Decreased soil multifunctionality is associated with altered microbial network properties under precipitation reduction in a semiarid grassland

Our results reveal different responses of soil multifunctionality to increased and decreased precipitation. By linking microbial network properties to soil functions, we also show that network complexity and potentially competitive interactions are key drivers of soil multifunctionality. Global climate warming during the past few decades has resulted in the intensification of the hydrological cycle [1, 2], thereby leading to shifts in precipitation patterns at the global as well as regional scales [3, 4]. Such altered precipitation regimes are expected to have dramatic ecological consequences, including changes in microbial assembly and variations in biodiversity and ecosystem functions, especially in…

• NU
  Northwestern University
• NU
  Ningxia University

  Award: LDER2022Q01
• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 42207368, 41877543
• AS
  Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program