Microbially‐Mediated Soil Carbon‐Nitrogen Dynamics in Response to Future Soil Moisture Change
Abstract The interactions between soil carbon and nitrogen (C‐N) processes with environmental factors, particularly soil moisture, are critical to maintaining soil ecosystem functions. However, the lagged effects of future change in soil moisture on soil C‐N dynamics remain poorly understood. Here,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Earth's Future |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EF005521 |
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| author | Wanyu Li Gangsheng Wang Zirui Mu Shanshan Qi Shuhao Zhou Daifeng Xiang |
| author_facet | Wanyu Li Gangsheng Wang Zirui Mu Shanshan Qi Shuhao Zhou Daifeng Xiang |
| author_sort | Wanyu Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The interactions between soil carbon and nitrogen (C‐N) processes with environmental factors, particularly soil moisture, are critical to maintaining soil ecosystem functions. However, the lagged effects of future change in soil moisture on soil C‐N dynamics remain poorly understood. Here, we employed the Microbial‐ENzyme Decomposition model to simulate the long‐term impacts of future soil moisture variation on soil C‐N dynamics using the standardized soil moisture index (SSI) across four Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). Our results demonstrated that soil C‐N dynamics exhibited both lagged and cumulative responses to moisture fluctuations over extended periods. Active microbes were closely associated with short‐term (3‐month) change in soil moisture, whereas soil organic C (SOC) and total N (TN) exhibited stronger correlations over extended periods (72 months). Under the SSP5‐8.5 scenario, SOC and TN decreased in wet conditions but increased during droughts, with increases of 28.9% and 13.1%, respectively, under extreme drought conditions. We found that the active microbial biomass was significantly more sensitive to soil moisture variation than total microbial biomass, especially under extreme drought conditions. Furthermore, microbes and enzymes were key drivers of soil C‐N transformations, with soil enzymes displaying the highest correlation with SSI (nonlinear correlation coefficient based on mutual information = 0.81). This study establishes a foundational relationship between soil C‐N variables and soil moisture, accounting for lag effects, to enhance our understanding of the complex responses of these variables under future climate change scenarios. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-76a6f392a04b421bacbc6c3780da12bd |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2328-4277 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Earth's Future |
| spelling | doaj-art-76a6f392a04b421bacbc6c3780da12bd2025-08-20T02:16:40ZengWileyEarth's Future2328-42772025-03-01133n/an/a10.1029/2024EF005521Microbially‐Mediated Soil Carbon‐Nitrogen Dynamics in Response to Future Soil Moisture ChangeWanyu Li0Gangsheng Wang1Zirui Mu2Shanshan Qi3Shuhao Zhou4Daifeng Xiang5State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management Wuhan University Wuhan ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management Wuhan University Wuhan ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management Wuhan University Wuhan ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management Wuhan University Wuhan ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management Wuhan University Wuhan ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management Wuhan University Wuhan ChinaAbstract The interactions between soil carbon and nitrogen (C‐N) processes with environmental factors, particularly soil moisture, are critical to maintaining soil ecosystem functions. However, the lagged effects of future change in soil moisture on soil C‐N dynamics remain poorly understood. Here, we employed the Microbial‐ENzyme Decomposition model to simulate the long‐term impacts of future soil moisture variation on soil C‐N dynamics using the standardized soil moisture index (SSI) across four Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). Our results demonstrated that soil C‐N dynamics exhibited both lagged and cumulative responses to moisture fluctuations over extended periods. Active microbes were closely associated with short‐term (3‐month) change in soil moisture, whereas soil organic C (SOC) and total N (TN) exhibited stronger correlations over extended periods (72 months). Under the SSP5‐8.5 scenario, SOC and TN decreased in wet conditions but increased during droughts, with increases of 28.9% and 13.1%, respectively, under extreme drought conditions. We found that the active microbial biomass was significantly more sensitive to soil moisture variation than total microbial biomass, especially under extreme drought conditions. Furthermore, microbes and enzymes were key drivers of soil C‐N transformations, with soil enzymes displaying the highest correlation with SSI (nonlinear correlation coefficient based on mutual information = 0.81). This study establishes a foundational relationship between soil C‐N variables and soil moisture, accounting for lag effects, to enhance our understanding of the complex responses of these variables under future climate change scenarios.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EF005521soil carbon‐nitrogen‐water coupled processesmicrobial and enzymatic effectslag timefuture climate changeshared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs)nonlinear correlation based on mutual information |
| spellingShingle | Wanyu Li Gangsheng Wang Zirui Mu Shanshan Qi Shuhao Zhou Daifeng Xiang Microbially‐Mediated Soil Carbon‐Nitrogen Dynamics in Response to Future Soil Moisture Change Earth's Future soil carbon‐nitrogen‐water coupled processes microbial and enzymatic effects lag time future climate change shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) nonlinear correlation based on mutual information |
| title | Microbially‐Mediated Soil Carbon‐Nitrogen Dynamics in Response to Future Soil Moisture Change |
| title_full | Microbially‐Mediated Soil Carbon‐Nitrogen Dynamics in Response to Future Soil Moisture Change |
| title_fullStr | Microbially‐Mediated Soil Carbon‐Nitrogen Dynamics in Response to Future Soil Moisture Change |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microbially‐Mediated Soil Carbon‐Nitrogen Dynamics in Response to Future Soil Moisture Change |
| title_short | Microbially‐Mediated Soil Carbon‐Nitrogen Dynamics in Response to Future Soil Moisture Change |
| title_sort | microbially mediated soil carbon nitrogen dynamics in response to future soil moisture change |
| topic | soil carbon‐nitrogen‐water coupled processes microbial and enzymatic effects lag time future climate change shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) nonlinear correlation based on mutual information |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EF005521 |
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