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Soil Microbial Communities Adjust Thermal Traits and Carbon Allocation in Response to Climate Manipulations in Subtropical Forest and Cropland

Cruz-Paredes, Carla LU orcid ; Brangarí, Albert C LU orcid ; Tájmel, Dániel LU ; Hicks, Lettice LU ; Leizeaga, Ainara LU ; Wondie, Menale ; Sandén, Hans and Rousk, Johannes LU orcid (2026) In Global Change Biology 32(4).
Abstract

Soil microorganisms regulate carbon (C) cycling, and their growth and respiration are strongly dependent on temperature. Yet it remains unclear how warming alters microbial thermal traits, community structure, and the balance between microbial respiration and growth, particularly in subtropical ecosystems where high temperatures coincide with low soil moisture, potentially constraining microbial activity. In this study, we investigated soil microbial thermal traits for growth and respiration, and the microbial community composition in two subtropical land-uses with contrasting microclimates: a cooler, moist pristine forest and a warmer, drier cropland. Using open top chambers (OTCs) or rain exclusion shelters over 1.5 years, we... (More)

Soil microorganisms regulate carbon (C) cycling, and their growth and respiration are strongly dependent on temperature. Yet it remains unclear how warming alters microbial thermal traits, community structure, and the balance between microbial respiration and growth, particularly in subtropical ecosystems where high temperatures coincide with low soil moisture, potentially constraining microbial activity. In this study, we investigated soil microbial thermal traits for growth and respiration, and the microbial community composition in two subtropical land-uses with contrasting microclimates: a cooler, moist pristine forest and a warmer, drier cropland. Using open top chambers (OTCs) or rain exclusion shelters over 1.5 years, we quantified how experimental warming and drought altered microbial functioning and upscaled these effects using field soil temperature and moisture records. Field warming increased the abundance of warm-adapted bacterial and fungal taxa and led to shifts in microbial thermal trait distributions toward higher minimum temperature values for microbial growth, indicating community-level thermal adaptation. These thermal trait adaptations resulted in a modeled 36% reduction in annual soil CO 2 efflux in warmed plots. Overall, our results show that thermal trait adaptation, driven partly by community restructuring, buffers soil C losses under warming and may enhance soil C sequestration in subtropical ecosystems. These findings showcase the importance of integrating microbial thermal traits into soil C models to improve predictions of climate-carbon feedbacks.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Soil Microbiology, Forests, Climate Change, Microbiota, Carbon/metabolism, Temperature, Tropical Climate, Carbon Cycle, Soil/chemistry, Bacteria/metabolism, Fungi, Droughts
in
Global Change Biology
volume
32
issue
4
article number
e70836
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • pmid:41934143
ISSN
1354-1013
DOI
10.1111/gcb.70836
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
© 2026 The Author(s). Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
id
60c71694-900c-4a48-99c8-8aa2ebf0b496
date added to LUP
2026-04-06 09:31:33
date last changed
2026-04-13 14:48:29
@article{60c71694-900c-4a48-99c8-8aa2ebf0b496,
  abstract     = {{<p>Soil microorganisms regulate carbon (C) cycling, and their growth and respiration are strongly dependent on temperature. Yet it remains unclear how warming alters microbial thermal traits, community structure, and the balance between microbial respiration and growth, particularly in subtropical ecosystems where high temperatures coincide with low soil moisture, potentially constraining microbial activity. In this study, we investigated soil microbial thermal traits for growth and respiration, and the microbial community composition in two subtropical land-uses with contrasting microclimates: a cooler, moist pristine forest and a warmer, drier cropland. Using open top chambers (OTCs) or rain exclusion shelters over 1.5 years, we quantified how experimental warming and drought altered microbial functioning and upscaled these effects using field soil temperature and moisture records. Field warming increased the abundance of warm-adapted bacterial and fungal taxa and led to shifts in microbial thermal trait distributions toward higher minimum temperature values for microbial growth, indicating community-level thermal adaptation. These thermal trait adaptations resulted in a modeled 36% reduction in annual soil CO 2 efflux in warmed plots. Overall, our results show that thermal trait adaptation, driven partly by community restructuring, buffers soil C losses under warming and may enhance soil C sequestration in subtropical ecosystems. These findings showcase the importance of integrating microbial thermal traits into soil C models to improve predictions of climate-carbon feedbacks. </p>}},
  author       = {{Cruz-Paredes, Carla and Brangarí, Albert C and Tájmel, Dániel and Hicks, Lettice and Leizeaga, Ainara and Wondie, Menale and Sandén, Hans and Rousk, Johannes}},
  issn         = {{1354-1013}},
  keywords     = {{Soil Microbiology; Forests; Climate Change; Microbiota; Carbon/metabolism; Temperature; Tropical Climate; Carbon Cycle; Soil/chemistry; Bacteria/metabolism; Fungi; Droughts}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Global Change Biology}},
  title        = {{Soil Microbial Communities Adjust Thermal Traits and Carbon Allocation in Response to Climate Manipulations in Subtropical Forest and Cropland}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70836}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/gcb.70836}},
  volume       = {{32}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}