pollutant whose risk is amplified by increasing cave tourism. However, the dominant sources, driving mechanisms, and resulting exposure levels in these subterranean environments remain poorly understood. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive monitoring campaign across 24 karst caves in Southwest China while integrating field measurements with controlled simulations and dose assessment. Results indicate that both the carbonate bedrock and overlying soil layer act as primary sources of cave 222Rn, with soil contributing substantially more due to secondary radionuclide enrichment during weathering. Seasonal ventilation, driven by temperature-induced airflow (chimney effect), was identified as the dominant factor controlling 222Rn variability, resulting in three distinct seasonal patterns: summer-high/winter-low, winter-high/summer-low, and annual-average. Further, we further elucidated the source-transport-sink dynamics governing 222Rn behavior in cave systems and highlighted the critical role of cave structure in modulating airflow and 222Rn accumulation. Although the short-term exposure risk for tourists is negligible, the annual effective radiation dose experienced by occupational groups in nine tourist caves exceeds regulatory limits, underscoring the necessity of the development of targeted protective measures. This study elucidates the source-transport-exposure pathway of 222Rn pollution in karst cave environments and provides a scientific basis for stratified risk management. Our findings emphasize the importance of integrating environmental process research into public health protection frameworks for high-risk micro-environments.

Cave drip water is a fundamental carrier of climatic and environmental information, and its geochemical signatures are widely employed in speleothem-based paleoclimate reconstructions. While are well established, the role of rainfall intensity and vegetation-driven infiltration dynamics in shaping these signals remains insufficiently constrained. To address this, we carried out seven years of monitoring in Shawan Cave, a shallow karst cave system in Southwest China, integrating rainfall observations, continuous drip rate measurements at 30-minute resolution, and stable isotopes and elements/Ca data from drip water. Our results showed that drip water was present in both the dry and wet seasons from 2017 to 2019, whereas it was intermittently interrupted from 2020 to 2023 drip water, with more observed during the wet season and less during the dry season. This may be attributed to the deeper root systems of vegetation, which alter soil moisture and the amount of rainfall required to penetrate the soil and generate infiltration into the karst cave system, thereby changing the water reservoirs feed drip water over time. We propose that vegetation recovery, by influencing evaporation, can modulate drip water flow paths and thereby drive the enrichment of drip water 518O. Intriguingly, although drip water 518O during 2017-2018 did not fully reflect changes in rainfall 518O, during 2022-2023 it appeared to inherit the 518O signal of heavy rainfall. This indicates that drip water 518O has gradually evolved from reflecting annual or multiyear rainfall amounts to primarily recording the heavy rainfall of the summer monsoon. These observations demonstrate that drip water signals are not simply a direct record of rainfall but are mediated by subsurface hydrological processes. We propose that the combined effects of reservoir-feeding drip water and flow path change over time are critical in governing the transmission of rainfall signals into cave environments. Recognizing the influence of vegetation change and reservoir evolution refines the interpretation of speleothem proxies, enabling more reliable reconstructions of monsoon variability at sub-annual to interannual timescales.

The carbon budget of maize croplands has been widely studied across the Chinese Maize Belt. However, the effects of drought on ecosystem-scale carbon fluxes in rain-fed maize croplands remain poorly understood in Southwest China. To address this gap, we conducted long-term, continuous eddy covariance measurements of carbon fluxes at a rain-fed maize field in Guizhou Province from 2022 to 2025. During the maize growing season, the mean net ecosystem exchange (NEE) was −310 ± 21 g C m−2, with over 50% of the total seasonal NEE occurring in July. Interannual variability in the NEE was primarily driven by prolonged dry spells during the reproductive stage. Maize cropland without straw return acted as a net C source when harvest removals were considered. We therefore recommend promoting straw return practices in the region to strengthen soil carbon sequestration capacity and enhance agroecosystem resilience to drought. And further research is needed to evaluate the role of straw return practices on the carbon budget in the area.

