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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Single-throughput Complementary High-resolution Analytical Techniques for Characterizing Complex Natural Organic Matter Mixtures
Published on: January 7, 2019
Dissolved Organic Matter Composition and Microbial Functional Traits Regulate Carbon Mineralization Efficiency in
Yixinfei Lin1, Hongfeng Bian1, Yanan Liu1
1State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China.
None:
Microbial functional traits play a central role in regulating carbon mineralization efficiency (CME) in peatlands, yet how they respond to concurrent warming and atmospheric nitrogen deposition remains unclear. In this study, peat soils from three vegetation types (sedge, reed, and shrub) were subjected to controlled microcosm incubations simulating warming and nitrogen addition gradients. Microbial community composition and functional profiles were characterized using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and Functional Annotation of Prokaryotic Taxa (FAPROTAX) functional prediction, while dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition was analyzed via excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC) and fluorescence indices. Integrating correlation analysis, Random Forest, and partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) modeling, we identified microbial functional traits as key factors linking environmental changes to soil CME, with DOM serving as a substrate-mediated pathway. External nitrogen input primarily drove shifts in microbial functional composition, whereas warming modulated substrate utilization preferences and DOM turnover. The interaction between warming and nitrogen selectively reshaped microbial functional profiles, thereby jointly determining CME. Functional traits explained more variation in CME than taxonomic composition, indicating a "structure-function decoupling" under environmental change. These findings highlight the central role of microbial functional traits in peatland carbon transformation and suggest that the net response of peatland carbon emissions to future environmental change will depend critically on the balance between warming magnitude and nitrogen deposition levels.
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