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Aboveground and belowground attributes of terrestrial ecosystems interact to shape carbon (C) cycling. However, plants and soil organisms are usually studied separately, leading to a knowledge gap regarding their coordinated contributions to ecosystem C cycling. We explored whether integrated consideration of plant and nematode traits better explained soil organic C (SOC) dynamics than plant or nematode traits considered separately. Our study system was a space-for-time natural restoration chronosequence following agricultural abandonment in a subtropical region, with pioneer, early, mid and climax stages. We identified an integrated fast-slow trait spectrum encompassing plants and nematodes, demonstrating coordinated shifts from fast strategies in the pioneer stage to slow strategies in the climax stage, corresponding to enhanced SOC dynamics. Joint consideration of plant and nematode traits explained more variation in SOC than by either group alone. Structural equation modeling revealed that the integrated fast-slow trait spectrum influenced SOC through its regulation of microbial traits, including microbial C use efficiency and microbial biomass. Our findings confirm the pivotal role of plant-nematode trait coordination in modulating ecosystem C cycling and highlight the value of incorporating belowground traits into biogeochemical cycling under global change scenarios., (© 2024 The Author(s). New Phytologist © 2024 New Phytologist Foundation.)

Understanding the underlying mechanisms of soil microbial nitrogen (N) utilization under land use change is critical to evaluating soil N availability or limitation and its environmental consequences. A combination of soil gross N production and ecoenzymatic stoichiometry provides a promising avenue for nutrient limitation assessment in soil microbial metabolism. Gross N production via 15 N tracing and ecoenzymatic stoichiometry through the vector and threshold element ratio (Vector-TER) model were quantified to evaluate the soil microbial N limitation in response to land use changes. We used tropical soil samples from a natural forest ecosystem and three managed ecosystems (paddy, rubber, and eucalyptus sites). Soil extracellular enzyme activities were significantly lower in managed ecosystems than in a natural forest. The Vector-TER model results indicated microbial carbon (C) and N limitations in the natural forest soil, and land use change from the natural forest to managed ecosystems increased the soil microbial N limitation. The soil microbial N limitation was positively related to gross N mineralization (GNM) and nitrification (GN) rates. The decrease in microbial biomass C and N as well as hydrolyzable ammonium N in managed ecosystems led to the decrease in N-acquiring enzymes, inhibiting GNM and GN rates and ultimately increasing the microbial N limitation. Soil GNM was also positively correlated with leucine aminopeptidase and β- N -acetylglucosaminidase. The results highlight that converting tropical natural forests to managed ecosystems can increase the soil microbial N limitation through reducing the soil microbial biomass and gross N production.

Copper (Cu) is a key cofactor in ammonia monooxygenase functioning responsible for the first step of nitrification, but its excess availability impairs soil microbial functions and plant growth. Yet, the impact of Cu on nitrogen (N) cycling and process-related variables in cropland soils remains unexplored globally. Through a meta-analysis of 1209-paired and 319-single observations from 94 publications, we found that Cu (Cu addition or Cu-polluted soil) reduced soil potential nitrification by 33.8% and nitrite content by 73.5% due to reduced soil enzyme activities of nitrification and urease, microbial biomass content, and ammonia oxidizing archaea abundance. The response ratio of potential nitrification decreased with increasing Cu concentration, soil total N, and clay content. We further noted that soil potential nitrification inhibited by 46.5% only when Cu concentration was higher than 150 mg kg -1 , while low Cu concentration (less than 150 mg kg -1 ) stimulated soil nitrate by 99.0%. Increasing initial soil Cu content stimulated gross N mineralization rate due to increased soil organic carbon and total N, but inhibited gross nitrification rate, which ultimately stimulated gross N immobilization rate as a result of increased the residence time of ammonium. This resulted in a lower ratio of gross nitrification rate to gross N immobilization rate, implying a lower potential risk of N loss as evidenced by decreased nitrous oxide emissions with increasing initial soil Cu content. Our analysis offers initial global evidence that Cu has an important role in controlling soil N availability and loss through its effect on N production and consumption., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Fragile karst ecosystems are characterized by complex topographic landscapes associated with high variations in vegetation restoration. Identifying the characteristics and driving factors of nitrogen (N) availability across the topographic gradient is essential to guide vegetation restoration in karst regions. In this study, we collected soil samples and plant leaves along the topographic gradient (ridge, upper slope, middle slope, and foot slope) of convex slopes in the karst fault basin of southwest China, and determined the indicators reflecting soil N availability, N transformation rates, and their controlling factors. Our results showed that foliar N content and δ 15 N value, soil inorganic N content and δ 15 N value, and foliar N:P ratio were substantially lower on the steep hillslopes than