Functional Potential of Soil Microbial Communities and Their Subcommunities Varies with Tree Mycorrhizal Type and Tree Diversity

Loss of multifunctional microbial communities can negatively affect ecosystem services, especially forest soil nutrient cycling. Therefore, exploration of the genomic potential of soil microbial communities, particularly their constituting subcommunities and taxa for nutrient cycling, is vital to get an in-depth mechanistic understanding for better management of forest soil ecosystems. This study revealed soil microbes with rich nutrient cycling potential, organized in subcommunities that are functionally resilient and abundant. Such microbial communities mainly found in multi-tree-species mixtures associated with different mycorrhizal partners can foster soil microbiome stability. A stable and functionally rich soil microbiome is involved in the cycling of nutrients, such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, and their combinations could have positive effects on ecosystem functioning, including increased forest productivity. The new findings could be highly relevant for afforestation and reforestation regimes, notably in the face of growing deforestation and global warming scenarios.

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