Carbon and nitrogen cycling on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Heavy metals pose significant threats to soil biota, ultimately disrupting soil micro-food web. However, no studies have yet elucidated the impact of heavy metals on soil micro-food web. In this study, we explored the response of bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and soil micro-food web along a gradient of heavy metals in an abandoned smelting-mining area. We found that bacteria responded strongly to heavy metals, whereas fungi showed greater resistance and tolerance. Nematodes responses were less apparent. With the increasing levels of heavy metal pollution, the importance of heavy metal-tolerant organisms in micro-food webs increased significantly. For instance, the keystone bacteria in soil micro-food web shifted from copiotrophic to oligotrophic types, while the keystone nematodes shifted from to bacterial-feeding (e.g., Eucephalobus) to fungal-feeding species (e.g., Ditylenchus). Additionally, elevated heavy metal concentrations increased the proportion of fungi (e.g., Mortierellomycota), intensifying their interactions with bacteria and nematodes and causing a shift from bacteria-based to fungi-based soil micro-food web. Furthermore, heavy metal contamination induced a more complex and stable soil micro-food web. Overall, we highlight the changes in soil micro-food web as a mechanism for coping with heavy metal stress. Our study provides valuable insights into how heavy metal pollution can cause shifts in soil micro-food webs and has critical implications for enhancing our understanding of the ecological consequences of environmental pollution at the ecosystem level. 

Heavy metal pollution triggers a shift from bacteria-based to fungi-based soil micro-food web: Evidence from an abandoned mining-smelting area.

Agricultural land soils have become a source and sink for microplastics. Due to the low recycling rate, long durability, and small size, microplastics pose a potential risk to soil fauna, which are critical for maintaining healthy soil. However, whether and how would microplastics affect soil biodiversity and ecological functioning is not well-understood. Soil nematodes are valuable indicators of the soil food web. In the present study, the abundance, diversity, community composition, maturity indices, soil food web indices, and metabolic footprints of soil nematodes in bulk soils of maize were utilized to indicate the potential impacts of polypropylene (PP) microplastic pollution on soil fauna using a soil-incubation experiment in a climate-controlled chamber with four concentration levels of microplastic pellets (0%, 0.5%, 1%, and 2%, w/w) added to loess soil collected from the Loess Plateau in China. Soil sampling was conducted at the fully ripe stage of maize. Twenty-nine genera of nematodes, including thirteen genera of plant-feeding nematodes, seven genera of bacterial-feeding nematodes, five genera of fungal-feeding nematodes, and four genera of omnivorous nematodes were recovered from soil samples. Microplastic concentration negatively affected the abundance, diversity (including genus richness, Margalef’s richness, Shannon–Wiener index, and Simpson’s dominance index), sigma maturity index (∑MI), structural index, and metabolic footprints. The abundances of plant parasites, bacterivores, fungivores, and omnivores in 2% soils were reduced by 90.16%, 76.06%, 82.35%, and 100%, respectively, in comparison with those of control. The major drivers of soil nematode communities in bulk soils of maize at a depth range of 0–20 cm were the soil pH, soil organic carbon content, C/N, and TP content. In conclusion, the addition of 200 μm-sized PP microplastic pellets negatively affected the soil nematode community and associated ecological functioning under greenhouse conditions.

Concentration-Dependent Impacts of Microplastics on Soil Nematode Community in Bulk Soils of Maize: Evidence From a Pot Experiment

Plant diversity and soil microbial diversity are closely related, and they maintain the health and stability of terrestrial ecosystems. As a hotspot region of global biodiversity research, both air temperature and precipitation of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau tend to increase in future. Based on an overview of the responses of grassland/alpine ecosystems to seasonal asymmetric warming and increased precipitation worldwide, we elaborated the advancements and uncertainties on the responses of plant diversity and soil microbial diversity to warming and increased precipitation in alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. The future research focus of plant diversity and soil microbial diversity in the alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau under climate warming and increased precipitation was proposed. Generally, previous studies found that the responses of plant species diversity and soil microbial species diversity to warming and increased precipitation differed between alpine meadows and alpine steppes, but few studies focused on their responses to warming and increased precipitation in alpine desert steppes. Previous studies mainly focused on species diversity, although phylogenetic and functional diversities are also important aspects of biodiversity. Previous studies mainly explained responses of plant diversity and soil microbial diversity to warming and increased precipitation based on niche theory, although neutral theory is also the other important mechanism in regulating biodiversity. Moreover, previous studies almost ignored the coupling relationship between plant diversity and soil microbial diversity. Therefore, the following four aspects need to be strengthened, including the responses of plant diversity and soil microbial diversity to warming and increased precipitation in alpine desert steppes, the responses of plant and soil microbial phylogenetic diversity and functional diversity to warming and increased precipitation, combining the niche theory and neutral theory to examining the mechanism of biodiversity, and the coupling relationships between plant diversity and soil microbial diversity under warming and increased precipitation. 

Response of plant diversity and soil microbial diversity to warming and increased precipitation in alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau - A review.

Abstract Soil is essential for the sustenance of life. Diverse soil organisms support several biological processes such as organic matter decomposition, mineralization, nutrient cycling, and controlling pests and diseases. Among multicellular soil organisms, nematodes are ubiquitous, functionally diverse, and abundant. Notably, agricultural practices have diverse impacts on plants, soils, and soil organisms. Tillage affects nematodes directly by altering pore size and disrupting the continuity of water films and indirectly by affecting the lower trophic groups such as bacteria and fungi. The primary goal of this study was to examine the effect of increasing levels of physical disturbance on nematode communities in an undisturbed forest ecosystem. The experiment included four treatments: control with no disturbance, surface litter removed with no litter and no vegetation, tilling the soil with a rototiller every 2 mon, and every 2 wk. Tillage significantly reduced the overall abundance and overall richness of nematode communities over time. Among nematode trophic groups, tillage significantly reduced the abundance and richness of bacterial feeders, predators, and omnivores over time. The abundance and richness of c-p 2, c-p 4, and c-p 5 class nematodes were significantly decreased by tillage. Unlike tillage, minimal disturbance such as removal of surface litter resulted in a significant decrease in the abundance of only three genera: Acrobeles, Aporcelaimellus, and Boleodorus. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed that nematodes of higher c-p classes such as Dorylaimida, Aporcelaimellus, Alaimus, Clarkus, and Tripyla were sensitive to physical disturbances. Bacterial feeders belonging to the c-p 2 class such as Tylocephalus, Acrobeles, Ceratoplectus, Plectus, and Pseudacrobeles were significantly reduced by tillage. Moreover, tillage significantly reduced the functional metabolic footprint of nematodes, which indicates decreased metabolic activity, reduced C inflow, and poorly structured soil food webs. Previous studies conducted in agricultural ecosystems determined that Clarkus, Filenchus, and Plectus were tolerant to tillage; however, they were found sensitive to tillage in our study. Overall, our study suggests that increasing levels of physical disturbance are detrimental to nematode community abundance and diversity that could affect soil ecosystem stability and sustainability.

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Increasing Levels of Physical Disturbance Affect Soil Nematode Community Composition in a Previously Undisturbed Ecosystem

Response of the soil food web to warming and litter removal in the Tibetan Plateau, China

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Response of the soil food web to warming and litter removal in the Tibetan Plateau, China