Our findings indicate the importance of paleoclimatic information to improve quantitative predictions of global soil C stocks.
Despite having key functions in terrestrial ecosystems, information on the dominant soil fungi and their ecological preferences at the global scale is lacking. To fill this knowledge gap, we surveyed 235 soils from across the globe. Our findings indicate that 83 phylotypes (<0.1% of the retrieved fungi), mostly belonging to wind dispersed, generalist Ascomycota, dominate soils globally. We identify patterns and ecological drivers of dominant soil fungal taxa occurrence, and present a map of their distribution in soils worldwide. Whole-genome comparisons with less dominant, generalist fungi point at a significantly higher number of genes related to stress-tolerance and resource uptake in the dominant fungi, suggesting that they might be better in colonising a wide range of environments. Our findings constitute a major advance in our understanding of the ecology of fungi, and have implications for the development of strategies to preserve them and the ecosystem functions they provide.Identifying the global drivers of soil priming is essential to understanding C cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. We conducted a survey of soils across 86 globally-distributed locations, spanning a wide range of climates, biotic communities, and soil conditions, and evaluated the apparent soil priming effect using13C-glucose labeling. Here we show that the magnitude of the positive apparent priming effect (increase in CO2release through accelerated microbial biomass turnover) was negatively associated with SOC content and microbial respiration rates. Our statistical modeling suggests that apparent priming effects tend to be negative in more mesic sites associated with higher SOC contents. In contrast, a single-input of labile C causes positive apparent priming effects in more arid locations with low SOC contents. Our results provide solid evidence that SOC content plays a critical role in regulating apparent priming effects, with important implications for the improvement of C cycling models under global change scenarios.Organic carbon (OC) and nitrogen (N) storage in soil plays an important role in global climate change and in maintaining food security. Pollution of soil with heavy metals has occurred in many parts of the world, but their effects on soil OC and N have not been well addressed. Relevant data were extracted from peer\uffe2\uff80\uff90reviewed journal papers and analysed by a meta\uffe2\uff80\uff90analysis to determine how long\uffe2\uff80\uff90term heavy metal pollution affected soil OC and N status. Plant biomass decreased significantly because heavy metals in soil decreased soil OC and N concentrations by 5.0 and 17.9%, respectively, but increased the C/N ratio by 5.1%. The largest reductions in soil OC and N concentrations were in soil more strongly polluted by metals. The changes in soil OC and N with metal pollution varied with climatic conditions. More substantial decreases in OC and N concentrations were likely to occur in polluted soil with large background contents of OC and low pH. Overall, heavy metals were linked to greater reductions in soil OC and N concentrations in natural ecosystems than in agro\uffe2\uff80\uff90ecosystems. These results provided a quantitative evaluation of the effects of heavy metal pollution on the decrease in soil C and N concentrations and, therefore, on global climate change. Further consideration should be given to changes in the cycling of C and N in soil polluted with metals in natural and agro\uffe2\uff80\uff90ecosystems.
", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "anzsrc-for: 0503 Soil Sciences", "550", "anzsrc-for: 4105 Pollution and Contamination", "anzsrc-for: 0703 Crop and Pasture Production", "anzsrc-for: 4106 Soil sciences", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "41 Environmental Sciences", "15. Life on land", "01 natural sciences", "6. Clean water", "anzsrc-for: 41 Environmental Sciences", "anzsrc-for: 0607 Plant Biology", "4105 Pollution and Contamination", "13. Climate action", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12327"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/European%20Journal%20of%20Soil%20Science", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/ejss.12327", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/ejss.12327", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/ejss.12327"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2016-03-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1126/sciadv.1602008", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-25T16:19:09Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2017-04-14", "title": "Climate legacies drive global soil carbon stocks in terrestrial ecosystems", "description": "Our findings indicate the importance of paleoclimatic information to improve quantitative predictions of global soil C stocks.
We discuss possible mechanisms to explain paleoclimate as a predictor of the current distribution of global soil C content.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from grazing animal excreta are estimated to be responsible for 1.5 Tg of the total 6.7 Tg of anthropogenic N2O emissions. This study was conducted to determine the in situ effect of incorporating biochar, into soil, on N2O emissions from bovine urine patches and associated pasture uptake of N. The effects of biochar rate (0\uffe2\uff80\uff9330 t ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921), following soil incorporation, were investigated on ruminant urine\uffe2\uff80\uff90derived N2O fluxes, N uptake by pasture, and pasture yield. During an 86\uffe2\uff80\uff90d spring\uffe2\uff80\uff90summer period, where irrigation and rainfall occurred, the N2O fluxes from 15N labeled ruminant urine patches were reduced by >50%, after incorporating 30 t ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921 of biochar. Taking into account the N2O emissions from the control plots, 30 t ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921 of biochar reduced the N2O emission factor from urine by 70%. The atom% 15N enrichment of the N2O emitted was lower in the 30 t ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921 biochar treatment, indicating less urine\uffe2\uff80\uff90N contributed to the N2O flux. Soil NO3\uffe2\uff88\uff92\uffe2\uff80\uff90N concentrations were lower with increasing biochar rate during the first 30 d following urine deposition. No differences occurred, due to biochar addition, with respect to dry matter yields, herbage N content, or recovery of 15N applied in herbage. Incorporating biochar into the soil can significantly diminish ruminant urine\uffe2\uff80\uff90derived N2O emissions. Further work is required to determine the persistence of the observed effect and to fully understand the mechanism(s) of the observed reduction in N2O fluxes.
