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1. Long‐term nitrogen deposition inhibits soil priming effects by enhancing phosphorus limitation in a subtropical forest

   https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16718  

   Wang, Xiaohong; Li, Shiyining; Zhu, Biao; Homyak, Peter M.; Chen, Guangshui; Yao, Xiaodong; Wu, Dongmei; Yang, Zhijie; Lyu, Maokui; Yang, Yusheng (April 2023, Global Change Biology)

   Abstract It is widely accepted that phosphorus (P) limits microbial metabolic processes and thus soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition in tropical forests. Global change factors like elevated atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition can enhance P limitation, raising concerns about the fate of SOC. However, how elevated N deposition affects the soil priming effect (PE) (i.e., fresh C inputs induced changes in SOC decomposition) in tropical forests remains unclear. We incubated soils exposed to 9 years of experimental N deposition in a subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest with two types of¹³C‐labeled substrates of contrasting bioavailability (glucose and cellulose) with and without P amendments. We found that N deposition decreased soil total P and microbial biomass P, suggesting enhanced P limitation. In P unamended soils, N deposition significantly inhibited the PE. In contrast, adding P significantly increased the PE under N deposition and by a larger extent for the PE of cellulose (PE_cellu) than the PE of glucose (PE_glu). Relative to adding glucose or cellulose solely, adding P with glucose alleviated the suppression of soil microbial biomass and C‐acquiring enzymes induced by N deposition, whereas adding P with cellulose attenuated the stimulation of acid phosphatase (AP) induced by N deposition. Across treatments, the PE_gluincreased as C‐acquiring enzyme activity increased, whereas the PE_celluincreased as AP activity decreased. This suggests that P limitation, enhanced by N deposition, inhibits the soil PE through varying mechanisms depending on substrate bioavailability; that is, P limitation regulates the PE_gluby affecting soil microbial growth and investment in C acquisition, whereas regulates the PE_celluby affecting microbial investment in P acquisition. These findings provide new insights for tropical forests impacted by N loading, suggesting that expected changes in C quality and P limitation can affect the long‐term regulation of the soil PE. 

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2. Experimental warming and drying increase older carbon contributions to soil respiration in lowland tropical forests

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51422-6  

   McFarlane, Karis J; Cusack, Daniela F; Dietterich, Lee H; Hedgpeth, Alexandra L; Finstad, Kari M; Nottingham, Andrew T (December 2024, Nature Communications)

   Abstract Tropical forests account for over 50% of the global terrestrial carbon sink, but climate change threatens to alter the carbon balance of these ecosystems. We show that warming and drying of tropical forest soils may increase soil carbon vulnerability, by increasing degradation of older carbon. In situ whole-profile heating by 4 °C and 50% throughfall exclusion each increased the average radiocarbon age of soil CO₂efflux by ~2–3 years, but the mechanisms underlying this shift differed. Warming accelerated decomposition of older carbon as increased CO₂emissions depleted newer carbon. Drying suppressed decomposition of newer carbon inputs and decreased soil CO₂emissions, thereby increasing contributions of older carbon to CO₂efflux. These findings imply that both warming and drying, by accelerating the loss of older soil carbon or reducing the incorporation of fresh carbon inputs, will exacerbate soil carbon losses and negatively impact carbon storage in tropical forests under climate change. 

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3. Closing the Winter Gap—Year‐Round Measurements of Soil CO ₂ Emission Sources in Arctic Tundra

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL097347  

   Pedron, Shawn A.; Welker, J. M.; Euskirchen, E. S.; Klein, E. S.; Walker, J. C.; Xu, X.; Czimczik, C. I. (March 2022, Geophysical Research Letters)

   Abstract Non‐growing season CO₂emissions from Arctic tundra remain a major uncertainty in forecasting climate change consequences of permafrost thaw. We present the first time series of soil and microbial CO₂emissions from a graminoid tundra based on year‐round in situ measurements of the radiocarbon content of soil CO₂(Δ¹⁴CO₂) and of bulk soil C (Δ¹⁴C), microbial activity, and temperature. Combining these data with land‐atmosphere CO₂exchange allows estimates of the proportion and mean age of microbial CO₂emissions year‐round. We observe a seasonal shift in emission sources from fresh carbon during the growing season (August Δ¹⁴CO₂ = 74 ± 4.7‰, 37% ± 3.4% microbial, mean ± se) to increasingly older soil carbon in fall and winter (March Δ¹⁴CO₂ = 22 ± 1.3‰, 47% ± 8% microbial). Thus, rising soil temperatures and emissions during fall and winter are depleting aged soil carbon pools in the active layer and thawing permafrost and further accelerating climate change. 