Subsurface stormflow is the main runoff-generating mechanism in most upland environments. However, it is challenging to delineate the functions of heterogeneous soil-rock structures (soils, gravels, and rock fractures) on subsurface stormflow dynamics in response to rainfall events. Here, three experimental columns were designed filled with soils and underlying limestone blocks and dolomite gravels. The water budget and subsurface stormflow characteristics were analyzed through detailed observations and numerical simulations. The results showed that: (1) Soil is a crucial factor in attenuating subsurface stormflow. Increasing the soil thickness from 20 cm to 85 cm reduced outflow by at least 30 %; (2) Soil-rock structures with high porosity increase evaporation loss from the epikarst. For the similar soil thickness (20-23 cm), the underlying gravels with high porosity (40 %) retained approximately 10 % more water for evaporation loss compared to limestone blocks; (3) Impacts of soilrock structures on subsurface stormflow processes reverse as rainfall intensifies. The limestone blocks with rich fractures produced higher stormflow peaks when the rainfall amount was below a critical value. However, as rainfall intensity increased, the limited fractures restricted downward stormflow propagation, while the dolomite gravels produced a large active area and resulted in higher outflow peaks. The study highlights the significance of soil-rock structural heterogeneity in accurately simulating the subsurface stormflow dynamics under different rainfall conditions and provides valuable information for flood disaster prediction in karst areas.

Karst cave systems represent significant reservoirs of ²²²Rn, a natural radioactive and class-I carcinogenic pollutant whose risk is amplified by increasing cave tourism. However, a systematic understanding of its dominant sources, governing environmental processes, and resulting exposure levels remains limited. To address these gaps, we conducted a comprehensive monitoring campaign across 24 karst caves in Southwest China, integrating field measurements with controlled simulations and dose assessment. Results indicate that not only the carbonate bedrock but also the overlying soil layer serves as the primary source of cave ²²²Rn. Seasonal ventilation driven by temperature-gradient-induced airflow is the main control on cave ²²²Rn variability, leading to three distinct concentration patterns: summer-high/winter-low, annual-average, and winter-high/summer-low. We further deciphers the source-transport-sink processes governing ²²²Rn behavior in cave systems, providing deterministic controls on its accumulation patterns and migration pathways. Although tourist exposure is negligible, occupational workers require tailored protective measures. This study elucidates the source–transport–exposure pathway of ²²²Rn pollution in subterranean environments and provides a scientific basis for stratified risk management, highlighting the necessity of integrating environmental process understanding into public health protection strategies for specific micro-environments.

Due to the implementation of various vegetation restoration measures, vegetation recovery is remarkable in karst areas of Southwest China, which is the main region for global greening. However, the effects of natural vegetation restoration on the soil profile microenvironment, particularly in karst regions, remain largely unknown. From 2018 to 2021, we continuously monitored the soil temperatures, moisture contents, CO2 concentrations and stable carbon isotopic compositions of the four soil profiles in the naturally restored region of Puding Karst Ecosystem Research Station to reveal their changes resulting from natural vegetation restoration for abandoned farmland in karst regions. The results showed that at the initial stage (herbaceous stage) of natural vegetation restoration, the initial weeds were gradually replaced with a single dominant species, with the C4 plants Imperata and Miscanthus becoming the main contributors to the vegetation biomass of the abandoned farmland. The soil profile temperature and moisture content decreased. The soil moisture content significantly decreased at a depth of 40 cm. The soil profile CO2 concentration showed both increase or decrease. During the restoration from weeds to the single species Imperata, the soil CO2 concentration increased, and the delta 13C values gradually became positive. In comparison, during the restoration from weeds to the single species Miscanthus, the soil profile CO2 concentration decreased, and the delta 13C values gradually became positive. Moreover, the increase in soil porosity enhanced the carbon exchange between the soil and the atmosphere. Dominant species slow down positive succession, and artificial interventions are needed to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem stability.

Southwest China’s karst region represents a global hotspot for ecological restoration, with natural succession on abandoned farmland emerging as a pivotal mechanism under recent land-use transitions. Despite its ecological significance, empirical data remain scarce regarding tree growth characteristics in this fragile ecosystem. This seven-year study (2018–2024) at Puding Karst Ecosystem Research Station quantified the spatiotemporal patterns of tree growth through monthly diameter at breast height (DBH) measurements for dominant species, coupled with microhabitat characterization (rock exposure, competition indices, and canopy architecture). Key findings revealed that the mean annual DBH increment was 5.74 mm/a, while biomass accumulation averaged 9.38 kg/a; growing-season drought duration significantly modulated interannual growth variation; and microhabitat heterogeneity and tree size significantly influenced the spatial variance of tree growth. These results substantiate natural succession as an effective carbon sequestration strategy, particularly in nutrient-depleted karst terrains. We advocate for the policy prioritization of passive restoration over active afforestation in marginal croplands.

