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Phyllosphere to soil : How long-term fencing reshapes grassland microbial community construction and the functional genes

Li, Jian ; Zhu, Yu ; Petticord, Daniel F. ; Frey, David W. ; Huang, Lijie ; Jin, Ming Kang ; de Beeck, Michiel Op LU orcid ; Ma, Quan Hui ; Jin, Shu Huan and Ying, Hong , et al. (2026) In Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 397.
Abstract

Fencing to exclude livestock is one of the effective strategies to passively reshape grassland ecosystem function, yet the dynamics of microbial community construction and their functional traits during restoration remain poorly understood. This study systematically sampled from various microhabitats (phyllosphere, litter, soil) within long-term fenced restoration areas, as well as areas with persistent animal grazing in the Songnen Meadow, to investigate the responses of microbial communities and their potential functional genes. Based on a core-satellite taxa framework, we revealed shared changes in microbial community assembly and functional gene regulation. During grassland restoration, the composition of microbial communities in... (More)

Fencing to exclude livestock is one of the effective strategies to passively reshape grassland ecosystem function, yet the dynamics of microbial community construction and their functional traits during restoration remain poorly understood. This study systematically sampled from various microhabitats (phyllosphere, litter, soil) within long-term fenced restoration areas, as well as areas with persistent animal grazing in the Songnen Meadow, to investigate the responses of microbial communities and their potential functional genes. Based on a core-satellite taxa framework, we revealed shared changes in microbial community assembly and functional gene regulation. During grassland restoration, the composition of microbial communities in different microhabitats underwent significant divergence, with the relative abundance of rare satellite taxa increasing, while the relative abundance of core microbial taxa decreased. Although environmental pressure effects on assembly diminished after fencing, deterministic selection processes still dominated the assembly of microbial communities, with stronger deterministic effects observed in the phyllosphere and litter than in the soil. Fencing and associated salinization enhanced the abundance of nutrient cycling functional genes (e.g., genes related to C/N/P hydrolysis, immobilization, and mineralization) by reducing microhabitat specificity. Furthermore, the assembly between core and satellite taxa mediated the distribution patterns of microbial potential functional genes through niche competition-balance mechanisms. This study systematically elucidates the response mechanisms of microbial communities and their functional potential following grazing exclusion in grassland ecosystems, providing theoretical support for developing microbial function-based grassland restoration management strategies.

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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Grazing exclusion, Microbial community assembly, Nutrient cycling genes, Soil salinity
in
Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
volume
397
article number
110062
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:105020825295
ISSN
0167-8809
DOI
10.1016/j.agee.2025.110062
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d6be0f6a-f26f-4eff-90a1-13c2043238f5
date added to LUP
2026-01-29 15:15:23
date last changed
2026-02-03 14:31:20
@article{d6be0f6a-f26f-4eff-90a1-13c2043238f5,
  abstract     = {{<p>Fencing to exclude livestock is one of the effective strategies to passively reshape grassland ecosystem function, yet the dynamics of microbial community construction and their functional traits during restoration remain poorly understood. This study systematically sampled from various microhabitats (phyllosphere, litter, soil) within long-term fenced restoration areas, as well as areas with persistent animal grazing in the Songnen Meadow, to investigate the responses of microbial communities and their potential functional genes. Based on a core-satellite taxa framework, we revealed shared changes in microbial community assembly and functional gene regulation. During grassland restoration, the composition of microbial communities in different microhabitats underwent significant divergence, with the relative abundance of rare satellite taxa increasing, while the relative abundance of core microbial taxa decreased. Although environmental pressure effects on assembly diminished after fencing, deterministic selection processes still dominated the assembly of microbial communities, with stronger deterministic effects observed in the phyllosphere and litter than in the soil. Fencing and associated salinization enhanced the abundance of nutrient cycling functional genes (e.g., genes related to C/N/P hydrolysis, immobilization, and mineralization) by reducing microhabitat specificity. Furthermore, the assembly between core and satellite taxa mediated the distribution patterns of microbial potential functional genes through niche competition-balance mechanisms. This study systematically elucidates the response mechanisms of microbial communities and their functional potential following grazing exclusion in grassland ecosystems, providing theoretical support for developing microbial function-based grassland restoration management strategies.</p>}},
  author       = {{Li, Jian and Zhu, Yu and Petticord, Daniel F. and Frey, David W. and Huang, Lijie and Jin, Ming Kang and de Beeck, Michiel Op and Ma, Quan Hui and Jin, Shu Huan and Ying, Hong and Xue, Xi Mei and Wang, Ling and Ding, Kai and Zhu, Yong Guan}},
  issn         = {{0167-8809}},
  keywords     = {{Grazing exclusion; Microbial community assembly; Nutrient cycling genes; Soil salinity}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment}},
  title        = {{Phyllosphere to soil : How long-term fencing reshapes grassland microbial community construction and the functional genes}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.110062}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.agee.2025.110062}},
  volume       = {{397}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}