Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.5
2.9
Journals
Forests
Special Issues
Interactions of Plants, Soil Nutrients, and Microorganisms in the Karst...
share announcement

Interactions of Plants, Soil Nutrients, and Microorganisms in the Karst Forest Ecosystems

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 November 2024 | Viewed by 4366

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Dan Xiao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
Interests: nutrient cycling; vegetation recovery; microbial biodiversity; soil carbon; soil nitrogen
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jie Zhao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
Interests: soil biodiversity; micro-food web structure and functions (soil microbes and nematodes); ecosystem restoration and sustainable management; ecosystem multifunctionality; soil micro-food web; plant–soil interaction; ecosystem restoration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Wei Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
Interests: understanding the effects of human disturbance and land-use change on carbon sequestration and the cycling of nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems; element biogeochemical cycle; ecosystem functions; vegetation restoration; karst
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Hanqing Wu

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
Interests: soil nitrogen cycling; virus–host interactions; soil microbial ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Peilei Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
Interests: decipher the underlying mechanisms that govern carbon and nitrogen cycling in ecosystems in responses to land use change and climate change; soil carbon; soil microbiome; land-use change; climate warming; bedrock geochemistry; karst

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There are strong interactions between plants, soil, microorganisms, and nutrients in forest ecosystems. Soil microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, fungi, protists, nematodes, and viruses) are key drivers of nutrient cycling via forming soil micro-food webs, which in turn influence plant growth. Both biotic (e.g., plant diversity and biomass) and abiotic factors (e.g., soil properties and climate) can directly affect microbial diversity and activity. It is important to strengthen research on microbial regulation mechanisms that drive soil nutrient cycling in typical ecosystems. Karst ecosystems are fragile, widely distributed, and occupy about 15% of the global land surface area. The special binary hydrogeological structure and high Ca and pH conditions in the karst ecosystems determine that the mechanism of soil microbial functions in the process of nutrient cycling is different from that in non-karst ecosystems. The effects of soil microorganisms on soil carbon sequestration and nitrogen accumulation during vegetation restoration depend on climate conditions, nitrogen deposition, land use, forest management, etc. In this Special Issue, we aim to collect recent advances in the key functional microorganisms that regulate the absorption and utilization of nutrients for plants in the fragile karst ecosystems of artificial and natural forests. Both simulations and experimental studies are welcome.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

  1. Relationships between nutrient cycling, microorganisms, and plant community;
  2. Soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling in the karst forest ecosystems;
  3. The microbial food web in the karst forest ecosystems;
  4. Diversity and community composition of the key function microbes (e.g., mycorrhizal fungi, diazotrophs, bacteria, fungi, protists, nematodes, and viruses);
  5. Microbes involved in organic carbon decomposition in the karst forest ecosystems;
  6. Microbes involved in nitrogen transformation processes, including nitrification and denitrification, etc.

Dr. Dan Xiao
Dr. Jie Zhao
Prof. Dr. Wei Zhang
Dr. Hanqing Wu
Dr. Peilei Hu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nutrient cycling
  • vegetation recovery
  • land-use change
  • climate warming
  • microbial biodiversity
  • soil carbon
  • soil nitrogen
  • plant‒soil nutrient interactions
  • bedrock geochemistry
  • karst ecosystem