Global warming has led to accelerated transitions between dry and wet periods, causing plants to experience more water stress and adapt water use strategies. This could have a significant impact on plants in karst regions due to the substantial spatial and temporal variability of soil and rock moisture. In this study, we monitored and compared transpiration (sap flow) responses to meteorological variables, soil moisture content and rock moisture content at five sites with a variety of plant-soil-rock compositions in the karst region of southwest China. Results show that the soil-rock composition generally controlled plant growth and transpiration amount, and over 80% transpiration was concentrated in wet growing period. The thin soils provide limited soil moisture, with rock moisture primarily driving transpiration variability and influencing the physiological strategies of plant water use. High and steady rock moisture in soil-filled fractures helps plants buffer seasonal variability in transpiration. Conversely, limited rock moisture storage capacity prompted plants to enhance transpiration during the wet period, thereby maximizing growth and carbon gain to improve drought resistance in the subsequent dry period. Plants adapt to varying environmental conditions by modulating their water use strategies. This shift can decrease the sensitivity of plant transpiration to meteorological factors, such as vapor pressure deficit. Since plant physiological behavior is extremely sensitive to climate variations and soil-rock compositions, the acceleration of dry-wet transitions will likely increase ecosystem vulnerability.

Panax notoginseng (Burkill) F.H.Chen (Sanqi) is a traditional Chinese medicinal plants, and has shown hemostasis, anti-oxidation, neuroprotection and anti-tumor activities (Wang et al. 2014). Wenshan (23°35'24.1" N, 104°19'48.2" E) in Yunnan Province of China, is the main producing area of P. notoginseng. This region has a subtropical monsoon climate, an altitude of around 1200m above sea level, and loam soil. In November 2023, serious symptoms of root rot disease were first observed on 2-year-old P. notoginseng in Wenshan. The P. notoginseng initially exhibits indications of stem browning and leaf yellowing, followed by plant wilting and damping-off, and eventual death. The incidence of diseased plants was up to 20% in a plantation of 4 hectares. Six diseased plants were randomly collected from different regions of a 1000 square meters planting area, and root samples were cut into small fragments and surface sterilized with 1% sodium hypochlorite for 1 min. The root fragments were placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and then incubated at 30℃ in the dark. Mycelium tips were observed and transferred onto new plates and finally 18 isolates were obtained from the diseased samples. The colonies of all 18 isolates were white with strong coconut odour, and looked identical in appearance. The growth rate of the isolates was about 2.5cm/d and the whole petri dish (8 cm in diameter) could be covered in 4 days. Conidia formed after another two-day incubation with light. Conidia were smooth, elliptical, 4.1 to 5.2 × 2.9 to 3.6 μm in size (n = 30). DNA was extracted from three representative isolates. The partial region of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the translation elongation factor (tef1) were amplified with the primers ITS1/ITS4, TEF1/EF728 (Samuels et al. 2006). The blast results showed that the three isolates were identical to each other in their ITS (PP469588) and tef1 (PP544203) sequences and those sequences had 99% (ITS, 580/583bp) and 98% (tef1, 597/609 bp) similarity with those of Trichoderma gamsii (DQ841730 and DQ841722, respectively) (Jaklitsch et al. 2006). For pathogenicity tests, thirty 5-month-old healthy seedlings of P. notoginseng were used and inoculated by root-irrigation of conidial suspension (107 conidia/mL, 20mL per seedling), whereas ten seedlings were treated with distilled water as controls. All seedlings were incubated in pots and set in the test field in Wenshan area from April to June. First symptoms appeared 6 days after inoculation. All inoculated seedlings showed disease symptoms 18 days later after challenge, whereas no symptoms were observed on the controls. The pathogen was reisolated and confirmed to be T. gamsii through molecular identification. The pathogenicity test was repeated three times. T. gamsii was first reported in 2006 (Jaklitsch et al. 2006), and attracted attention mainly on its biocontrol effects (Matarese et al. 2012). It had also been isolated from healthy P. notoginseng as endophyte to produce many different secondary metabolites for potential medical use (Ding et al. 2012). To our knowledge, this is the first report of T. gamsii causing root rot disease on P. notoginseng. P. notoginseng is of great economic value in Wenshan area. In 2017, its production was valued at 16.2 billion Chinese Yuan, with an expanding cultivation (Liu et al. 2020). Thus, it is important to monitor and manage this pathogen on P. notoginseng.

