As two central issues of global climate change, the continuous increase of both atmospheric CO2 concentrations and global temperature has profound effects on various terrestrial ecosystems. Microbial communities play pivotal roles in these ecosystems by responding to environmental changes through regulation of soil biogeochemical processes. However, little is known about the effect of elevated CO2 (eCO2) and global warming on soil microbial communities, especially in semiarid zones. We used a functional gene array (GeoChip 3.0) to measure the functional gene composition, structure, and metabolic potential of soil microbial communities under warming, eCO2, and eCO2 + warming conditions in a semiarid grassland. The results showed that the composition and structure of microbial communities was dramatically altered by multiple climate factors, including elevated CO2 and increased temperature. Key functional genes, those involved in carbon (C) degradation and fixation, methane metabolism, nitrogen (N) fixation, denitrification and N mineralization, were all stimulated under eCO2, while those genes involved in denitrification and ammonification were inhibited under warming alone. The interaction effects of eCO2 and warming on soil functional processes were similar to eCO2 alone, whereas some genes involved in recalcitrant C degradation showed no significant changes. In addition, canonical correspondence analysis and Mantel test results suggested that NO3-N and moisture significa...

Clipping, removal of aboveground plant biomass, is an important issue in grassland ecology. However, few studies have focused on the effect of clipping on belowground microbial communities. Using integrated metagenomic technologies, we examined the taxonomic and functional responses of soil microbial communities to annual clipping (2010–2014) in a grassland ecosystem of the Great Plains of North America. Our results indicated that clipping significantly (P 0.05) increased root and microbial respiration rates. Annual temporal variation within the microbial communities was much greater than the significant changes introduced by clipping, but cumulative effects of clipping were still observed in the long-term scale. The abundances of some bacterial and fungal lineages including Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes were significantly (P 0.05) changed by clipping. Clipping significantly (P 0.05) increased the abundances of labile carbon (C) degrading genes. More importantly, the abundances of recalcitrant C degrading genes were consistently and significantly (P 0.05) increased by clipping in the last 2 years, which could accelerate recalcitrant C degradation and weaken long-term soil carbon stability. Furthermore, genes involved in nutrient-cycling processes including nitrogen cycling and phosphorus utilization were also significantly increased by clipping. The shifts of microbial communities were significantly correlated with soil respiration and plant productivity. Intrig...

Soil microbial community plays an important role in terrestrial carbon and nitrogen cycling. However, the response of the soil nitrifier and denitrifier communities to climate warming is poorly understood. A long-term field warming experiment has been conducted for 8 years at Luancheng Experimental Farm Station on the North China Plain; we used this field to examine how soil microbial community structure, nitrifier, and denitrifier abundance respond to warming under regular irrigation (RI) and high irrigation (HI) at different soil depths (0–5, 5–10, and 10–20 cm). Nitrifier, denitrifier, and the total bacterial abundance were assessed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction of the functional genes and 16S rRNA gene, respectively. Bacterial community structure was studied through high throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Under RI, warming significantly (P 0.05) increased the potential nitrification rate and nitrate concentration and decreased the soil moisture. In most of the samples, warming increased the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria abundance but decreased the ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and denitrifier (nirK, nirS, and nosZ genes) abundance. Under HI, there was a highly increased AOA and 16S rRNA gene abundance and a slightly higher denitrifier abundance compared with RI. Warming decreased the bacterial diversity and species richness, and the microbial community structure differed greatly between the warmed and control plots. The decrease in bacterial diver...

Soil microbes play an essential role in virtually all ecosystem processes, such that microbial abundance and activity determines the sustainable productivity of agricultural lands, ecosystem resilience against nutrient mining, degradation of soil and water resources, and GHG emissions (Wagg et al., 2014). Their activity is directly affected by changes in the environment. In this context, climate change is a relevant factor, with the potential to affect the role of microbes in the soil, which is vital to support agriculture worldwide. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is an approach that can help to reduce these impacts. CSA is an integrative approach to develop agricultural strategies for sustainably increasing agricultural productivity, adapting and building resilience of agricultural and food security systems, and reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions under climate change scenarios (Lipper et al., 2014; Paustian et al., 2016). In this Research Topic, we aimed to provide the reader with a selection of studies to highlight novel experimental concepts such as process-oriented omics approaches with state-of-the-art technological advances in agricultural science to better understand how consequences of climate change such as elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration (eCO2), temperature, and drought affect soil microbes and associated ecosystem processes. In addition, the role of microbes in agricultural management that contribute to climate change adaptation, GHG mitigati...

At MyLand we use live, native microalgae to rapidly improve soil health. Through our technology, MyLand helps tackle two of the world’s biggest challenges: food security and climate disruption. We help growers create a healthier planet from the ground up — making our food more abundant and nutritious.

TomKat Ranch is an 1,800 acre grassfed cattle ranch in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our team of ranchers, scientists, and advocates look to nature to guide our landscape management in support of our values.

Livestock business management for farmers and ranchers who want to move their organisation forward. Everything you need to run your most profitable, efficient and sustainable livestock business, all in one place.

Farm Foundation is an accelerator of practical solutions for agriculture. We accelerate people and ideas into action.

We at Climate Farmers are building the infrastructure to scale regenerative agriculture in Europe and reverse climate change.

MyLand is leading a shift to regenerative agriculture, improving soil health by increasing and reintroducing native algae to the soil.

About 10,000 years ago, humans began to farm. This agricultural revolution was a turning point in our history and enabled the existence of civilization. Today, nearly 40 percent of our planet is farmland. Spread all over the world, these lands are the pieces to a global puzzle we're all facing: in the future, how can we feed every member of a growing population a healthy diet? Brent Loken investigates. [Directed by Hype CG, narrated by Jack Cutmore-Scott, music by Gabriel Maia].

December 4, 2022 - MyLand Company, Inc. (“MyLand”), a soil health company, Principal Scientist / Research Director, Dr. Kris Nichols recently hosted Dr. James White, Rutgers University, in a World Soil Day tribute webinar entitled, “Soil as a Service". If you’ve watched Kiss the Ground, a documentary that delves into the solutions the soil holds for the future of our planet, you’re undoubtedly familiar with Dr. Kris Nichols.

This course covers a baseline understanding of geographic concepts and areas a beginner needs to proceed with finding Census Bureau data.

Supporting sustainability decision-making with the power of the cloud

The fungi kingdom is understudied, but there’s an effort underway to change that

Agriculture producers across the state are reaching out to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service for advice on carbon credit contracts.

Standardizing soil data will build a thriving marketplace that rewards farmers and ranchers for actions that increase soil health and sequester carbon.

Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) is a non-profit organization and community dedicated to developing biodiversity information standards.

The Soil Health concept is complex. In this blog, we gather key elements of soil health. This glossary is an ongoing project that we will continue to update with new relevant soil health principles to help create a comprehensive understanding of this key element in regenerative agriculture.

A soil-health testing company is expanding to accommodate increasing demand in the science of climate-smart farming.