on the flat top ridge. Steep slope soils also had a lower enzyme C:N ratio but a higher enzyme N:P ratio than the flat ridge soils. Furthermore, the vector angles calculated by soil extracellular enzyme analysis were below 45 o in all studied soils and decreased significantly with increasing slope, indicating that microbial growth was generally limited by N. These results jointly suggest the declines in soil N availability across the topographic gradient, which are further explained by the changes in soil inherent N transformation processes. As the slope became steeper, soil mineralization and autotrophic nitrification (O NH4 ) rates decreased significantly, while ratio of microbial NH 4 + immobilization to O NH4 and NH 4 + adsorption rate increased significantly, indicating the decrease in soil inorganic N supply capacity. We further found that deteriorated soil structure, decreased soil organic matter and calcium content, altered microbial abundance, and increased ratios of fungi to bacteria and gram-positive bacteria to gram-negative bacteria were the primary drivers of reduced N transformation rates and N availability across the topographic gradient. Overall, this study highlights the critical role of the topography in controlling soil N availability by regulating N transformation processes in karst regions. The topography should be considered an important factor affecting the functions and services of karst ecosystems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Replacing synthetic fertilizer by organic manure has been shown to reduce emissions of nitrous oxide (N 2 O), but the specific roles of ammonia oxidizing microorganisms and gross nitrogen (N) transformation in regulating N 2 O remain unclear. Here, we examined the effect of completely replacing chemical fertilizer with organic manure on N 2 O emissions, ammonia oxidizers, gross N transformation rates using a 13-year field manipulation experiment. Our results showed that organic manure reduced cumulative N 2 O emissions by 16.3%-210.3% compared to chemical fertilizer. The abundance of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) was significantly lower in organic manure compared with chemical fertilizer during three growth stages of maize. Organic manure also significantly decreased AOB alpha diversity and changed their community structure. However, organic manure substitution increased the abundance of ammonia oxidizing archaea and the alpha diversity of comammox Nitrospira compared to chemical fertilizer. Interestingly, organic manure decreased organic N mineralization by 23.2%-32.9%, and autotrophic nitrification rate by 10.5%-45.4%, when compared with chemical fertilizer. This study also found a positive correlation between AOB abundance, organic N mineralization and gross autotrophic nitrification rate with N 2 O emission, and their contribution to N 2 O emission was supported by random forest analysis. Our study highlights the key roles of ammonia oxidizers and N transformation rates in predicting cropland N 2 O., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Converting natural forests to managed ecosystems generally increases soil nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emission. However, the pattern and underlying mechanisms of N 2 O emissions after converting tropical forests to managed plantations remain elusive. Hence, a laboratory incubation study was investigated to determine soil N 2 O emissions of four land uses including forest, eucalyptus, rubber, and paddy field plantations in a tropical region of China. The effect of soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) fractions on soil N 2 O emissions and related functional genes was also estimated. We found that the conversion of natural forests to managed forests significantly decreased soil N 2 O emissions, but the conversion to paddy field had no effect. Soil N 2 O emissions were controlled by both nitrifying and denitrifying genes in tropical natural forest, but only by nitrifying genes in managed forests and by denitrifying genes in paddy field. Soil total N, extractable nitrate, particulate organic C (POC), and hydrolyzable ammonium N showed positive relationship with soil N 2 O emission. The easily oxidizable organic C (EOC), POC, and light fraction organic C (LFOC) had positive linear correlation with the abundance of AOA-amoA, AOB-amoA, nirK, and nirS genes. The ratios of dissolved organic C, EOC, POC, and LFOC to total N rather than soil C/N ratio control soil N 2 O emissions with a quadratic function relationship, and the local maximum values were 0.16, 0.22, 1.5, and 0.55, respectively. Our results provided a new evidence of the role of soil C and N fractions and their ratios in controlling soil N 2 O emissions and nitrifying and denitrifying genes in tropical soils., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Under anoxic conditions, many bacteria, including Shewanella loihica strain PV-4, could use nitrate as an electron acceptor for dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) and/or denitrification. Previous and current studies have shown that DNRA is favored under higher ambient carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratios, whereas denitrification is upregulated under lower C/N ratios, which is consistent with our bioenergetics calculations. Interestingly, computational analyses indicate that the common cyclic AMP receptor protein (designated CRP1) and its paralogue CRP2 might both be involved in the regulation of two competing dissimilatory nitrate reduction pathways, DNRA and denitrification, in S. loihica PV-4 and several other denitrifying Shewanella species. To explore the regulatory mechanism underlying the