Microbial Communities in Soil: Drivers of Terrestrial Ecosystem Processes

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 842

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: bioremediation and safety assessment of polluted environment; waste biological treatment and resource utilization technology; microbial molecular ecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil microbial communities serve as fundamental regulators of terrestrial ecosystem processes, mediating biogeochemical cycles through complex interactions with plants across multiple spatial scales. Recent advances have revealed how these intricate plant–microbe–soil networks govern ecosystem functioning through sophisticated metabolic coupling and signaling cascades. However, critical knowledge gaps persist, limit our understanding of (1) the scaling relationships between microbial community dynamics and ecosystem processes; (2) the evolutionary ecology of plant–microbiome symbioses; (3) the context dependency of these interactions across different ecosystems; and (4) the emergent properties arising from plant–soil–microbiome feedback.

This Special Issue will explore the latest advances in soil microbiome research, from molecular mechanisms to ecological applications. We welcome studies on microbial diversity, plant–microbe interactions, functional genomics, and the role of microbes in soil health in different landscapes and under the effects of global climatic change. Contributions may address fundamental ecology, novel methodologies, or applied solutions for sustainable ecosystems and environmental management.

Dr. Xiawei Peng
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • soil microbiome assembly
  • microbial functional traits
  • ecological networks
  • metagenomics
  • plant–soil feedback
  • climate change adaptation
  • microbiome engineering
  • ecosystem services
  • sustainable land management
  • soil biodiversity conservation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 2862 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Soil Bacterial Communities in Different Vegetation Types on the Lava Plateau of Jingpo Lake
by Yanli Zhang, Jiaxing Huang, Jiaxin Xue, Kaining Zhang, Xintong Chen, Jianhui Jia and Qingyang Huang
Microorganisms 2025, 13(7), 1648; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13071648 - 11 Jul 2025
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Abstract
To explore the interactions within the vegetation–soil–microorganism continuum on the Jingpo Lake lava platform, five vegetation types—grassland (GL), shrubland (SL), deciduous broad-leaved forest (DB), coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest (CB), and coniferous forest (CF)—were examined. Significant differences in the soil physical and chemical [...] Read more.
To explore the interactions within the vegetation–soil–microorganism continuum on the Jingpo Lake lava platform, five vegetation types—grassland (GL), shrubland (SL), deciduous broad-leaved forest (DB), coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest (CB), and coniferous forest (CF)—were examined. Significant differences in the soil physical and chemical properties were identified among these types (p < 0.05). The soil bacterial community structures also varied significantly (p < 0.05), with Actinobacteriota, Proteobacteria, and Acidobacteria as the dominant phyla, exhibiting notable genus-level differences (p < 0.05). The soil organic matter (SOM), available nitrogen (AN), total nitrogen (TN), and soil water content (SWC) were significantly correlated with the bacterial community structure (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01), acting as key determinants of the microbial community structure and function. PICRUSt2 functional predictions revealed significant variations in the metabolic functions of the soil bacterial communities across vegetation types, indicating distinct functional specializations. In conclusion, the Jingpo Lake lava plateau harbors abundant bacterial resources. When devising vegetation adaptation strategies, it is essential to take into account variations in the rhizosphere soil bacteria across different vegetation types. Furthermore, prioritizing the implementation of forest vegetation is crucial in the adaptive management of the lava plateau. This approach holds significant implications for studying the bacterial diversity in the lava plateau and exploring the cultivation and application of functional bacteria in extreme environments. Full article
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