1.Research Centre of Soil and Water Conservation and Eco- Environmental Sciences,Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education,Yangling,Shaanxi 712100,China
2.Institute of Soil and Water Conservation,Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources,Yangling,Shaanxi 712100,China
3.University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China
4.College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Technology,Northwest A&F University,Yangling,Shaanxi 712100,China
Objective Meadow soils on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau are highly sensitive to changes in the frequency of seasonal freeze-thaw cycles caused by climate change, and it is therefore urgent to understand how microbial activity in these soils responds to different numbers of freeze-thaw cycles. Methods Typical alpine meadow soil from a region of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau with frequent seasonal freeze-thaw activity was selected as the study subject. Simulations with 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 freeze-thaw (FT) cycles (termed C1, C3, C5, C7, and C9) and a non-freeze-thaw control (N9) were conducted to compare the response characteristics of typical soil parameters: dissolved organic carbon (DOC), microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, and gaseous carbon and nitrogen. Results 1) Compared with the non-FT treatment (N9), soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) decreased significantly by 23.64% after C9, while DOC increased significantly by 7.37%, and the cumulative emissions of CO2 and N2O increased by 71.09% and 321.40%, respectively. 2) With increasing FT cycles, DOC content and activities such as β-glucosidase and leucine aminopeptidase showed a nonlinear trend: they first declined and reached minimum levels at C5. The CO2 emissions rates peaked after the first two freeze-thaw cycles (1.83 times that of the non-FT soil), while N2O emission rates sharply increased after the fifth cycle, reaching 5.83 to 24.82 times that of the non-FT soil. 3) Soil microbial biomass nitrogen (SMBN) did not vary significantly, but the concentrations of NO3--N and the activity of N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAG) increased steadily, while NH4+-N decreased steadily, as the number of FT cycles increased. Conclusion The effects of multiple freeze-thaw cycles on soil microorganisms are not merely repetitions of a single freeze-thaw event. After five cycles, changes in pore structure and microbial mortality caused by soil water freezing and swelling have largely stabilized, and the surviving microbial communities gradually adapt to the new temperature conditions, restoring their activity during subsequent cycles. These findings could provide new theoretical insights and data for understanding the overwintering mechanisms of microorganisms in alpine meadow soils affected by seasonal freeze-thaw cycles.
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