dissimilatory nitrate reduction (DNR) pathways, nitrate reduction of a series of in-frame deletion mutants was analyzed under different C/N ratios. Deletion of crp1 could accelerate the reduction of nitrite to NO under both low and high C/N ratios. CRP1 is not required for denitrification and actually suppresses production of NO and N 2 O gases. Deletion of either of the NO-forming nitrite reductase genes nirK or crp2 blocked production of NO gas. Furthermore, real-time PCR and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) demonstrated that the transcription levels of DNRA-relevant genes such as nap -β ( napDABGH ), nrfA , and cymA were upregulated by CRP1, while nirK transcription was dependent on CRP2. There are tradeoffs between the different physiological roles of nitrate/lactate, as nitrogen nutrient/carbon source and electron acceptor/donor and CRPs may leverage dissimilatory nitrate reduction pathways for maximizing energy yield and bacterial survival under ambient environmental conditions. IMPORTANCE Some microbes utilize different dissimilatory nitrate reduction (DNR) pathways, including DNR to ammonia (DNRA) and denitrification pathways, for anaerobic respiration in response to ambient carbon/nitrogen ratio changes. Large-scale industrial nitrogen fixation and fertilizer application raise the concern of emission of N 2 O, a stable gas with potent global warming potential, as consequence of microbial respiration, thereby aggravating global warming and climate change. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism underlying the choice of two competing DNR pathways. We demonstrate that the global regulator CRP1, which is widely encoded in bacteria, is required for DNRA in S. loihica PV-4 strain, while the CRP2 paralogue is required for transcription of the nitrite reductase gene nirK for denitrification. Sufficient carbon source lead to the predominance of DNRA, while carbon source/electron donor deficiency may result in an incomplete denitrification process, raising the concern of high levels of N 2 O emission from nitrate-rich and carbon source-poor waters and soils., (Copyright © 2021 American Society for Microbiology.)

A 15 N-tracer incubation experiment was conducted to investigate the short-term effects of biochar on gross N transformation rates and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions in soils under 1-year and 10-year vegetable cultivations. Biochar was applied at three rates: 0 (control), 10, and 30 t ha -1 . Gross N transformation rates in the two vegetable soils varied in response to biochar application. Specifically, organic N oxidation into NO 3 - (O Norg ) was almost negligible in the biochar-amended soils, and biochar application at 10 t ha -1 did not change either the rate of mineralization of organic N into NH 4 + (M Norg ) nor the inorganic N supply capacity (INS, O Norg  + M Norg ) in both soils, when compared to the control. However, 30 t ha -1 biochar decreased INS significantly, by inhibiting M Norg , in the 1-year vegetable soil but increased INS, by stimulating M Norg , in the 10-year vegetable soil. The rates of NH 4 + oxidation into NO 3 - (O NH4 ), NO 3 - immobilization into organic N, and dissimilatory NO 3 - reduction into NH 4 + were not influenced significantly by biochar application in the 1-year vegetable soil, resulting in no significant differences in NO 3 - production potential. Conversely, biochar decreased NO 3 - production potential significantly in the 10-year vegetable soil, by inhibiting O NH4 and increasing NH 4 + immobilization into organic N (I NH4 ), with more obvious effects under higher biochar application rates. Overall, the results demonstrate the capacity of biochar to stimulate NH 4 + turnover and to decrease NO 3 - production potential in soil under long-term vegetable cultivation; however, the effect is limited under short-term vegetable cultivation. In addition, N 2 O emissions decreased significantly in biochar-amended vegetable soils., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

The fluorescence and ultraviolet spectroscopic characteristics of dissolved organic matter extracted from sediments in an anthropogenic-impacted river (Hao River) in Southeastern China were analyzed in the current study. Excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence combined with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) was conducted to analyze the sources and composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM). The average dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations of all samples at depths of 0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm were 317, 319, and 319 mg kg -1 dry weight, respectively. Four components were identified from the fluorescence spectra that consisted of three humic-like components (C1, C2, and C3) and one protein-like component (C4). Component C1 was derived from terrestrial plants and soils. Component C2 in the anthropogenic-impacted Hao River was derived from anthropogenic pollution such as wastewater. Component C3 comprised refractory particles derived from terrestrial plants. Component C4 was autochthonous and produced by the aquatic ecosystem. With the exception of site 4, all sites could be assigned to one of two groups. Group 1 consisted of sites 1, 2, 3, and 5, and group 2 consisted of sites 6, 7, and 8. Our result showed that the sediment in group 2 was more anaerobic than in group 1. Consequently, it could be concluded that this river was polluted by both point and non-point pollution. The terrain slopes cause that water flows from the Yangzi River into group 1. The dilution effect in group 1 resulted in less accumulation of DOM in the sediment of group 1 than group 2.

