Straw return is widely acknowledged as a crucial strategy for enhancing soil fertility and increasing crop yields. However, the continuous addition of straw, its slow decomposition, and retention can hinder crop growth. Therefore, it is essential to elucidate the characteristics of the crop straw decomposition. This study aims to explore the alterations in straw decomposition rates, as well as the content and structure of organic components, under the combined application of swine manure and corn straw in the broken skin yellow soil of black soil over time. The findings revealed that the straw decomposition rates in all treatments increased rapidly in the early stage, gradually slowed down and stabilized in the later stage. The decomposition rates of cellulose and hemicellulose were generally consistent with those of straw, while lignin decomposed more rapidly in the middle and later stages. Notably, the decomposition rate of straw and its components was significantly higher under the combined application of swine manure and biochar compared to other treatments, with decomposition rates of straw, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin recorded at: 66.16%, 63.38%, 61.16% and 47.96%, respectively, after 360 days. This treatment exhibited the most substantial damage to the apparent structure of corn straw over time, and it resulted in lower C/N ratios and the most pronounced decrease in the intensity of absorption peaks. Among all the treatments, the alkyl carbon/alkoxy carbon ratio was highest in the SCZ treatment, indicating that the addition of swine manure and biochar can significantly enhance straw decomposition. Correlation analysis revealed that the decomposition rates of straw, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin were significantly and positively correlated with the rates of alkyl carbon, aromatic carbon, and phenolic carbon in the organic functional groups of straw residues, and significantly negatively correlated with alkoxy carbon. The study suggested that the combined application of straw, swine manure and biochar in the field can effectively promote the decomposition of corn straw. Our findings provided insights into the efficient utilization of various exogenous conditioners, serving as a scientific basis for accelerating straw decomposition and enhancing nutrient utilization.

Seasonal changes in vegetation and climate exert significant influences on soil fauna in natural and agricultural ecosystems. Additionally, evidence indicates that interactions between different plant layers promote soil fauna diversity through the variety of resources available. The objective was to assess the edaphic fauna in traditional land use systems, agroforestry systems and natural vegetation, under the influence of rainfall seasonality and plant strata in the semiarid region of Brazil. For this purpose, six types of land use were selected: agroforestry; silvopastoral; slash and burn with intensive use without fallow; slash and burn with six years of fallow; slash and burn with nine years of fallow; and a system representing the natural vegetation of the Caatinga. Edaphic fauna was collected using pitfall traps in the dry and rainy seasons. A total of 43,363 individuals of the edaphic fauna were collected and grouped into taxa, determining abundance, diversity and functional groups. The results revealed higher abundance and diversity of edaphic fauna in the rainy season across all land use systems, but significantly higher numbers in systems with tree strata. The greater the abundance, richness and diversity of trees, the higher the diversity of edaphic fauna (Shannon Index - H: 0.7 < H- < 1) for the seasonal effect. Agroforestry systems were intermediate in the diversity of edaphic fauna (H- < 0.8) compared to other systems. Systems with greater heterogeneity in tree and herbaceous strata were the ones that most increased the diversity and activity of functional groups of edaphic fauna (H < 0.8; 0.5 < r < 0.9). In semiarid conditions, more attention should be given to agricultural production systems with greater tree diversity and interaction between tree and herbaceous strata to conserve the biodiversity of edaphic fauna and improve the soil health.

Plant biomass reveals the productivity and stability of a biotic community and is extremely sensitive to climate warming in permafrost regions, such as the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) in China. However, the response of the plant biomass of different functional groups to rising temperatures in such alpine zones remains unclear. Here, infrared radiators were used to simulate year-round warming on the QTP from 2011 to 2018. During the 8-year warming experiment, air temperature increased by 0.16 degrees C, while humidity tended to increase by 0.27 % at 20 cm above the ground. However, the rate of the increase in air temperature declined with an increasing number of years. Soil temperature and moisture increased by 1.28 degrees C and 3.61 %, respectively, on average from 0 to 100 cm below the ground, and the increment of soil moisture tended to rise with increasing depth. At the depths from 0 cm to 20 cm below the ground, soil organic carbon and total phosphorus tended to decrease by 0.79 g/kg and 0.04 g/kg, respectively, while soil total nitrogen tended to increase by 0.04 g/kg. Plant biomass had non-significant responses to warming, but the variation among different plant functional groups was greatest for forbs with the increment being 12.50, 147.97, and 160.47 g/m(2) for plants aboveground, belowground, and total biomass, respectively. The ratios of plant total biomass tended to decrease by 2.29 %, increase by 0.60 %, and increase by 1.70 % for grasses, sedges, and forbs, respectively, so warming greatly decreased the proportion of grasses and increased the proportion of forbs in community. Warming weakened the positive correlation of grass biomass with soil temperature and enhanced the negative correlation of grass biomass with soil N and P content, along with weakening the positive correlation of sedge biomass with soil moisture and N content, while enhancing the negative correlation between sedge biomass and soil temperature. Meanwhile, forb biomass was greatly increased by soil temperature in the effects of warming. In conclusion, the 8-year warming produced negative effects on grasses and sedges by increasing soil temperature and N content and thus promoted the growth of forbs, which might induce a shift toward forbs in this community.

Aim Litter humification is vital for carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems. Probing the litter humification of treeline ecotone will be helpful to understand soil carbon afflux in alpine regions under climate change. Methods Foliar litter of six plant functional groups was chosen in an alpine treeline ecotone of the eastern Tibetan Plateau, and a field litterbag decomposition experiment (669 days) was conducted in an alpine shrubland (AS) and a coniferous forest (CF). Environmental factors, litter quality, humus concentrations (total humus, Huc; humic acid, HAc; and fulvic acid, FAc) and hue coefficient (Delta logK and E4/E6) were measured to explore litter humification processes. Results Litter humification was controlled by both litter stoichiometric traits and local-environment conditions, while stoichiometric traits played a more obvious regulatory role. Significant discrepancies in litter humus were detected among six plant functional groups; more precisely, litter of evergreen conifer and shrubs showed a net accumulation of Huc and FAc during winter, whereas others experienced more mineralization than accumulation. Huc, HAc, and hue coefficient were mainly controlled by cellulose/N, cellulose/P, C/N, lignin/P, lignin/N, etc., yet FAc was more susceptible to local-environment conditions. Meanwhile, Huc, HAc and FAc, as well as humification degree and E4/E6 differed between AS and CF, with faster humification in AS. Conclusion We suggest that litter stoichiometric traits are more responsible for regulating litter humification than environmental conditions in elevational gradients. Furthermore, potential upward shifts by plants may accelerate litter humification in alpine ecosystems.