Li Debao, Li Yan, Xu Haibian, Wu Jianping
State Key Laboratory for Vegetation Structure, Function and Construction, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Transboundary Ecosecurity of Southwest China, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology and Institute of Biodiversity, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Laboratory of Soil Ecology and Health in Universities of Yunnan Province, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
mBio. 2025 Aug 29:e0015625. doi: 10.1128/mbio.00156-25.
The influence of climate warming on soil microbes and the mechanisms underlying these effects have become the subject of intense focus in microbial ecology and climate change research. However, it is largely unknown how warming affects soil microfauna network complexity and stability or how warming-induced changes may affect ecosystem functioning in old-growth forests. Here, we conducted a 3-year multilevel warming experiment in an old-growth subtropical forest using infrared heating with five treatments: ambient soil temperature and 0.8°C, 1.5°C, 3.0°C, and 4.2°C above ambient soil temperature. We found that soil microfauna network complexity and stability and multinutrient cycling were significantly higher under warming and showed similar hump-shaped trends across rising temperatures. The nonlinear responses of soil microfauna network complexity and stability were primarily linked to soil temperature, moisture, organic carbon, and microbial biomass. Importantly, we found that soil multinutrient cycling was positively influenced by microfauna network complexity and stability. Consequently, our findings provide insights into the key role of soil microfauna network structure in regulating soil multinutrient cycling, highlighting the need to consider soil organisms' potential interactions and that it is crucial to preserve soil microfauna "interactions" for ecosystem management in forests under global change.IMPORTANCEIt is largely unknown how warming affects soil microfauna network complexity and stability or how warming-induced changes may affect ecosystem functioning in old-growth forests. We conducted a 3-year multilevel warming experiment in an old-growth subtropical forest using infrared heating. We found that soil microfauna network complexity and stability were significantly higher under warming treatments and displayed nonlinear responses to different warming levels. Soil multinutrient cycling was positively and significantly influenced by microfauna network complexity and stability. Given that complex interconnections between soil microfauna are critical for sustaining ecosystem functioning, protecting microfauna "interactions" may be critical to mitigating the adverse impacts of warming-induced biodiversity reduction on ecosystem functioning.
气候变暖对土壤微生物的影响及其潜在机制已成为微生物生态学和气候变化研究的重点关注对象。然而，在很大程度上，我们尚不清楚变暖如何影响土壤小型动物网络的复杂性和稳定性，以及变暖引发的变化如何影响老龄森林的生态系统功能。在此，我们在一片老龄亚热带森林中进行了一项为期3年的多级变暖实验，采用红外加热，设置了5种处理：环境土壤温度以及比环境土壤温度高0.8°C、1.5°C、3.0°C和4.2°C。我们发现，在变暖条件下，土壤小型动物网络的复杂性、稳定性以及多种养分循环显著更高，并且在温度升高过程中呈现出类似的驼峰状趋势。土壤小型动物网络复杂性和稳定性的非线性响应主要与土壤温度、湿度、有机碳和微生物生物量有关。重要的是，我们发现土壤多种养分循环受到小型动物网络复杂性和稳定性的积极影响。因此，我们的研究结果揭示了土壤小型动物网络结构在调节土壤多种养分循环中的关键作用，强调了需要考虑土壤生物之间潜在的相互作用，以及在全球变化背景下，保护土壤小型动物的“相互作用”对于森林生态系统管理至关重要。
重要性
在很大程度上，我们尚不清楚变暖如何影响土壤小型动物网络的复杂性和稳定性，以及变暖引发的变化如何影响老龄森林的生态系统功能。我们在一片老龄亚热带森林中进行了一项为期3年的多级变暖实验，采用红外加热。我们发现，在变暖处理下，土壤小型动物网络的复杂性和稳定性显著更高，并且对不同的变暖水平呈现非线性响应。土壤多种养分循环受到小型动物网络复杂性和稳定性的显著积极影响。鉴于土壤小型动物之间复杂的相互联系对于维持生态系统功能至关重要，保护小型动物的“相互作用”对于减轻变暖导致的生物多样性减少对生态系统功能的不利影响可能至关重要。
