Aug 2026· Ecosphere· Vol 17· 0 citations· 60 references
Abstract
Climate change strongly impacts forest ecosystems, exacerbating drought stress, tree mortality, and shifts in species composition. While aboveground changes are well documented, belowground biodiversity and its response to climate‐driven alterations remain less studied. Soil‐dwelling decomposer organisms such as oribatid mites (Oribatida), earthworms (Lumbricidae), and terrestrial isopods (Oniscidae) play a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem functions through the decomposition of organic matter and nutrient cycling. Abiotic soil conditions drive soil animal communities and the effect of climate change on a forest also depends on soil properties such as water‐holding capacity. This study examines the relationship between environmental conditions and decomposer communities in the municipal forest of Darmstadt, Germany, characterized by distinct edaphic and climatic gradients (dry in the West and moist in the East). In the study region, climate change strongly increased tree mortality albeit with high variation across sites. Oribatid mites and earthworms were significantly more abundant in the moister eastern region, while isopods showed no clear abundance differences but higher diversity in the drier west. Decomposer communities were primarily related to soil moisture and tree community composition, with canopy openness playing a crucial role in microclimatic variation. Microclimatic changes in response to tree damage and altered species composition significantly influenced decomposer communities. Drought‐prone sites were favored by drought‐tolerant taxa, suggesting ongoing shifts in belowground biodiversity. The study underscores the importance of integrating belowground organisms and processes in climate impact assessments in forests to better understand ecosystem resilience and functionality in changing forest environments.
BACKGROUND
The functional responses of soil microbiomes to concurrent warming and altered precipitation in alpine deserts remain poorly understood, hindering predictions of these fragile ecosystem to climate change. Specifically, the mechanisms by which microbial communities maintain ecosystem function potential despite climate-induced biodiversity changes are unclear.
RESULTS
A three-year field manipulation experiment in an alpine desert grassland on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau showed that warming and watering acted as distinct ecological drivers. Warming restructured prokaryotic and fungal communities, favored stress-associated taxa, and increasing interkingdom network complexity, indicating tighter microbial associations under climate stress. Although warming reduced microbial richness and diversity, it did not diminish the overall potential for soil nutrient cycling. Instead, functional stability was associated with sustained microbial abundance, network reorganization, and selective changes in nutrient-cycling genes, particularly those involved in nitrogen and phosphorus transformation hosted by specific bacterial phyla. In contrast, watering did not significantly increase mean soil moisture, but altered soil nutrient availability, affecting key microbial groups and their functions, showing an indirect regulation pathway.
CONCLUSIONS
Functional stability in alpine deserts under climate change was maintained not by taxonomic diversity alone, but through abundance-based compensation, community reorganization, and pathway-specific functional shifts. This study provides a mechanistic framework linking climate drivers to microbial community structure and nutrient-cycling potential, offering predictive insights into the responses of cold-arid ecosystems to future climate change.
Lu Gan, Zhiyong Yang, Yuan Zhang et al.· Environmental Microbiome· 0 citations
The forest floor (FF) plays a key role in carbon, nutrient, and water cycling. It is the biologically most active compartment of forest soils, highly responsive to environmental conditions. Yet, its response to current changes in environmental conditions and forest management is understudied. Temperate forests are among the best studied ecosystems globally, providing the necessary ecological and biogeochemical background information to assess FF changes. Here, we focus on identifying existing knowledge and gaps in our understanding of the functioning of the FF. Interactions between FF biota and abiotic FF components show multifactorial dependencies with environmental conditions and drive FF turnover. Vice versa, the turnover of FF regulates carbon, nutrient, and water cycling. With slow litter decomposition and limited bioturbation, organic matter accumulates, nutrients cycle tightly within the FF, and water passes through this layer partly along preferential pathways. With rapid litter decomposition and intense bioturbation, FF accumulation is little, the mineral soil is the main nexus for plant nutrient uptake and organic matter transformation, and water infiltrates the mineral soil more homogeneously. The interconnectedness with the adjacent ecosystem compartments is a crucial feature of the FF, feeding back to its functioning and making it a central hub of forest processes. The FF morphology reflects these processes and therefore has untapped potential as an indicator of soil and ecosystem health. Under forest change, the FF might lose its functionality, with negative impacts on nutrient provision, water storage, and carbon sequestration. Consequences for forest growth could be strong and even detrimental. Hence, improved knowledge of FF characteristics and their linkages to mineral soils and aboveground ecosystem compartments is crucial for assessing forest resilience to progressing environmental changes.
