Soil temperature and fungal diversity jointly modulate soil heterotrophic respiration under short-term warming in the Zoige alpine peatland.

Global warming has changed carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, but it remains unclear how climate warming affects soil heterotrophic respiration (R). We conducted a field experiment in the Zoige alpine peatland to investigate the mechanism of how short-term warming affects R by examining the relationships between plant biomass, soil properties, soil microbial diversity, and functional groups and R. Our results showed that warming increased R after one growing season of warming.

Non-flooding conditions caused by water table drawdown alter microbial network complexity and decrease multifunctionality in alpine wetland soils.

Several soil functions of alpine wetland depend on microbial communities, including carbon storage and nutrient cycling, and soil microbes are highly sensitive to hydrological conditions. Wetland degradation is often accompanied by a decline in water table. With the water table drawdown, the effects of microbial network complexity on various soil functions remain insufficiently understood.

Changes in soil oxidase activity induced by microbial life history strategies mediate the soil heterotrophic respiration response to drought and nitrogen enrichment.

Drought and nitrogen deposition are two major climate challenges, which can change the soil microbial community composition and ecological strategy and affect soil heterotrophic respiration (Rh). However, the combined effects of microbial community composition, microbial life strategies, and extracellular enzymes on the dynamics of Rh under drought and nitrogen deposition conditions remain unclear. Here, we experimented with an alpine swamp meadow to simulate drought (50% reduction in precipitation) and multilevel addition of nitrogen to determine the interactive effects of microbial community composition, microbial life strategy, and extracellular enzymes on Rh.

Asynchronous responses of microbial CAZymes genes and the net CO exchange in alpine peatland following 5 years of continuous extreme drought events.

Peatlands act as an important sink of carbon dioxide (CO). Yet, they are highly sensitive to climate change, especially to extreme drought. The changes in the net ecosystem CO exchange (NEE) under extreme drought events, and the driving function of microbial enzymatic genes involved in soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition, are still unclear.

Different grassland managements significantly change carbon fluxes in an alpine meadow.

Alpine meadow plays vital roles in regional animal husbandry and the ecological environment. However, different grassland managements affect the structure and function of the alpine meadow. In this study, we selected three typical grassland managements including free grazing, enclosure, and artificial grass planting and conducted a field survey to study the effects of grassland managements on carbon fluxes in an alpine meadow.

The divergent vertical pattern and assembly of soil bacterial and fungal communities in response to short-term warming in an alpine peatland.

Soil microbial communities are crucial in ecosystem-level decomposition and nutrient cycling processes and are sensitive to climate change in peatlands. However, the response of the vertical distribution of microbial communities to warming remains unclear in the alpine peatland. In this study, we examined the effects of warming on the vertical pattern and assembly of soil bacterial and fungal communities across three soil layers (0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm) in the Zoige alpine peatland under a warming treatment.

Changes in precipitation regime lead to acceleration of the N cycle and dramatic NO emission.

Alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau are sensitive to climate change. The precipitation regime in this region has undergone major changes, "repackaging" precipitation from more frequent, smaller events to less frequent, larger events. Nitrous oxide (NO) is an important indicator of responses to global change in alpine meadow ecosystems.