Forest Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling under Global Change: Microbial Mechanisms, Management Implications, and Ecological Stoichiometry

Forest soils are the largest terrestrial carbon pool and a major reservoir of nitrogen, playing a critical role in regulating global climate and ecosystem functioning. Carbon and nitrogen cycles in forest soils are tightly coupled and driven by complex interactions among vegetation, soil fauna, and microbial communities. These processes are increasingly altered by global change, including warming, altered precipitation, elevated CO2, and intensified forest management such as thinning, harvesting, fertilization, and afforestation. Elucidating the microbial mechanisms underlying soil carbon and nitrogen transformations is therefore essential for predicting carbon sequestration potential, nutrient availability, and greenhouse gas emissions from forest ecosystems. Ecological stoichiometry further offers a powerful framework for linking plant-soil nutrient balance to ecosystem processes and limitations.Despite growing recognition of the importance of forest soils in global biogeochemical cycles, significant knowledge gaps remain regarding how microbial communities regulate carbon and nitrogen transformations, how these processes respond to climate change and forest management, and how carbon and nitrogen cycles interact to influence greenhouse gas fluxes. This Research Topic aims to bring together recent advances in field observations, manipulative experiments, and modelling to advance our mechanistic understanding of forest soil carbon and nitrogen cycling. We welcome contributions addressing: microbial regulation of soil carbon and nitrogen transformations; responses of soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics to warming, altered precipitation, and elevated CO2; effects of thinning, harvesting, fertilization, and afforestation on soil carbon and nitrogen processes; coupling of carbon and nitrogen cycles and implications for greenhouse gas emissions; the role of vegetation, soil fauna, and microbial interactions in carbon and nitrogen turnover; and ecological stoichiometry of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in plant leaves and soils as an indicator of nutrient cycling and limitation. By synthesizing these perspectives, this collection seeks to inform forest management and climate mitigation strategies.This Research Topic focuses on forest soil carbon and nitrogen cycling, encompassing natural and planted forests across boreal, temperate, and tropical zones. Specific themes include, but are not limited to: microbial mechanisms of soil organic matter formation and decomposition; priming effects and nutrient mineralization; impacts of climate warming, drought, and elevated CO2 on soil carbon stocks and nitrogen availability; consequences of thinning, harvesting, fertilization, and afforestation for soil fertility and greenhouse gas balance; plant-soil-fauna-microbe interactions; and carbon : nitrogen : phosphorus stoichiometry in foliage and soils as a tool for diagnosing nutrient limitation. We welcome original research articles, reviews, methods papers, and perspectives based on field observations, laboratory experiments, long-term monitoring, and modelling studies. Topic editors: Wu Jiasen, Xingzhao Huang Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/86639/forest-soil-carbon-and-nitrogen-cycling-under-global-change-microbial-mechanisms-management-implications-and-ecological-stoichiometry