Friederike Lang, J. Prietzel, Frank Hagedorn et al.· Global Change Biology· 0 citations
Tropical dry forests play a crucial role in climate change mitigation by sequestering atmospheric carbon, yet the balance between soil carbon storage and soil CO
2
emissions remains poorly understood across contrasting forest subtypes. This study evaluated the seasonal carbon sink–source dynamics of three representative Ecuadorian coastal tropical dry forests by quantifying soil organic carbon (SOC), soil CO
2
efflux, and net carbon sink capacity (NCSC), while identifying the main edaphic drivers regulating these processes. Field measurements were conducted during the rainy and dry seasons in 12 permanent plots distributed across a Lowland Semideciduous Forest (LSF), a Deciduous Pacific Forest (DPF), and a Lowland Deciduous Forest and Shrubland (LDF). Soil organic carbon stocks, soil CO
2
efflux, soil physical and chemical properties, and vegetation diversity were quantified using standardized laboratory and field protocols. Annual SOC storage reached 11,439.96 Mg C yr
−¹
in LSF, 327,111.22 Mg C yr
−¹
in DPF, and 281,744.18 Mg C yr
−¹
in LDF, whereas annual soil CO
2
emissions were substantially lower, totaling 1,876.46 Mg C yr⁻¹ in LSF, 80,353.00 Mg C yr
−¹
in DPF, and 43,526.52 Mg C yr
−¹
in LDF. Consequently, all three forest subtypes exhibited a positive Net Carbon Sink Capacity, confirming their role as net carbon sinks despite marked seasonal variability. Mean NCSC across the rainy and dry seasons was highest in LSF (56.6 Mg C ha
−¹
), followed by LDF (49.4 Mg C ha
−¹
) and DPF (47.0 Mg C ha
−¹
).These findings provide new evidence that Ecuadorian tropical dry forests maintain a positive carbon balance across contrasting climatic conditions and emphasize the importance of subtype-specific conservation and restoration strategies to maximize long-term carbon sequestration under climate change.
Emilio Jarre-Castro, Michael Macías-Pro, Roque Loor Dueñas et al.· Frontiers in Ecology and Evo...· 0 citations
Soil denitrification is strongly linked to soil nitrogen availability and influences nitrate leaching and greenhouse gas emissions. In turn, it can be regulated by ecosystem productivity through plant nitrogen uptake and organic matter inputs. However, the specific effects of tree diversity on soil denitrification and the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood in forest ecosystems.
Here, we investigated the effects of tree species richness (across five levels: 1, 4, 8, 16 and 32 species) and the corresponding functional structure on soil denitrification through a large biodiversity experiment in young subtropical forests (3‐year‐old).
Our results revealed a unimodal relationship between tree species richness and denitrification potential, with the peak at four species. The structural equation model indicated that tree species richness was positively associated with the functional dispersion of leaf dry matter content, which in turn increased ground basal area, thereby promoting denitrification potential by enhancing soil water‐filled pore space, elevating the abundance of the
nirK
gene and reducing the soil C:N ratio. Additionally, the community‐weighted means of root tissue density and specific leaf area positively and negatively influenced soil denitrification potential, respectively.
Synthesis and applications
. Our results suggest that soil denitrification is more pronounced in young forest communities characterized by high productivity and dominated by resource‐conservative species with high root tissue density and low specific leaf area. We recommend that forest managers prioritize high functional trait diversity rather than tree species richness to maximize niche complementarity in planted forests, an approach that would improve both economic and ecological benefits. These findings provide a foundation grounded in evidence for integrating biodiversity, nutrient cycling and selection principles based on traits into afforestation and stand transformation.
