microbial life strategy and soil respiration

Forest recovery is expanding globally, inevitably leading to changes in the biogeochemical cycling. Soil microbes play a crucial role in the soil carbon (C) cycle and are considered a rate-limiting factor in C decomposition. However, the evolutionary patterns of microbial community composition during forest recovery, and how changes in microbial community composition drive soil respiration, remain unknown. This study selected natural secondary forest sequences with different restoration times (20, 32, 47, and 61 years) after clear-cutting, as well as an undisturbed primary forest (PF) as the research subjects. The aim is to evaluate the evolutionary patterns and driving mechanisms of microbial community composition and soil respiration during forest restoration processes.