", "keywords": ["bovine urine", "550", "Nitrogen", "Nitrous Oxide", "Urine", "Soil", "ANZSRC::0702 Animal Production", "ANZSRC::0503 Soil Sciences", "Animals", "Humans", "biochar", "Weather", "2. Zero hunger", "nitrous oxide", "ANZSRC::31 Biological sciences", "emissions", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "6. Clean water", "ANZSRC::050304 Soil Chemistry (excl. Carbon Sequestration Science)", "ANZSRC::37 Earth sciences", "13. Climate action", "Charcoal", "ANZSRC::41 Environmental sciences", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Cattle", "Volatilization"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2010.0419"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Journal%20of%20Environmental%20Quality", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.2134/jeq2010.0419", "name": "item", "description": "10.2134/jeq2010.0419", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.2134/jeq2010.0419"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2011-03-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.2136/sssaj2009.0185", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-25T16:20:25Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2010-04-22", "title": "Unweathered Wood Biochar Impact On Nitrous Oxide Emissions From A Bovine-Urine-Amended Pasture Soil", "description": "Low\uffe2\uff80\uff90temperature pyrolysis of biomass produces a product known as biochar The incorporation of this material into the soil has been advocated as a C sequestration method. Biochar also has the potential to influence the soil N cycle by altering nitrification rates and by adsorbing or NH3 Biochar can be incorporated into the soil during renovation of intensively managed pasture soils. These managed pastures are a significant source of N2O, a greenhouse gas, produced in ruminant urine patches. We hypothesized that biochar effects on the N cycle could reduce the soil inorganic\uffe2\uff80\uff90N pool available for N2O\uffe2\uff80\uff90producing mechanisms. A laboratory study was performed to examine the effect of biochar incorporation into soil (20 Mg ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921) on N2O\uffe2\uff80\uff90N and NH3\uffe2\uff80\uff93N fluxes, and inorganic\uffe2\uff80\uff90N transformations, following the application of bovine urine (760 kg N ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921). Treatments included controls (soil only and soil plus biochar), and two urine treatments (soil plus urine and soil plus biochar plus urine). Fluxes of N2O from the biochar plus urine treatment were generally higher than from urine alone during the first 30 d, but after 50 d there was no significant difference (P = 0.11) in terms of cumulative N2O\uffe2\uff80\uff90N emitted as a percentage of the urine N applied during the 53\uffe2\uff80\uff90d period; however, NH3\uffe2\uff80\uff93N fluxes were enhanced by approximately 3% of the N applied in the biochar plus urine treatment compared with the urine\uffe2\uff80\uff90only treatment after 17 d. Soil inorganic\uffe2\uff80\uff90N pools differed between treatments, with higher concentrations in the presence of biochar, indicative of lower rates of nitrification. The inorganic\uffe2\uff80\uff90N pool available for N2O\uffe2\uff80\uff90producing mechanisms was not reduced, however, by adding biochar.
", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "bovine urine", "550", "ANZSRC::31 Biological sciences", "soil nitrogen", "ANZSRC::30 Agricultural", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "630", "6. Clean water", "veterinary and food sciences", "Marsden::300103 Soil chemistry", "13. Climate action", "ANZSRC::41 Environmental sciences", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "biochar"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2009.0185"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Soil%20Science%20Society%20of%20America%20Journal", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.2136/sssaj2009.0185", "name": "item", "description": "10.2136/sssaj2009.0185", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.2136/sssaj2009.0185"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2010-05-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10067/1574910151162165141", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-25T16:24:35Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2019-02-12", "title": "Automatic high-frequency measurements of full soil greenhouse gas fluxes in a tropical forest", "description": "Abstract. Measuring in situ soil fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) continuously at high frequency requires appropriate technology. We tested the combination of a commercial automated soil CO2 flux chamber system (LI-8100A) with a CH4 and N2O analyzer (Picarro G2308) in a tropical rainforest for 4\u00a0months. A chamber closure time of 2\u2009min was sufficient for a reliable estimation of CO2 and CH4 fluxes (100\u2009% and 98.5\u2009% of fluxes were above minimum detectable flux \u2013 MDF, respectively). This closure time was generally not suitable for a reliable estimation of the low N2O fluxes in this ecosystem but was sufficient for detecting rare major peak events. A closure time of 25\u2009min was more appropriate for reliable estimation of most N2O fluxes (85.6\u2009% of measured fluxes are above MDF\u2009\u00b1\u20090.002\u2009nmol\u2009m\u22122\u2009s\u22121). Our study highlights the importance of adjusted closure time for each gas.
