Dec. 2024, Volume 6 Issue 4

Sep. 2024, Volume 6 Issue 3

Jun. 2024, Volume 6 Issue 2

In response to environmental concerns and the rising challenge of resistant weeds, a call for eco-friendly alternatives grows louder. Hadayat et al. (Article: 230207) present a solution: the integration of Synthetic Communities (SynComs) to minimize herbicide consumption. SynCom C4 of Pseudomonas strains emerges as a pivotal player, effectively reducing SPAD values and fresh biomass of the invasive weed, Phalaris minor, particularly when combined with a low-dose Axial herbicide. Hadayat et al. reveal that weed infestation inflicted a 16% and 25% reduction in grain yield at the 50% and 75% Axial doses, respectively. However, the Axial and C4 combination, remarkably rescued up to 22% of grain yield loss under weed-infested conditions compared to Axial alone. In conclusion, this study underscores the synergistic effects of herbicide-SynCom combinations for effective Phalaris minor control and enhanced wheat growth. Such an approach presents a sustainable and eco-friendly strategy for weed management. Download cover

Mar. 2024, Volume 6 Issue 1

Microplastic (MP) pollution has become an issue of global concern. Earthworm Eisenia fetida is the standard organism used in soil ecotoxicological tests. However, effects of MPs on earthworms remain controversial. In this study, the effects of LDPE MPs and Cd on earthworm were investigated. Zhang et al. (Article number: 230184) shows LDPE had no effect on the mortality, growth, and reproduction of earthworm. Low-density polyethylene microplastics partially alleviate the ecotoxicological effects induced by cadmium exposure on the earthworm. The results of this study are critical to assessing the synergistic impacts of pollution with MPs and heavy metals on soil fauna. Download cover Download table of contents

Dec. 2023, Volume 5 Issue 4

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Sep. 2023, Volume 5 Issue 3

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Jun. 2023, Volume 5 Issue 2

Mar. 2023, Volume 5 Issue 1

Dec. 2022, Volume 4 Issue 4

Sep. 2022, Volume 4 Issue 3

Jun. 2022, Volume 4 Issue 2

Mar. 2022, Volume 4 Issue 1

Dec. 2021, Volume 3 Issue 4

Aug. 2021, Volume 3 Issue 3

Rice assembles microbial populations in rhizosphere from surrounding soils to promote plant growth under waterlogged anaerobic condition, but the spatio-temporal dynamics of microbiota in response to pesticide pollution might impact the resilience of rice grown in polluted soils. Taking a typical organochlorine pesticide, lindane, as an example, Feng et al. (pages 207219) demonstrated the assembly of root-associated microbiota of rice varied with soil type, rice growth time and rhizo-compartment; lindane pollution had less obvious influence on rice growth and soil microbial communities, but mostly stimulated the construction of root endosphere microbiota at the vegetative phase which was highly dynamic during rice growth. Active rice root-soil-microbe interactions induced a complicated soil-redox-coupled removal of lindane, leading to an inhibition effects for lindane removal at the later vegetative growth phase. This was likely due to the possible interruption to dechlorination favored anaerobic condition induced by rice root released oxygen, and thereby the co-occurring competitive electron-consuming redox processes in soils. This study provides detailed insight into the underground micro-ecological assembly process of root-associated microbiota of rice growing in soils polluted by pesticides such as organochlorines, and their potential linkage to the natural attenuation of residual organochlorine pesticides during rice vegetative growth phase. This is beneficial for an improved regulation of plant growth against environmental adversity, and thereby rice production in organochlorine pesticide polluted area. Download cover

Apr. 2021, Volume 3 Issue 2

Nematodes are widely distributed, small-bodied soil metazoans that account for more than 80% of the abundance of animals on Earth . Their global species richness is tentatively predicted to exceed 1 million. They occur in all ecosystems, with various feeding types in food webs and functional diversity. They also act as important bio-indicators, with key roles in mediating ecosystem processes. Although nematodes are so important, we still do not fully understand their community composition and the influence of the environmental factors on their distribution at different forest ecosystems. Dynamic plots of Lijiang, Ailaoshan and Xishuangbanna are three important long-term ecological observation stations. This study employed high-throughput sequencing to compare nematode communities in those plots and found that: Xishuangbanna have highest nematode richness and diversity, Lijiang and Ailaoshan have much more relative abundance of bacterial feeding nematode than Xishuangbnana. In addition, this study also found climate factors drive nematode communities distributions at the regional scale, while terrain and soil characteristics (including pH and nutrients) drive nematode communities distributions at local scales. Overall, this study improves our current understanding of key factors responsible for the biogeographical distribution of forest nematode communities at different spatial scales. Download cover Download table of contents

