Soil microbial communities play a crucial role in maintaining multiple soil functions in terrestrial ecosystems. However, evidence linking soil microbial communities to soil multifunctionality under warming and precipitation changes remains limited. This study shows that the combined effects of warming and increased precipitation can markedly weaken soil multifunctionality in semi-arid grasslands, primarily by intensifying competition between bacteria and fungi. The researchers’ finding appeared October 28, 2025 in Soil Ecology Letters.

The study was conducted by a team led by Prof. Yangquanwei Zhong from Northwestern Polytechnical University, in collaboration with the University of São Paulo and Northwest A&F University. On the semi-arid grassland of the Loess Plateau, the researchers ran a three-year field experiment that included warming, altered precipitation (±40%), and their combined treatments, and systematically monitored the dynamic responses of soil microbial community structure, network complexity and soil multifunctionality.

Prof. Zhong said,“We found that the combined effects of warming and increased precipitation markedly reduce soil multifunctionality, primarily because competition between bacteria and fungi is significantly intensified, leading to lower stability of microbial networks and impaired ecological functions.”

The results show that under the combined effects of warming and increased rainfall, the diversity of both soil bacteria and fungi declined, with the fungal community structure changing markedly and its network complexity dropping by more than 40%. By constructing microbial co-occurrence networks, the team further revealed that the proportion of negative bacteria–fungi interactions rose significantly, emerging as a key factor undermining soil multifunctionality.

Prof. Zhong stated:“From the perspective of microbial competition, we have uncovered the hidden threat climate change poses to soil functions—future warming and shifts in precipitation patterns may reshape microbial interactions, thereby altering the service functions of grassland ecosystems.”

The study also emphasizes that soil microbes carry an adaptive memory of past climatic conditions, and their response patterns may vary with regional context. Therefore, projecting future climate-change impacts on soil functions must account for both the adaptive mechanisms and the historical legacy of microbial communities.

“Soil is not a silent resource—it has its own living language,” Prof. Zhong concluded. “Listening to the voices of microbes and understanding how they interact is a crucial step toward safeguarding soil health and tackling climate change.”In the coming years, the team plans to expand the study to additional regions, integrating laboratory incubations with modelling simulations to dissect the mechanisms and ecological consequences of microbial competition, thereby providing a scientific basis for managing grassland ecosystems and adapting to climate change.
DOI:10.1007/s42832-025-0369-0