TY - GEN A1 - Edlinger, Anna A1 - Garland, Gina A1 - Banerjee, Samiran A1 - Degrune, Florine A1 - García‐Palacios, Pablo A1 - Herzog, Chantal A1 - Pescador, David Sánchez A1 - Romdhane, Sana A1 - Ryo, Masahiro A1 - Saghaï, Aurélien A1 - Hallin, Sara A1 - Maestre, Fernando T. A1 - Philippot, Laurent A1 - Rillig, Matthias C. A1 - Heijden, Marcel G. A. van der T1 - The impact of agricultural management on soil aggregation and carbon storage is regulated by climatic thresholds across a 3000 km European gradient T2 - Global Change Biology N2 - Organic carbon and aggregate stability are key features of soil quality and are important to consider when evaluating the potential of agricultural soils as carbon sinks. However, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how soil organic carbon (SOC) and aggregate stability respond to agricultural management across wide environmental gradients. Here, we assessed the impact of climatic factors, soil properties and agricultural management (including land use, crop cover, crop diversity, organic fertilization, and management intensity) on SOC and the mean weight diameter of soil aggregates, commonly used as an indicator for soil aggregate stability, across a 3000 km European gradient. Soil aggregate stability (−56%) and SOC stocks (−35%) in the topsoil (20 cm) were lower in croplands compared with neighboring grassland sites (uncropped sites with perennial vegetation and little or no external inputs). Land use and aridity were strong drivers of soil aggregation explaining 33% and 20% of the variation, respectively. SOC stocks were best explained by calcium content (20% of explained variation) followed by aridity (15%) and mean annual temperature (10%). We also found a threshold‐like pattern for SOC stocks and aggregate stability in response to aridity, with lower values at sites with higher aridity. The impact of crop management on aggregate stability and SOC stocks appeared to be regulated by these thresholds, with more pronounced positive effects of crop diversity and more severe negative effects of crop management intensity in nondryland compared with dryland regions. We link the higher sensitivity of SOC stocks and aggregate stability in nondryland regions to a higher climatic potential for aggregate‐mediated SOC stabilization. The presented findings are relevant for improving predictions of management effects on soil structure and C storage and highlight the need for site‐specific agri‐environmental policies to improve soil quality and C sequestration. KW - aggregate stability KW - agro-ecosystems KW - aridity KW - climatic threshold KW - environmental gradient KW - intensive agriculture KW - soil organic carbon Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16677 SN - 1354-1013 VL - 29 IS - 11 SP - 3177 EP - 3192 PB - Wiley ER - TY - GEN A1 - Degrune, Florine A1 - Dumack, Kenneth A1 - Ryo, Masahiro A1 - Garland, Gina A1 - Romdhane, Sana A1 - Saghaï, Aurélien A1 - Banerjee, Samiran A1 - Edlinger, Anna A1 - Herzog, Chantal A1 - Pescador, David Sánchez A1 - García‐Palacios, Pablo A1 - Fiore-Donno, Anna Maria A1 - Bonkowski, Michael A1 - Hallin, Sara A1 - Heijden, Marcel G. A. van der A1 - Maestre, Fernando T. A1 - Philippot, Laurent A1 - Glemnitz, Michael A1 - Sieling, Klaus A1 - Rillig, Matthias C. T1 - The impact of fungi on soil protist communities in European cereal croplands T2 - Environmental Microbiology N2 - Protists, a crucial part of the soil food web, are increasingly acknowledged as significant influencers of nutrient cycling and plant performance in farmlands. While topographical and climatic factors are often considered to drive microbial communities on a continental scale, higher trophic levels like heterotrophic protists also rely on their food sources. In this context, bacterivores have received more attention than fungivores. Our study explored the connection between the community composition of protists (specifically Rhizaria and Cercozoa) and fungi across 156 cereal fields in Europe, spanning a latitudinal gradient of 3000 km. We employed a machine‐learning approach to measure the significance of fungal communities in comparison to bacterial communities, soil abiotic factors, and climate as determinants of the Cercozoa community composition. Our findings indicate that climatic variables and fungal communities are the primary drivers of cercozoan communities, accounting for 70% of their community composition. Structural equation modelling (SEM) unveiled indirect climatic effects on the cercozoan communities through a change in the composition of the fungal communities. Our data also imply that fungivory might be more prevalent among protists than generally believed. This study uncovers a hidden facet of the soil food web, suggesting that the benefits of microbial diversity could be more effectively integrated into sustainable agriculture practices. Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.16673 SN - 1462-2912 VL - 26 IS - 7 PB - Wiley ER -