A research team led by Professor Cui Baokai from the School of Ecology and Nature Conservation has published a study in Journal of Plant Ecology (CAS Q1 TOP, IF=4.5) examining how wildfire affects soil microbial communities in Larix gmelinii forests. The paper, titled "The effects of wildfire on soil microbial community structure, network and assembly in Larix gmelinii forest", provides detailed insights into microbial community structure, networks, and assembly processes following fire disturbance. 

As a vital component of the boreal forest, Larix gmelinii forests face severe threats from frequent wildfires. Soil microorganisms play a key role in forest ecosystems by participating in biogeochemical cycles and maintaining a close association with plants. To elucidate the effects of wildfires on soil microorganisms in L. gmelinii forests, we collected soil samples from burned and unburned forests in Northeast China during both summer and winter for amplicon sequencing. The results showed that wildfires significantly increased soil microbial diversity and markedly altered soil microbial community structure. Soil pH was the most important factor influencing microbial community diversity and composition. Compared with unburned networks, the burned networks were much less complex and stable, with a significantly higher proportion of fungus-related correlations. Additionally, the relative importance of deterministic processes in forming both bacterial and fungal communities was lower in the burned forest than in the unburned forest within the same season. The study illustrated the effects of wildfire on soil microorganisms from the perspectives of community structure, networks and assembly process, and demonstrated the crucial role of soil fungi in post-fire restoration of ecological functions. 

The paper's first author is Dr. Zhao Wen, a recent doctoral graduate from the School of Ecology and Nature Conservation. Young faculty member Sun Yifei and Professor Cui Baokai are co‑corresponding authors, with Beijing Forestry University as the signature unit of the first author.

his work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 32325001, 32270010), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. QNTD202509). 

Paper link: https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtaf207. 

Written by Zhao Wen, Sun Yifei
Translated and edited by Song He
Reviewed by Yu Yangyang