Soil organic matter (SOM) has a key role in the carbon (C) cycle and consists of particulate organic matter (POM) and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM), which differ in stability and turnover. This study investigates C dynamics and microbial abundance at two alpine sites (1526 and 2500 m a.s.l). Soil samples were fractionated, and the C:N ratio, pH, and microbial abundances were analysed. While the MAOM/POM ratio remained stable across sites, the higher-elevation soil, dominated by N-poor alpine graminoids, showed an increased C:N ratio, consistent with reduced decomposition and transfer of litter into mineral-associated pools under colder, more acidic conditions. Bacteria predominated in MAOM, supporting their role in SOM stabilisation, whereas fungal abundance was highest in MAOM only at 2500 m. Fungal abundance remained stable across sites, indicating greater tolerance to low temperatures and pH compared to bacteria, which declined at higher altitudes. This suggests fungi play a key role in decomposition in colder environments. Correlations between fungi and bacteria were context-dependent: negative in MAOM and positive in POM, but only at 2500 m. These findings highlight how the composition and stability of SOM and microbial abundance differ between fractions and at different elevations, underscoring the value of integrating microbial data with SOM fractionation to better understand alpine soil C dynamics.
- Soil organic carbon fractions and their associated bacterial and fungal abundance in alpine ecosystems
- Ilaria Fracasso - Free University of Bozen-BolzanoElizabeth Rose FoleyRaphael Tiziani - Free University of Bozen-BolzanoP Buzzini - University of PerugiaA Augusti - Terrestrial Ecosystem Research NetworkO Gavrichkova - Terrestrial Ecosystem Research NetworkL Zucconi - Università degli Studi della TusciaLeonardo Montagnani - Free University of Bozen-BolzanoLuigimaria Vittorio Borruso - Free University of Bozen-BolzanoTanja Mimmo - Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
- Scientific Reports, Vol.16(1), pp.1-10
- 2045-2322
- 2045-2322
- 16
- Nature Research
- 10
- (UNIBZ)92105410
991007214588201241 - 001662921900004
- 2-s2.0-105027423046
- Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences
- English
- Journal article
- Fracasso I, Foley ER, Tiziani R, Buzzini P, Augusti A, Gavrichkova O, Zucconi L, Montagnani L, Borruso L, Mimmo T