Plastic film mulching has played an important role in Chinese agriculture, especially in vegetable production, but large amounts of film residues can accumulate in the soil. The present study investigated the effects of plastic film residues on the occurrence of soil PAEs and microbial activities using a batch pot experiment. PAE concentrations increased with increasing plastic film residues but the soil microbial carbon and nitrogen, enzyme activities and microbial diversity decreased significantly. At the end of the experiment the PAE concentrations were 0-2.02 mg kg(-1) in the different treatments. Soil microbial C and N, enzyme activities, AWCD value, and Shannon-Weaver and Simpson indices declined by about 28.9-76.2%, 14.9-59.0%, 4.9-22.7%, 23.0-42.0% and 1.8-18.7%, respectively. Soil microbial activity was positively correlated with soil PAE concentration, and soil PAE concentrations were impacted by plastic color and residue volume. Correlations among, and molecular mechanisms of, plastic film residues, PAE occurrence and microbial activity require further study., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Reductive soil disinfestation (RSD), namely amending organic materials and mulching or flooding to create strong reductive status, has been widely applied to improve degraded soils. However, there is little information available about sulfate (SO4(2-)) transformation and sulfur (S) gas emissions during RSD treatment to degraded vegetable soils, in which S is generally accumulated. To investigate the effects of liming on SO4(2-) transformation and S gas emissions, two SO4(2-)-accumulated vegetable soils (denoted as S1 and S2) were treated by RSD, and RSD plus lime, denoted as RSD0 and RSD1, respectively. The results showed that RSD0 treatment reduced soil SO4(2-) by 51% and 61% in S1 and S2, respectively. The disappeared SO4(2-) was mainly transformed into the undissolved form. During RSD treatment, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbonyl sulfide (COS), and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) were detected, but the total S gas emission accounted for <0.006% of total S in both soils. Compared to RSD0, lime addition stimulated the conversion of SO4(2-) into undissolved form, reduced soil SO4(2-) by 81% in S1 and 84% in S2 and reduced total S gas emissions by 32% in S1 and 57% in S2, respectively. In addition to H2S, COS and DMS, the emissions of carbon disulfide, methyl mercaptan, and dimethyl disulfide were also detected in RSD1 treatment. The results indicated that RSD was an effective method to remove SO4(2-), liming stimulates the conversion of dissolved SO4(2-) into undissolved form, probably due to the precipitation with calcium., (Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

A better understanding of nitrogen transformation in soils could reveal the capacity for biological inorganic N supply and improve the efficiency of N fertilizers. In this study, a (15)N tracing study was carried out to investigate the effects of converting woodland to orchard, and orchard age on the gross rates of N transformation occurring simultaneously in subtropical soils in Eastern China. The results showed that inorganic N supply rate was remained constant with soil organic C and N contents increased after converting woodland into citrus orchard and with increasing orchard age. This phenomenon was most probably due to the increase in the turnover time of recalcitrant organic-N, which increased with decreasing soil pH along with increasing orchard age significantly. The amoA gene copy numbers of both archaeal and bacterial were stimulated by orchard planting and increased with increasing orchard age. The nitrification capacity (defined as the ratio of gross rate of nitrification to total gross rate of mineralization) increased following the Michaelis-Menten equation, sharply in the first 10 years after woodland conversion to orchard, and increased continuously but much more slowly till 30 years. Due to the increase in nitrification capacity and unchanged NO3(-) consumption, the dominance of ammonium in inorganic N in woodland soil was shifted to nitrate dominance in orchard soils. These results indicated that the risk of NO3(-) loss was expected to increase and the amount of N needed from fertilizers for fruit growth did not change although soil organic N accumulated with orchard