Salinity effects on soil P cycling

Accelerated sea-level rise is expected to cause the salinization of
freshwater wetlands, but the responses to salinity of the availability of
soil phosphorus (P) and of microbial genes involved in the cycling and
transformation of P remain unexplored. Our results suggest that the
P-cycling microbial community abundance and P availability respond
positively to moderate increases in salinity by promoting the microbial
solubilization and mineralization of soil P in brackish wetlands. Changes
in microbial communities and microbially mediated P cycling may represent
microbial strategies to adapt to moderate salinity levels, which in turn
control soil function and nutrient balance.