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4. Active virus-host interactions at sub-freezing temperatures in Arctic peat soil

   https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-021-01154-2  

   Trubl, Gareth; Kimbrel, Jeffrey A.; Liquet-Gonzalez, Jose; Nuccio, Erin E.; Weber, Peter K.; Pett-Ridge, Jennifer; Jansson, Janet K.; Waldrop, Mark P.; Blazewicz, Steven J. (October 2021, Microbiome)

   Abstract BackgroundWinter carbon loss in northern ecosystems is estimated to be greater than the average growing season carbon uptake and is primarily driven by microbial decomposers. Viruses modulate microbial carbon cycling via induced mortality and metabolic controls, but it is unknown whether viruses are active under winter conditions (anoxic and sub-freezing temperatures). ResultsWe used stable isotope probing (SIP) targeted metagenomics to reveal the genomic potential of active soil microbial populations under simulated winter conditions, with an emphasis on viruses and virus-host dynamics. Arctic peat soils from the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research site in Alaska were incubated under sub-freezing anoxic conditions with H₂¹⁸O or natural abundance water for 184 and 370 days. We sequenced 23 SIP-metagenomes and measured carbon dioxide (CO₂) efflux throughout the experiment. We identified 46 bacterial populations (spanning 9 phyla) and 243 viral populations that actively took up¹⁸O in soil and respired CO₂throughout the incubation. Active bacterial populations represented only a small portion of the detected microbial community and were capable of fermentation and organic matter degradation. In contrast, active viral populations represented a large portion of the detected viral community and one third were linked to active bacterial populations. We identified 86 auxiliary metabolic genes and other environmentally relevant genes. The majority of these genes were carried by active viral populations and had diverse functions such as carbon utilization and scavenging that could provide their host with a fitness advantage for utilizing much-needed carbon sources or acquiring essential nutrients. ConclusionsOverall, there was a stark difference in the identity and function of the active bacterial and viral community compared to the unlabeled community that would have been overlooked with a non-targeted standard metagenomic analysis. Our results illustrate that substantial active virus-host interactions occur in sub-freezing anoxic conditions and highlight viruses as a major community-structuring agent that likely modulates carbon loss in peat soils during winter, which may be pivotal for understanding the future fate of arctic soils' vast carbon stocks. 

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5. Herbivory in a low Arctic wetland alters intraspecific plant root traits with consequences for carbon and nitrogen cycling

   https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70028  

   Chavez, Emily_A; Adkins, Jaron; Waring, Bonnie_G; Beard, Karen_H; Choi, Ryan_T; Miller, Lindsay; Saunders, Taylor; Atwood, Trisha_B (March 2025, Journal of Ecology)

   Abstract High latitude wetlands are ecologically important ecosystems due to their large carbon (C) storage capacity and because they serve as breeding and nesting habitat for large populations of migratory birds. Goose herbivory in wetland meadows affects leaf chemical and morphological traits and also influences soil properties by increasing soil temperature and depositing faeces. Grazing‐induced changes to above‐ground traits and soil properties impact C cycling, but the influence of grazing on root‐mediated C and nitrogen (N) cycling has not been explored.We investigated how goose herbivory in a low‐Arctic coastal wetland in western Alaska affected root morphological, physiological and chemical traits of a dominant graminoid by assessing plant traits in ungrazed versus heavily grazed sedge meadows. We also performed a 11‐week lab‐based root incubation experiment to determine how grazing affects CO₂‐C efflux, the size and decay rate of the fast‐cycling C pool (i.e. C with a mean residence time of days to weeks, determined via CO₂‐C efflux), and patterns of N mineralization during root decomposition.Goose grazing altered root chemical traits by increasing root N by 7%, cellulose by 12%, and ash content by 17%, indicating that grazing shifted root chemical traits towards a resource‐acquisition strategy. Grazing did not alter root biomass, morphology or bulk C exudation. In our root incubation, soils that included the roots of grazed plants tended to exhibit greater CO₂‐C efflux than those containing ungrazed plant roots due to a larger fast‐cycling C pool. Additionally, grazing‐induced increases in soil temperature led to greater CO₂‐C efflux due to a faster decay rate of the fast‐cycling C pool. Finally, compared with ungrazed roots, we found that the decomposition of grazed roots resulted in more N being transferred to root necromass from the surrounding soil, suggesting that microbial communities decomposing grazed roots immobilized N.Synthesis. Overall, our results indicate that goose grazing increased C‐cycling rates by influencing soil environmental conditions and by altering the ecological strategy of grazed plants. In contrast, grazing decreased net N mineralization by promoting N immobilization. These results suggest that changing patterns and abundances of herbivores can have substantial effects on elemental cycles. 

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