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

23 pages, 18593 KiB  
Article
Driving Forces and Ecological Restoration Revelation in Southwest China Based on the Divergence Characteristics of Ecosystem Compound Use Efficiency
by Yuxi Wang, Li Peng, Tiantian Chen, Pujia Yu, Junyi Zhang and Chengcheng Xia
Forests 2024, 15(4), 641; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15040641 - 31 Mar 2024
Viewed by 729
Abstract
Ecosystem carbon use efficiency (CUE), water use efficiency (WUE), and light use efficiency (LUE) are critical parameters for estimating CO2 uptake, water circulation, and ecosystem balance. Research on the change trends of individual use efficiency has matured; however, studies on the spatiotemporal [...] Read more.
Ecosystem carbon use efficiency (CUE), water use efficiency (WUE), and light use efficiency (LUE) are critical parameters for estimating CO2 uptake, water circulation, and ecosystem balance. Research on the change trends of individual use efficiency has matured; however, studies on the spatiotemporal heterogeneity and driving mechanisms of divergence patterns for multi-use efficiencies capability are limited. Therefore, taking southwest China as an example, this study constructed a compound use efficiency (COM) through CUE, WUE, and LUE. Based on the spatiotemporal patterns and divergence characteristics analysis of water–carbon–light use efficiencies, the scale effects and driving mechanism of its divergence characteristics for COM at the optimal scale were clarified. The results revealed that the average value of CUE, LUE, WUE, and COM were 0.49, 0.7 gC m−2 MJ−1, 2.31 gC kg−1 H2O, and 0.87, respectively. Apart from CUE, the LUE, WUE, and COM parameters exhibited a fluctuating upward trend. Statistically, there was a high COM in karst and ecological restoration regions, reflecting the strong adaptability of karst vegetation and the effectiveness of ecological restoration; as the elevation rose, COM increased and then decreased, with the highest value at the elevation of 3000 m; the lowest COM was found in grassland, refuting the inference that it can be used as an optimal vegetation type for China’s Grain to Green program from the perspective of use efficiency. Sub-basin was the most optimal divergence scale, and although temperature and elevation were the dominant single force causing COM divergence, the couplings of precipitation and population density and elevation and population density had more controlling impacts than a single force. These findings enrich the understanding of ecosystem use efficiency and are beneficial for the improvement in ecological restoration strategies in karst landscapes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactions of Plants, Soil Nutrients, and Microorganisms in the Karst Forest Ecosystems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 3782 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Soil Microbial Community between Managed and Natural Vegetation Restoration along a Climatic Gradient in Karst Regions
by Zhuanzhuan Sun, Peilei Hu, Wei Zhang, Dan Xiao, Dongsheng Zou, Yingying Ye and Kelin Wang
Forests 2023, 14(10), 1980; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14101980 - 30 Sep 2023
Viewed by 891
Abstract
Managed and natural vegetation restorations are two vital measures of land restoration; however, their effects on soil microbial communities at a large scale are not clearly understood. Hence, changes in the microbial community composition after 15 years of vegetation restoration along a climatic [...] Read more.
Managed and natural vegetation restorations are two vital measures of land restoration; however, their effects on soil microbial communities at a large scale are not clearly understood. Hence, changes in the microbial community composition after 15 years of vegetation restoration along a climatic gradient in the subtropical karst region of Southwest China were assessed based on phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) profiles. Managed (plantation forest) and natural (naturally recovered to shrubbery) vegetation restoration types were compared, with cropland and mature forest serving as controls. Soil microbial community abundance was significantly higher under the two vegetation restoration types than in the cropland; however, it was lower than in the mature forest. The abundance, composition, and structure of soil microbial communities did not differ significantly between plantation forest and shrubbery. Soil organic carbon or total nitrogen was the primary factor positively affecting soil microbial abundance, whereas the mean annual temperature (MAT) was recognized as the primary factor contributing to the variation in the soil microbial community structure. Moreover, temperature had opposite effects on different indicators of microbial community structure. That is, it positively and negatively affected the ratios of gram-positive to gram-negative bacterial PLFAs (GP:GN) and fungal to bacterial PLFAs (F:B), respectively. Our results show that both vegetation restoration types have the ability to improve soil productivity in karst areas. Furthermore, shifts in soil microbial community structure (GP:GN and F:B ratios) induced by warming are likely to lead to a higher proportion of labile carbon, which is sensitive to soil tillage. Hence, more attention should be paid to ecological restoration in warmer karst areas to alleviate the severe loss of soil carbon in croplands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactions of Plants, Soil Nutrients, and Microorganisms in the Karst Forest Ecosystems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 2259 KiB  
Article
Source to Sink of Lignin Phenols in a Subtropical Forest of Southwest China
by Zongyao Qian, Zi Fan, Wanxia Peng, Hu Du and Peilei Hu
Forests 2023, 14(9), 1701; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14091701 - 23 Aug 2023
Viewed by 991
Abstract
In biodiverse forest ecosystems, plant diversity has been reported to increase plant-derived lignin accumulation and soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. However, little is known about the fate of lignin and its degradation dynamics from plant to soil. This process is critical for the [...] Read more.
In biodiverse forest ecosystems, plant diversity has been reported to increase plant-derived lignin accumulation and soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. However, little is known about the fate of lignin and its degradation dynamics from plant to soil. This process is critical for the formation of SOC, especially in natural forest ecosystems with diverse plant species. This study presents the lignin biomarker characteristics of several common plant species and in mixed litter. The study was conducted in 45 plots along a plant species diversity gradient in a subtropical forest located in southwest China. Our results demonstrate that lignin content and its biochemical characteristics in plant leaves vary among species, while different plant species also alter the content of lignin and its monomeric compounds in the litter. Lignin compounds are gradually disintegrated from plant leaf to litter and then to soil, further indicating that plant-derived lignin from plant sources contributes to the formation and accumulation of forest SOC. These findings provide novel information on the linkage between tree species diversity and lignin accumulation while indicating the role of plant-derived lignin on SOC storage. These results may be useful in predicting forest soil C dynamics in Earth system models. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactions of Plants, Soil Nutrients, and Microorganisms in the Karst Forest Ecosystems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 5320 KiB  
Article
The Role of Bedrock Geochemistry and Climate in Soil Organic Matter Stability in Subtropical Karst Forests of Southwest China
by Tiangang Tang, Peilei Hu, Wei Zhang, Dan Xiao, Li Tang, Jun Xiao, Jie Zhao and Kelin Wang
Forests 2023, 14(7), 1467; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14071467 - 17 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1263
Abstract
The stability of soil organic matter (SOM) plays a critical role in soil carbon (C) dynamics under global warming. However, the factors influencing SOM stability, particularly the significance of bedrock geochemistry and its hierarchical relationship with climate and soil properties, remain poorly understood. [...] Read more.
The stability of soil organic matter (SOM) plays a critical role in soil carbon (C) dynamics under global warming. However, the factors influencing SOM stability, particularly the significance of bedrock geochemistry and its hierarchical relationship with climate and soil properties, remain poorly understood. To address this gap, we conducted a study along a large climatic gradient (Δtemperature > 9 °C) in the subtropical karst forests of southwest China, quantifying SOM stability using thermal analysis and investigating the contributions of bedrock geochemistry, climate, and soil properties. Our results showed that SOM stability was positively correlated with mineral-associated organic C (MAOC) rather than particulate organic C. Hierarchical partitioning analysis further demonstrated that bedrock geochemistry was the predominant contributor to SOM stability variance, accounting for 23.7%. Following this, soil minerals contributed to 21.1%–22.6% of the variance, the mean annual temperature to 20.3%, and microbial biomass C to 17.2%. In particular, bedrock geochemistry—specifically the presence of calcium-rich bedrock—was found to enhance SOM stability by promoting the accumulation of exchangeable calcium and calcium carbonate in soils. Additionally, high temperature improved SOM stability by increasing the content and proportion of MAOC and soil pH. These results highlight the fundamental role of bedrock geochemistry in controlling SOM stability and emphasize the importance of considering hierarchical relationships among bedrock–soil–climate interactions for evaluating soil C dynamics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactions of Plants, Soil Nutrients, and Microorganisms in the Karst Forest Ecosystems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop