Increasing abundance of soil fungi is a driver for 15N enrichment in soil profiles along a chronosequence undergoing isostatic rebound in northern Sweden

Stable isotopes (δ13C, δ15N) and biomarkers as indicators of the hydrological regime of fens in a European east-west transect

Peatland degradation is tightly connected to hydrological changes and microbial metabolism. To better understand these metabolism processes, more information is needed on how microbial communities and substrate cycling are affected by changing hydrological regimes. These activities should be imprinted in stable isotope bulk values (δ ¹⁵N, δ ¹³C) due to specific isotopic fractionation by different microbial communities, their metabolic pathways and nutrient sources. We hypothesize that stable isotope values and microbial abundance are correlated and act as indicators of different hydrological regimes. We sampled an East-West transect across European fens in 14 areas and conducted a stable isotope (δ ¹³C, δ ¹⁵N) and membrane fatty acid (mFA) analysis. Within each area an undrained, drained and rewetted site was selected. Rewetted sites were separated based on when rewetting occurred. We found differences in the upper layers of all sites in microbial-derived mFAs and stable isotope values corresponding to hydrological regimes. The highest and lowest quantities of microbial-derived mFAs were measured in undrained and drained sites, respectively. Fungal-derived mFAs were especially lower in drained sites. Simultaneously, δ¹⁵N stable isotope values were highest in drained sites. In addition, stable isotope values and microbial-derived mFAs showed distinct depth trends. In undrained sites stable isotopes values slightly increased with depth. In drained sites, δ¹⁵N values decreased downwards, whereas δ¹³C values increased. Overall microbial-derived mFAs decreased with depth. These patterns presumably result from anoxic conditions and high peat recalcitrance in the deeper layers. In sites with short time of rewetting, the microbial-derived mFAs and stable isotope values were similar to values of drained sites, while with increasing rewetting time values shifted to those of undrained sites. We conclude that biomarkers indicate that stable isotope values reflect specific microbial metabolic processes, which differ with hydrological regimes, and thus could indicate both drainage and rewetting in fens.

Distribution, sources, and decomposition of soil organic matter along a salinity gradient in estuarine wetlands characterized by C:N ratio, δ13 C-δ15 N, and lignin biomarker

Despite increasing recognition of the critical role of coastal wetlands in mitigating climate change, sea-level rise, and salinity increase, soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration mechanisms in estuarine wetlands remain poorly understood. Here, we present new results on the source, decomposition, and storage of SOC in estuarine wetlands with four vegetation types, including single Phragmites australis (P, habitat I), a mixture of P. australis and Suaeda salsa (P + S, habitat II), single S. salsa (S, habitat III), and tidal flat (TF, habitat IV) across a salinity gradient. Values of δ¹³ C increased with depth in aerobic soil layers (0-40 cm) but slightly decreased in anaerobic soil layers (40-100 cm). The δ¹⁵ N was significantly enriched in soil organic matter at all depths than in the living plant tissues, indicating a preferential decomposition of ¹⁴ N-enriched organic components. Thus, the kinetic isotope fractionation during microbial degradation and the preferential substrate utilization are the dominant mechanisms in regulating isotopic compositions in aerobic and anaerobic conditions, respectively. Stable isotopic (δ¹³ C and δ¹⁵ N), elemental (C and N), and lignin composition (inherited (Ad/Al)s and C/V) were not completely consistent in reflecting the differences in SOC decomposition or accumulation among four vegetation types, possibly due to differences in litter inputs, root distributions, substrate quality, water-table level, salinity, and microbial community composition/activity. Organic C contents and storage decreased from upstream to downstream, likely due to primarily changes in autochthonous sources (e.g., decreased onsite plant biomass input) and allochthonous materials (e.g., decreased fluvially transported upland river inputs, and increased tidally induced marine algae and phytoplankton). Our results revealed that multiple indicators are essential to unravel the degree of SOC decomposition and accumulation, and a combination of C:N ratios, δ¹³ C, δ¹⁵ N, and lignin biomarker provides a robust approach to decipher the decomposition and source of sedimentary organic matter along the river-estuary-ocean continuum.

