Soil microbial communities regulate the threshold effect of salinity stress on SOM decomposition in coastal salt marshes.

ABSTRACT: Salinity stress is one of the critical environmental drivers of soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition in coastal ecosystems. Although the temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀) of SOM decomposition has been widely applied in Earth system models to forecast carbon processes, the impact of salinity on SOM decomposition by restructuring microbial communities remains uncovered. Here, we conducted a microcosm experiment with soils collected from the coastal salt marsh in the Yellow River Estuary, which is subjected to strong dynamics of salinity due to both tidal flooding and drainage. By setting a gradient of salt solutions, soil salinity was adjusted to simulate salinity stress and soil carbon emission (CO₂) rate was measured over the period. Results showed that as salinity inc

SUBMITTER: Zhang G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11197625 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature