Work

Changes in the Structure and Patterns of Dissolved Organic Matter and Its Relationship with Microbial Community in Mountain Soils Along an Altitudinal Gradient

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Mountain ecosystems play a crucial role in global carbon cycling and host a series of processes that degrade and modify soil dissolved organic matter (DOM). Understanding the succession of soil DOM with elevation in mountain ecosystems is helpful for predicting and managing the turnover of soil organic matter in response to future climate warming. In the present study, we investigated the characteristics of soil DOM and its relationship with microbial communities along an altitudinal gradient in the Luyashan Mountains using ultrahigh-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry and high-throughput sequencing. The chemical stability of soil DOM increased with increasing elevation, and the changes in composition of DOM extracted from forestland soil were more significant than those of DOM extracted from grassland soil along an altitudinal gradient. Potential transformations among soil DOM molecules were predominantly thermodynamically limited, suggesting that external energy inputs may be needed, potentially through microbial metabolism. Additionally, intragroup molecular transformations that require less energy occur more frequently than intergroup molecular transformations. Ecological null models revealed that the compositional assembly of the DOM molecules was controlled by deterministic processes; however, their molecular reactivity strongly influenced the assembly mechanisms of the DOM molecules. The bacterial community affected the composition of DOM, while bacteria tended to degrade labile DOM components that did not contain heteroatoms. The results of the present study provide a deep understanding of the basic principles that control the complex dynamics of soil DOM in natural ecosystems, emphasizing that the application of concepts and methods in the metacommunity ecology may provide a new avenue for understanding natural DOM dynamics.

Source: Microorganisms

DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms14112570

Authors: Wenbo Deng, Hongjuan Guo, Fengxian Wang, Wenjuan Liu

Institution: Shanxi University

Language: English

Topic: Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics

Subfield: Soil Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDGs: Life on land, Climate action

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,258