Soil organic carbon stability in forests: Distinct effects of tree species identity and traits

Rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations have increased interest in the potential for forest ecosystems and soils to act as carbon (C) sinks. While soil organic C contents often vary with tree species identity, little is known about if, and how, tree species influence the stability of C in soil. Using a 40 year old common garden experiment with replicated plots of eleven temperate tree species, we investigated relationships between soil organic matter (SOM) stability in mineral soils and 17 ecological factors (including tree tissue chemistry, magnitude of organic matter inputs to the soil and their turnover, microbial community descriptors, and soil physicochemical properties). We measured five SOM stability indices, including heterotrophic respiration, C in aggregate occluded particulate organic matter (POM) and mineral associated SOM, and bulk SOM δ¹⁵ N and ∆¹⁴ C. The stability of SOM varied substantially among tree species, and this variability was independent of the amount of organic C in soils. Thus, when considering forest soils as C sinks, the stability of C stocks must be considered in addition to their size. Further, our results suggest tree species regulate soil C stability via the composition of their tissues, especially roots. Stability of SOM appeared to be greater (as indicated by higher δ¹⁵ N and reduced respiration) beneath species with higher concentrations of nitrogen and lower amounts of acid insoluble compounds in their roots, while SOM stability appeared to be lower (as indicated by higher respiration and lower proportions of C in aggregate occluded POM) beneath species with higher tissue calcium contents. The proportion of C in mineral associated SOM and bulk soil ∆¹⁴ C, though, were negligibly dependent on tree species traits, likely reflecting an insensitivity of some SOM pools to decadal scale shifts in ecological factors. Strategies aiming to increase soil C stocks may thus focus on particulate C pools, which can more easily be manipulated and are most sensitive to climate change.

Fast accrual of C and N in soil organic matter fractions following post-mining reclamation across the USA

Reclamation of post-mining sites commonly results in rapid accrual of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents due to increasing plant inputs over time. However, little information is available on the distribution of C and N contents with respect to differently stabilized soil organic matter (SOM) fractions during succession or as a result of different reclamation practice. Hence, it remains widely unknown how stable or labile these newly formed C and N pools are. Gaining a deeper understanding of the state of these pools may provide important implications for reclamation practices with respect to C sequestration. We thus investigated C, N, and plant-derived compounds in bulk soil and SOM fractions during succession in post-mining chronosequences (reclaimed with overburden or salvaged topsoil) located along a northwest to southeast transect across the USA. Our results indicate that current reclamation practices perform well with respect to rapid recovery of soil aggregates and the partitioning of C and N to different SOM fractions, these measures being similar to those of natural climax vegetation sites already 2-5 years after reclamation. A general applicability of our results to other post-mining sites with similar reclamation practices may be inferred from the fact that the observed patterns were consistent along the investigated transect, covering different climates and vegetation across the USA. However, regarding SOM stability, the use of salvaged topsoil may be beneficial as compared to that of overburden material because C and N in the fraction regarded as most stable was by 26 and 35% lower at sites restored with overburden as compared to those restored with salvaged topsoil. Plant-derived compounds appeared to be mainly related to bio-available particulate organic matter and particulate organic matter partly stabilized within aggregates, challenging the long-term persistence of plant input C in post-mining soils.

Convergence of soil nitrogen isotopes across global climate gradients

Quantifying global patterns of terrestrial nitrogen (N) cycling is central to predicting future patterns of primary productivity, carbon sequestration, nutrient fluxes to aquatic systems, and climate forcing. With limited direct measures of soil N cycling at the global scale, syntheses of the ¹⁵N:¹⁴N ratio of soil organic matter across climate gradients provide key insights into understanding global patterns of N cycling. In synthesizing data from over 6000 soil samples, we show strong global relationships among soil N isotopes, mean annual temperature (MAT), mean annual precipitation (MAP), and the concentrations of organic carbon and clay in soil. In both hot ecosystems and dry ecosystems, soil organic matter was more enriched in ¹⁵N than in corresponding cold ecosystems or wet ecosystems. Below a MAT of 9.8°C, soil δ¹⁵N was invariant with MAT. At the global scale, soil organic C concentrations also declined with increasing MAT and decreasing MAP. After standardizing for variation among mineral soils in soil C and clay concentrations, soil δ¹⁵N showed no consistent trends across global climate and latitudinal gradients. Our analyses could place new constraints on interpretations of patterns of ecosystem N cycling and global budgets of gaseous N loss.

