The Compositions, Dynamics and Associated Functioning of Soil Microorganism Communities in Forest Ecosystem

Dear Colleagues,

Soil microorganisms play an indispensable role in maintaining forest ecosystem functioning, such as organic matter decomposition, nutrient transformation and supply. Disturbances introduced by global climate changes (e.g., drought and warming) and anthropogenic activities (e.g., land use change and afforestation) are expected to impact the composition and structure of soil microbial communities, which subsequently affects ecological processes and ecosystem functions. Although the dramatic improvements in sequencing technology have improved the understanding of microbial ecology in forest soils in recent years, the responses of forest soil microbes to climate change and anthropogenic factors remain incompletely understood. Therefore, it is of great relevance to elucidate how soil microbial communities respond to various disturbances in forests. In this Special Issue, we aim to bring together studies from a wide array of scientists examining the influence of disturbances on the compositions, dynamics and associated functions of soil microbial communities in forest soils. Proposing approaches for microbial community analysis such as stable isotopes and metagenomics or review papers highlighting research gaps are also welcomed.

Dr. Xiaohong Wu
Dr. Yueming Liang
Dr. Peng Dang
Guest Editors

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