Seasonal variations affect the ecosystem functioning and microbial assembly processes in plantation forest soils

Area of Science:

• Soil ecology
• Microbial ecology
• Environmental science

Background:

• Afforestation is crucial for climate change mitigation.
• However, its effects on soil ecological assembly and multifunctionality are not well understood.
• Understanding these impacts is vital for sustainable land management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the seasonal effects of plantation types (Pinus and Sophora) on soil microbiomes and multifunctionality in Xiong'an New Area.
• To analyze the assembly processes of bacterial, fungal, and protist communities.
• To assess the relationship between microbial community structure and soil functions.

Main Methods:

• Quantified soil multifunctionality across nutrient stocks, organic matter decomposition, and microbial functional genes.
• Analyzed bacterial, fungal, and protist community assembly using deterministic and stochastic processes.
• Examined seasonal variations in microbial diversity and co-occurrence networks.

Main Results:

• Net soil multifunctionality remained stable seasonally, unlike specific functional categories.
• Bacterial communities were primarily structured by deterministic processes, while fungi and protists were influenced by dispersal limitation.
• Protist community composition and C-related activities showed unique seasonal structuring, impacting microbial interactions.

Conclusions:

• Seasonal fluctuations can shift bacterial assembly from deterministic to stochastic processes, especially in nutrient-rich environments.
• Protist communities play a key role in soil microbial interactions and ecosystem functioning.
• Findings inform sustainable afforestation strategies by modeling soil biota behavior and its effects on soil functions.