Integrating stand and soil properties to understand foliar nutrient dynamics during forest succession following slash-and-burn agriculture in the Bolivian Amazon

Secondary forests cover large areas of the tropics and play an important role in the global carbon cycle. During secondary forest succession, simultaneous changes occur among stand structural attributes, soil properties, and species composition. Most studies classify tree species into categories based on their regeneration requirements. We use a high-resolution secondary forest chronosequence to assign trees to a continuous gradient in species successional status assigned according to their distribution across the chronosequence. Species successional status, not stand age or differences in stand structure or soil properties, was found to be the best predictor of leaf trait variation. Foliar δ(13)C had a significant positive relationship with species successional status, indicating changes in foliar physiology related to growth and competitive strategy, but was not correlated with stand age, whereas soil δ(13)C dynamics were largely constrained by plant species composition. Foliar δ(15)N had a significant negative correlation with both stand age and species successional status, - most likely resulting from a large initial biomass-burning enrichment in soil (15)N and (13)C and not closure of the nitrogen cycle. Foliar %C was neither correlated with stand age nor species successional status but was found to display significant phylogenetic signal. Results from this study are relevant to understanding the dynamics of tree species growth and competition during forest succession and highlight possibilities of, and potentially confounding signals affecting, the utility of leaf traits to understand community and species dynamics during secondary forest succession.

High-resolution characterization of organic phosphorus in soil extracts using 2D 1H-31P NMR correlation spectroscopy

Organic phosphorus (P) compounds represent a major component of soil P in many soils and are key sources of P for microbes and plants. Solution NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy) is a powerful technique for characterizing organic P species. However, (31)P NMR spectra are often complicated by overlapping peaks, which hampers identification and quantification of the numerous P species present in soils. Overlap is often exacerbated by the presence of paramagnetic metal ions, even if they are in complexes with EDTA following NaOH/EDTA extraction. By removing paramagnetic impurities using a new precipitation protocol, we achieved a dramatic improvement in spectral resolution. Furthermore, the obtained reduction in line widths enabled the use of multidimensional NMR methods to resolve overlapping (31)P signals. Using the new protocol on samples from two boreal humus soils with different Fe contents, 2D (1)H-(31)P correlation spectra allowed unambiguous identification of a large number of P species based on their (31)P and (1)H chemical shifts and their characteristic coupling patterns, which would not have been possible using previous protocols. This approach can be used to identify organic P species in samples from both terrestrial and aquatic environments increasing our understanding of organic P biogeochemistry.

δ15N natural abundance in permafrost soil indicates impact of fire on nitrogen cycle

The impact of fire on the nitrogen (N) cycle of natural ecosystems is arguable. Here we report and interpret an observation from boreal ecosystems in the Lena River basin, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russian Federation. Different types of permafrost soil (0-30 cm depth) were sampled along transects (60-150 m length) from the forest edge towards the centre of four separate thermokarst depressions under grassland. The average values of δ(15)N were remarkably similar within three transects, but differed systematically between them. Three findings point towards fire being the cause of the observed pattern. First, the spatial extent of systematic differences in soil δ(15)N coincides with the extent of typical fire scars in the region. Second, soil enrichment in (15)N is larger in the proximity of settlements, where fire is generally more frequent than in more remote places. Third, there is a significant positive correlation between δ(15)N values and the ratio of black C to total N. These findings point towards fire having a marked impact on soil δ(15)N and, accordingly, on the N cycle of this cold and dry ecosystem.

Production of ectomycorrhizal mycelium peaks during canopy closure in Norway spruce forests

*Here, species composition and biomass production of actively growing ectomycorrhizal (EM) mycelia were studied over the rotation period of managed Norway spruce (Picea abies) stands in south-western Sweden. *The EM mycelia were collected using ingrowth mesh bags incubated in the forest soil during one growing season. Fungal biomass was estimated by ergosterol analysis and the EM species were identified by 454 sequencing of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) amplicons. Nutrient availability and the fungal biomass in soil samples were also estimated. *Biomass production peaked in young stands (10-30 yr old) before the first thinning phase. Tylospora fibrillosa dominated the EM community, especially in these young stands, where it constituted 80% of the EM amplicons derived from the mesh bags. Species richness increased in older stands. *The establishment of EM mycelial networks in young Norway spruce stands requires large amounts of carbon, while much less is needed to sustain the EM community in older stands. The variation in EM biomass production over the rotation period has implications for carbon sequestration rates in forest soils.