Lulu He, Haoyan Xiao, Yongfeng Jia et al.· Journal of Applied Ecology· 0 citations
Despite the importance of soil for the distribution of forest organisms, the influence of edaphic properties on species range shifts under climate change remains poorly understood at the regional level. Current biodiversity forecasts frequently rely on climate‐only models, potentially overlooking the edaphic dimension of species niches and overestimating migration potential. Climate‐driven species shifts along elevational and latitudinal gradients may be enhanced or hindered by edaphic properties. Here, we focused on predicting the potential range shifts of 2403 temperate forest species across multiple kingdoms and phyla (grouped as Tracheophytes, Bryophytes, Fungi and Lichens) under rcp 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios, integrating high‐resolution digital soil maps. We employed a hierarchical modelling approach, coupling continental‐scale climate models across Europe with high‐resolution regional models in Switzerland to account for the full climate niche of the species using Nested Species Distribution Models (N‐SDM). Our results demonstrate that edaphic properties are among the most important predictors for regional forest species distributions. The inclusion of soil variables consistently reduced suitable habitat across all taxa. This suggests that soil heterogeneity governs species distributions and range shifts across taxonomic and functional groups in line with their edaphic preferences. These differences may, in turn, lead to divergent migration trajectories. Incorporating soil predictors constrained upslope shifts in tracheophytes and fungi, thereby delaying their migration, while facilitating climate tracking in bryophytes and lichens. Despite divergent migration patterns projected under climate warming, incorporating soil predictors consistently resulted in higher predicted habitat loss, except for tracheophytes under rcp8.5, which showed broadly wide responses. In conclusion, omitting high‐quality soil data from biodiversity forecasts leads to overly optimistic range shift predictions. Integrating soil variables is therefore essential for accurate ecological modelling and for prioritising conservation in areas where soil conditions may hinder climate tracking.
Francesco Rota, A. Baltensweiler, Ariel Bergamini et al.· Global Change Biology Commun...· 0 citations
Terrestrial soil sequesters a significant amount of carbon (C), and changes to this pool can impact atmospheric CO2 concentrations and climate change. Thus, it is crucial to understand the drivers of the size of this pool. Changes in plant community composition in semi-arid ecosystems can impact soil C storage. However, little is known about the impact of plant functional type on the quantity and distribution of soil C on a landscape scale relevant to ecosystem management. I conducted a study in the City of Boise’s Open Space Reserves located north of Boise, Idaho to evaluate how plant functional type affects soil C across soil types, aspects, and elevations. I collected soil samples (0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, and 20-30 cm depth) from four of the most common vegetation types (annual short grassland, annual tall grassland, perennial grassland, and upland shrub) in this landscape. To account for spatial abiotic heterogeneity, I stratified by three soil types (Haploxerolls, Argixerolls, and a combination of Haploxerolls and Argixerolls), two aspects (north-northeast, south-southwest), and two elevation categories (three high elevation reserves and four low elevation reserves). At each sample location, a 10 x10m plot was created from which three soil cores were collected and subsequently composited, although the different depth increments were kept separate. Soils were dried, sieved (2mm), and roots (>2mm in length) and rocks were removed. I quantified bulk density, analyzed samples for organic soil C concentration (mg C/g soil), and calculated soil C stocks (t/ha). Generalized linear mixed models were used to evaluate the impact of vegetation, aspect, and reserve on soil bulk density and response variables. Soil type did not impact soil C. Averaged across all reserves, upland shrub vegetation coincided with significantly higher soil C concentration and greater C stocks than the other vegetation types, however these patterns differed between high and low elevation reserves. At low elevation reserves, upland shrub-dominated soil had a significantly higher concentration of soil C at all three soil depths, but at high elevation, the concentration of soil C was higher for upland shrubs only in the 0-10 soil depth increment. In contrast to C concentrations, C stocks at low elevation reserves were higher for upland shrub-dominated soil only in the top 10 cm of soil. There were no differences in soil C stocks among plant types at high elevation. Hawkins Range Reserve stored more soil C than any other reserve across all soil depths, potentially due to less anthropogenic disturbance. The trends identified in the distribution of soil C by vegetation type and elevation will inform the City of Boise’s critical land management decisions. Investing resources into shrub restoration and conservation will have a multitude of benefits for soil function, with potential feedbacks to atmospheric CO2 concentrations.
