The trade-offs among fungal guilds are associated with soil organic carbon dynamics in alpine ecosystems

Zexin Meng; Yiping Wu; Ji Chen; Yongxing Cui; Yuanliu Hu; Fubo Zhao; Huiwen Li; Wenqing Chen; Diego Abalos

doi:10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2026.100178

The Innovation Geoscience > 2026 Vol. 4 > No. 1 > 100178

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The trade-offs among fungal guilds are associated with soil organic carbon dynamics in alpine ecosystems

1.
Institute of Global Environmental Change, Department of Earth & Environmental Science, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
2.
College of Soil and Water Conservation, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, China
3.
Guanzhong Plain Ecological Environment Change and Comprehensive Treatment National Observation and Research Station, Xi'an 710061, China
4.
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China
5.
Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 14195, Germany
6.
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
7.
School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710129, China
8.
College of Grassland Agriculture, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
9.
Northwest A & F University Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518000, China
10.
Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Tjele 8830, Denmark

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Corresponding authors: rocky.ypwu@gmail.com (Y.W.); chen_wq@nwsuaf.edu.cn (W.C.)
Received Date: August 23, 2024

Accepted Date: September 11, 2025

Published Online: September 15, 2025

The Innovation Geoscience 4(1), https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2026.100178 | Cite this article

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PUBLIC SUMMARY
1. Soil organic carbon (SOC) decreases by 28% along the 3,994–5,120 m alpine gradient.
  
  This decline is linked to trade-offs between ectomycorrhizal fungi and non-ligninolytic saprotrophs.
  
  At higher elevations, ectomycorrhizal fungi dominate, linked to peroxidase activity and SOC turnover.
  
  SOC fate is linked to trade-offs between fungal guilds along elevation gradients in alpine ecosystems.

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

Alpine ecosystems have vast amount of soil organic carbon (SOC) and are highly sensitive to climate change. Soil fungi play a crucial role in SOC cycling as decomposers but their contribution to alpine SOC dynamics across high elevation gradients remain poorly understood. Here, we explored fungal communities and their relationships with SOC content across an elevational gradient from 3,994 to 5,120 m on the Tibetan Plateau. We found that SOC content decreased by 28.3% from low to high elevation caused by the trade-offs between ectomycorrhizal fungi and non-ligninolytic saprotrophs. Higher elevation soils, with colder, wetter conditions and lower fertility, were dominated by ectomycorrhizal fungi at the expense of non-ligninolytic saprotrophic fungal species through environmental filtering and nutrient competition. Furthermore, ectomycorrhizal fungi are positively correlated with peroxidative enzyme activities, suggesting enhanced SOC turnover. Our work provides new evidence of, and insights into, the potential role of specific fungal guild trade-offs in shaping SOC fate in fragile alpine ecosystems.
- Soil carbon cycling /
- Fungal community /
- Soil nutrient /
- Ectomycorrhiza /
- Peroxidase /
- High-elevation

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REFERENCES

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Meng Z., Wu Y., Chen J., et al. (2026). The trade-offs among fungal guilds are associated with soil organic carbon dynamics in alpine ecosystems. The Innovation Geoscience 4:100178. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2026.100178

Meng Z., Wu Y., Chen J., et al. (2026). The trade-offs among fungal guilds are associated with soil organic carbon dynamics in alpine ecosystems. The Innovation Geoscience 4:100178. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2026.100178

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The trade-offs among fungal guilds are associated with soil organic carbon dynamics in alpine ecosystems

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The trade-offs among fungal guilds are associated with soil organic carbon dynamics in alpine ecosystems

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