age., (Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Biological soil disinfestation is an effective method to control soil-borne disease by flooding and incorporating with organic amendments, but field conditions and resources sometimes limited its practical application. A laboratory experiment was conducted to develop practice guidelines on controlling Fusarium wilt, a widespread banana disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (FOC). FOC infested soil incorporated with rice or maize straw at rates of 1.5 tons/ha and 3.0 tons/ha was incubated under flooded or water-saturated (100% water holding capacity) conditions at 30°C for 30 days. Results showed that FOC populations in the soils incorporated with either rice or maize straw rapidly reduced more than 90% in the first 15 days and then fluctuated till the end of incubation, while flooding alone without organic amendment reduced FOC populations slightly. The rapid and dramatic decrease of redox potential (down to -350 mV) in straw-amended treatments implied that both anaerobic condition and strongly reductive soil condition would contribute to pathogen inactivation. Water-saturation combined with straw amendments had the comparable effects on reduction of FOC, indicating that flooding was not indispensable for inactivating FOC. There was no significant difference in the reduction of FOC observed in the straw amendments at between 1.5 and 3 tons/ha. Therefore, incorporating soil with straw (rice or maize straw) at a rate of 3.0 tons/ha under 100% water holding capacity or 1.5 tons/ha under flooding, would effectively alleviate banana Fusarium wilt caused by FOC after 15-day treating under 30°C., (Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Subtropical ecosystems are often characterized by high N cycling rates, but net nitrification rates are often low in subtropical acid soils. NO3(-)-N immobilization into organic N may be a contributing factor to understand the observed low net nitrification rates in these acid soils. The effects of Fe oxide and organic matter on soil N transformations were evaluated using a (15)N tracing study. Soil net nitrification was low for highly acidic yellow soil (Ferralsols), but gross ammonia oxidation was 7 times higher than net nitrification. In weakly acidic purple soil (Cambisols), net nitrification was 8 times higher than in Ferralsols. The addition of 5% Fe oxide to Cambisols, reduced the net nitrification rate to a negative rate, while NO3(-)-N immobilization rate increased 8 fold. NO3(-)-N immobilization was also observed in Ferralsols which contained high Fe oxides levels. A possible mechanism for these reactions could be stimulation of NO3(-)-N immobilization by Fe oxide which promoted the abiotic formation of nitrogenous polymers, suggesting that the absence of net nitrification in some highly acid soils may be due to high rates of NO3(-)-N immobilization caused by high Fe oxide content rather than a low pH.

To date, N(2)O production pathways are poorly understood in the humid subtropical and tropical forest soils. A (15)N-tracing experiment was carried out under controlled laboratory conditions to investigate the processes responsible for N(2)O production in four subtropical acid forest soils (pH<4.5) in China. The results showed that denitrification was the main source of N(2)O emission in the subtropical acid forest soils, being responsible for 56.1%, 53.5%, 54.4%, and 55.2% of N(2)O production, in the GC, GS, GB, and TC soils, respectively, under aerobic conditions (40%-52%WFPS). The heterotrophic nitrification (recalcitrant organic N oxidation) accounted for 27.3%-41.8% of N(2)O production, while the contribution of autotrophic nitrification was little in the studied subtropical acid forest soils. The ratios of N(2)O-N emission from total nitrification (heterotrophic+autotrophic nitrification) were higher than those in most previous references. The soil with the lowest pH and highest organic-C content (GB) had the highest ratio (1.63%), suggesting that soil pH-organic matter interactions may exist and affect N(2)O product ratios from nitrification. The ratio of N(2)O-N emission from heterotrophic nitrification varied from 0.02% to 25.4% due to soil pH and organic matter. Results are valuable in the accurate modeling of N2O production in the subtropical acid forest soils and global budget., (Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)