Grasslands in southwestern China (SWC) are among the most fragile ecosystems globally, exhibiting high sensitivity to climate change (CC) and human activities (HA). Disentangling their relative contributions is essential for developing sustainable grassland management strategies. However, grasslands in humid regions have received limited attention, and their spatiotemporal dynamics and drivers remain poorly understood. We comprehensively investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics of grasslands in SWC and decode their dominant drivers using multiple vegetation indices (GPP, LAI, and NDVI) and the spatiotemporally varying residual method. Results indicate that grasslands in SWC have experienced significantly increasing trends in GPP, LAI, and NDVI during 1982-2018, with slopes of 1.28 gC/m(2)/yr (p < 0.05), 0.003 m(2)/m(2)/yr (p < 0.05), and 0.0008/yr (p < 0.001), respectively. The magnitude and trends of these indicators in the karst region were greater than those in the non-karst region. Our findings identify temperature as the dominant climatic factor influencing grassland changes and confirm HA contributing more to grassland dynamics than CC. This study is the first to focus on humid grasslands in a karst-dominated region and highlights their significance in global grassland studies. We provide a reproducible method for quantifying the drivers of global grassland dynamics, supporting decision-makers in formulating global grassland management policies.

Soil CO2 release is the second-largest carbon flux between the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems, playing a critical role in regulating atmospheric CO2 concentrations. However, the carbon flux estimation, especially regarding carbon exchange between soil and underground cracks or pipes in karst critical zone, remain poorly understood. From 2019 to 2021, we conducted a three-years field measurement in Shawan soil-cave system in Southwest China, to reveal the dynamics of CO2 concentrations, temperature and moisture in the cave and the overlying soil profiles. We found that CO2 was transmitted mutually between the cave and the overlying soil through diffusion and/or convection. Biotic processes constrained seasonal patterns of soil CO2 concentrations, while precipitation and cave ventilation modulated vertical variations of soil CO2. We highlighted that soil moisture governed short-term shifts of soil CO2 in karst critical zone. The intensity of water-rock interaction at the bottom of soil profile controls the consumption or accumulation of soil CO2. Cave ventilation and air diffusion can enhance CO2 exchange at the soil-cave interface, altering CO2 levels in the overlying soil. Based on these findings, we proposed four critical CO2 cycle models for soil-cave systems in the karst critical zone, which are crucial for accurately estimating carbon fluxes in karst ecosystems.

Heavy metal(loid)s migration occurs in both particulate and dissolved forms during soil erosion, but it is unclear which form is dominant and which factors affect it. Thus, a quantitative synthesis of 379 global observations was conducted to assess heavy metal(loid)s migration mechanisms and a random forest analysis was used to assess the influence of key factors on the dissolved fraction of heavy metal(loid)s. Particulate-associated heavy metal(loid)s transport accounts for over 80% of the total. Heavy metal(loid)s migration forms are not significantly affected by experimental conditions (indoor simulated and field monitored), yet they vary between erosional and depositional zones. The dissolved percentage of Pb, As and Hg within areas of erosion were higher than in areas of deposition, while the opposite trend occurred for Cd, Cu, Zn, Cr and Ni. Soil Total Organic Carbon (TOC) was the most important factor affecting the migration of heavy metal(loid)s during soil erosion. Our results confirmed that heavy metal(loid)s usually migrate in association with fine-grained sediments due to their large surface area and high surface functional groups. These findings provide scientific guidance for further understanding migration mechanisms and the methods need to control heavy metal(loid)s transport during soil erosion.

