Differential responses of soil micro-food web components to global change factors: A meta-analysis
Year: 2025
Type: review
Study designs: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis
Abstract: The soil micro-food web, comprising bacteria, fungi, and nematodes, is fundamental to ecosystem functioning, yet its responses to global change are complex and poorly synthesized. Based on a meta-analysis of 99 published studies, we evaluated the effects of four major stressor categories—soil contamination, climate change, atmospheric pollution, and biological invasions—on this network. Our results demonstrate that global change stressors influence the soil micro-food web through three distinct pathways: resource availability, environmental stress, and biotic interactions. Noteworthy findings include severe suppression of the nematode community under heavy metal exposure (-76.01 % in total abundance) and drought (-41.09 %), while significant increase under acid rain (41.75 %) and nitrogen (N) deposition (21.96 %). A key mechanism identified is that a change in microbial biomass needs to reach a critical level to alter the abundance of nematode trophic groups. These responses were further modulated by environmental context; mean annual precipitation (MAP) supported fungal channel resilience, whereas mean annual temperature (MAT) shaped bacterial channel vulnerability. Soil acidification was identified as a master variable driving community restructuring. By validating this tripartite pathway framework, our study offers a mechanistic basis for predicting soil ecosystem responses to global change and underscores that nematodes act not merely as passive indicators, but as active regulators and integrators of ecosystem stress.
Source: Basic and Applied Ecology
Authors: Huiting Zhou, Wanglin Zhuang, Zhaoji Shi, Ziqiang Liu, Hui Wei, Jiaen Zhang
Language: English
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,800
OpenAlex ID: W4416971809