Drought had no effects on soil labile organic C and N contents but altered microbial community structure in a subtropical evergreen forest

It is predicted that climate extremes such as drought will become more frequent and prolonged by the end of this century, so it is vital that we improve our understanding of the effects ofdrought on the dynamics of soil labile C and N contents and microbial communitiesin terrestrial ecosystems. Using a 70% rainfall reduction manipulation experiment to simulatedrought in a subtropical evergreen forest of eastern China, we collected soil samples over all seasons and analyzed the dynamical changes in soil labile organic C and N contents such as extractable organic C (EOC) and extractable organic N (EON) contents,microbial biomass C (MBC) and microbial biomass N (MBN) contents, and microbial communitiesduring the period from June 2016 to February 2017.