Feb. 2021, Volume 3 Issue 1

Upon foliar pathogen infection, plants release more long chain fatty acids and amino acids to their rhizosphere to recruit and stimulate specific Pseudomonas population. These Pseudomonas populations can stay in soil as legacy to induce systemic resistance of subsequent plans affording protection from foliar pathogen attack. Download cover Download table of contents

Dec. 2020, Volume 2 Issue 4

Although the ever-increasing atmospheric CO₂ is considered as a key driver of modern global warming, the low heat capacity of atmosphere and strong convection processes in the troposphere both limit heat retention. Given the higher heat capacity and CO₂ concentration in soil compared to the atmosphere, the direct contributions of soil to the greenhouse effect may be significant. By experimentally manipulating CO₂ concentrations both in the soil and the atmosphere, Zhang et al. (pages 308316) demonstrated that the soil-retained heat and the slower soil heat transmission decrease the amount of heat energy leaking from the earth. Furthermore, the soil air temperature was affected by soil CO₂ concentration. This study indicates that soil and soil CO₂, together with atmospheric CO₂, play a crucial role in the greenhouse effect. The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of soils and soil CO₂ should be further investigated, given their potentially significant influence on global climate change.

Aug. 2020, Volume 2 Issue 3

Jul. 2020, Volume 2 Issue 2

Global warming accelerates deglaciations in both high elevation and high latitude regions over the past 100 years. Glacier retreats expose large masses of previously-buried rock and sediment, which are known as the glacier foreland. Microorganisms are pioneering species in the forelands, whose colonization and succession drive elemental biogeochemical cycling and the accumulation of nutrients for plant establishment. While the processes of microbial colonization and succession in freshly deglaciated soils still remain unclear.
Khan et al. (pages 83-92) provide novel insights into the microbial succession along a short time-scale chronosequence of deglaciation. They found that bacterial community in the freshly deglaciated soils was clustered into three deglaciation stages, namely the early (zero-year old), transitional (1–7 years old), and late (8–14 years old) stages. Microorganisms play key roles in nutrient cycling, thus community structure and taxonomic composition changes are likely to alter their ecological functions.

Apr. 2020, Volume 2 Issue 1

How species assemble into a community? This is a key topic of community ecology and biodiversity conservation. Though soil biodiversity is one of the largest reservoirs of biodiversity on earth, our understanding of how this hidden biodiversity is shaped is still limited. Ground-dwelling beetles are widely distributed and charismatic model organisms in biodiversity and conservation studies. The cover article aimed to uncover the processes that shape ground-dwelling beetle patterns using field investigation in long-term monitoring plots. The researchers highlight that both spatial and environmental variables are important for the assembly of ground-dwelling beetles, while pure spatial variables are more important than pure environmental variables.

Sep. 2019, Volume 1 Issue 3-4

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are ubiquitous soil fungi in natural and agricultural ecosystems that can form symbiotic association with the majority of higher plants. Many studies demonstrated the important role of AM symbiosis in plant adaptation to various environmental stresses, including nutrient deficiency, drought stress and heavy metal (HM) contaminations. In the contaminated soils, AM fungi can affect metal transformation and translocation in the plant-soil continuum through different ways. On one hand, AM fungi can directly immobilize HMs, influence bioavailability of HMs, and consequently regulate HM uptake and accumulation by host plants. On the other hand, AM fungi can also indirectly influence plant tolerance to HM by improving plant mineral nutrition and promoting plant growth. The mycorrhizal effects can be largely influenced by HM type and contamination level, plant and AM fungal species, and also soil chemo-physical properties. Due to the fact that AM symbiosis can essentially influence plant HM uptake and tolerance, it can potentially be used for ecological restoration of HM contaminated soils.

Jul. 2019, Volume 1 Issue 1-2

Antimicrobial resistance is already considered to be a major threat to human health, and its emergence and dissemination have caused widespread public concern. Soils have became an important sink for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) because of the influence of human activities such as the application of manures and wastewater irrigation. To better understand the impacts of ARGs on the soil ecosystem, the transport of ARGs is a basic question. So far, however, the role of soil animals in the dispersal of ARGs is not understood. Collembolans are one of the most abundant groups of soil animal and are widely distributed around the world. The cover article highlights that the collembolan did indeed accelerate the dispersal of ARGs in the soil ecosystem. The change of soil microbial community have an important contribution to the dispersal of ARGs by the collembolan.