China's lakes are plagued by cadmium (Cd) pollution. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) significantly regulates Cd(II) transport properties at the sediment-water interface. Understanding the effects of different DOM components on the transportation properties of Cd(II) at the sediment-water interface is essential. In this study, typical DOM from different sources was selected to study Cd(II) mobility at the sediment-water interface. Results showed that terrestrial-derived DOM (fulvic acids, FA) and autochthonous-derived DOM (α-amylase, B1) inhibit Cd(II) sequestration by sediments (42.5% and 5.8%, respectively), while anthropogenic-derived DOM (sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, SDBS) increased the Cd(II) adsorption capacity by sediments by 2.8%. Fluorescence quenching coupling with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC) was used to characterize different DOM components. The results showed that FA contains three kinds of components (C1, C3: protein-like components, C2: humic-like components); SDBS contains two kinds of components (C1, C2: protein-like components); B1 contains three kinds of components (C1, C2: protein-like components, C3: humic-like components).Three complex reaction models were used to characterize the ability of Cd(II) complex with DOM, and it was found that the humic-like component could hardly be complex with Cd(II). Accordingly, humic-like components compete for Cd(II) adsorption sites on the sediment surface and inhibit Cd(II) adsorption from sediments. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of the sediment surface before and after Cd(II) addition was analyzed and proved the competitive adsorption theory. This study provides a better understanding of the Cd(II) mobilization behavior at the sediment-water interface and indicates that the input of humic-like DOM will increase the bioavailability of Cd.

Stable isotopic ratios of hydrogen and oxygen (i.e., 52H and 518O) are widely used to generate 52H-518O plots for studying soil water or groundwater evaporation. However, few studies have investigated whether 52H-518O plots of soil water and groundwater consistently reflect the evaporation characteristics of a watershed. In this study, 52H and 518O values of precipitation, soil water, and groundwater were obtained at a test site comprising five concrete tanks simulating watersheds with different land covers from May 2020 to April 2022. We then investigated the effectiveness of slope, 518O and line-conditioned excess (lc-excess) derived from 52H-518O plots to characterize soil and groundwater evaporation. The results showed that under varied degrees of evaporation in the five watersheds, the slopes of the soil water evaporation line (SEL) and groundwater evaporation line (GEL) in relation to the local meteoric water line (LMWL) could not be used as a criterion to judge whether a water body suffered from evaporation, since they could be greater than, less than, or equal to the LMWL slope with same evaporation strength. Under the influence of variability of 518O in precipitation caused by condensation process, 518O enrichment in surface soil water at a depth of 10 cm with limited mixing effect reflected the degree of evaporation of the watershed, but 518O enrichment in soil water at depths of 25 cm and 45 cm and groundwater from the simulated spring at a depth of 3 m with strong mixing effect did not. Overall, the landuse was shown to have an important impact on watershed evaporation, and dual-isotope indicators (e.g., lc-excess) in both soil water and groundwater were shown to more effectively reflect long-term evaporation characteristics than conventional indicators such as the slopes of the SEL and GEL or 518O.

In monsoon regions, wet-dry cycles may establish environmental gradients that influence both the richness and composition of cave bacterial communities. However, how bacterial communities in different cave niches respond to wet-dry cycles remains poorly understood. Here, we examined the responses of three major cave habitats (bedrock, speleothem, and sediment) to wet-dry cycles spanning two drought events. Overall, sediment bacterial richness and diversity increased during dry seasons but decreased in rainy seasons, whereas bedrock/speleothem communities exhibited the opposite pattern—showing an increase during wet periods and maintaining stability. In this process, ventilation and drip water explained the majority of compositional variance in bedrock and speleothem bacterial communities. By mapping indicator species onto co-occurrence networks, we found that species co-occurrence explained compositional differences in sediment bacterial communities between the two drought events. However, this relationship was not observed in bacterial communities associated with bedrock or speleothem. Additionally, ecological drift showed a negative correlation exclusively with sediment bacterial richness. Taken together, transport processes mediated by ventilation and drip water facilitate the post-drought recovery and stability maintenance of bacterial communities colonizing bedrock and speleothem surfaces. However, neutral processes exerted stronger influences on sediment bacterial communities, enhancing their vulnerability to drought.

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