Mineral dust particles suspended in the atmosphere span more than three orders of magnitude in diameter, from less than 0.1 \u00b5m to more than 100 \u00b5m. This wide size range makes dust a unique aerosol species with the ability to interact with many aspects of the Earth system, including radiation, clouds, hydrology, atmospheric chemistry, and biogeochemistry. This review focuses on coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols, which we respectively define as dust particles with a diameter between 2.5 - 10 \u00b5m and 10 - 62.5 \u00b5m. We review several lines of observational evidence indicating that coarse and super-coarse dust particles are transported farther than previously expected and that the abundance of these particles is substantially underestimated in current global models. We synthesize previous studies that used observations, theories, and model simulations to highlight the impacts of coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols on the Earth system, including their effects on dust-radiation interactions, dust-cloud interactions, and atmospheric chemistry, and biogeochemistry. In addition, we examine several limitations in the representation of coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols in current model simulations and in remote-sensing retrievals. Because these limitations substantially contribute to the uncertainties in simulating the abundance and impacts of coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols, we offer some recommendations to facilitate future studies. Overall, we conclude that an accurate representation of coarse and super-coarse properties is critical in understanding the overall impacts of dust aerosols on the Earth system.
Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2\uffc2\uffa0m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1\uffe2\uff80\uff90km2resolution for 0\uffe2\uff80\uff935 and 5\uffe2\uff80\uff9315\uffc2\uffa0cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e. offset) between in situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1\uffe2\uff80\uff90km2pixels (summarized from 8519 unique temperature sensors) across all the world's major terrestrial biomes, and coarse\uffe2\uff80\uff90grained air temperature estimates from ERA5\uffe2\uff80\uff90Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium\uffe2\uff80\uff90Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10\uffc2\uffb0C (mean\uffc2\uffa0=\uffc2\uffa03.0\uffc2\uffa0\uffc2\uffb1\uffc2\uffa02.1\uffc2\uffb0C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6\uffc2\uffa0\uffc2\uffb1\uffc2\uffa02.3\uffc2\uffb0C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (\uffe2\uff88\uff920.7\uffc2\uffa0\uffc2\uffb1\uffc2\uffa02.3\uffc2\uffb0C). The observed substantial and biome\uffe2\uff80\uff90specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near\uffe2\uff80\uff90surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil\uffe2\uff80\uff90related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications. We discuss possible mechanisms to explain paleoclimate as a predictor of the current distribution of global soil C content. Our findings indicate the importance of paleoclimatic information to improve quantitative predictions of global soil C stocks.
Despite having key functions in terrestrial ecosystems, information on the dominant soil fungi and their ecological preferences at the global scale is lacking. To fill this knowledge gap, we surveyed 235 soils from across the globe. Our findings indicate that 83 phylotypes (<0.1% of the retrieved fungi), mostly belonging to wind dispersed, generalist Ascomycota, dominate soils globally. We identify patterns and ecological drivers of dominant soil fungal taxa occurrence, and present a map of their distribution in soils worldwide. Whole-genome comparisons with less dominant, generalist fungi point at a significantly higher number of genes related to stress-tolerance and resource uptake in the dominant fungi, suggesting that they might be better in colonising a wide range of environments. Our findings constitute a major advance in our understanding of the ecology of fungi, and have implications for the development of strategies to preserve them and the ecosystem functions they provide.Identifying the global drivers of soil priming is essential to understanding C cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. We conducted a survey of soils across 86 globally-distributed locations, spanning a wide range of climates, biotic communities, and soil conditions, and evaluated the apparent soil priming effect using13C-glucose labeling. Here we show that the magnitude of the positive apparent priming effect (increase in CO2release through accelerated microbial biomass turnover) was negatively associated with SOC content and microbial respiration rates. Our statistical modeling suggests that apparent priming effects tend to be negative in more mesic sites associated with higher SOC contents. In contrast, a single-input of labile C causes positive apparent priming effects in more arid locations with low SOC contents. Our results provide solid evidence that SOC content plays a critical role in regulating apparent priming effects, with important implications for the improvement of C cycling models under global change scenarios.