Although the underlying mechanisms remain unknown, soils from different forest types exhibit distinct acidification-buffering capacities. We investigated soil properties and bacterial communities across five plantation types and different soil horizons in a severely acid-polluted site in Southwest China and evaluated the potential mechanisms driving differences in community structure. Soils collected from pure stands of Pinus massoniana Lamb.or Schima superba Gardn. et Champ. or mixed stands of these species showed the lowest soil pH and greater abundances of acid-producing and acidophilic taxa (Halanaerobiales and Rhodospirillales). Soils from pure stands of Cinnamomum camphora (Linn) Presl, or a mixture of C. camphora and P. massoniana, yielded the greatest concentrations of exchangeable calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) and greater soil pH. Increased relative abundances of beneficial taxa may have contributed to soil aggregate formation (e.g., Bradyrhizobium canariense and Terracidiphilus sp.) and heightened environmental stress resistance (e.g., Gaiellales). Fewer acid-producing and acidophilic taxa found in soils associated with C. camphora suggest that planting C. camphora may help soils recover from acidification, while planting S. superba may not be as beneficial. Our findings illustrate how differences in soil microbial communities may impact soil-acidification-buffering capacity across different forest types, which have important implications for understanding environmental functions within the context of microbial diversity.

Human modification and habitat fragmentation have a substantial influence on large carnivores, which need extensive, contiguous habitats to survive in a landscape. The establishment of protected areas is an effective way to offer protection for carnivore populations by buffering them from anthropogenic impacts. In this study, we used MaxEnt to model habitat suitability and to identify conservation gaps for snow leopard (Panthera uncia) in the Qilian Mountains of China, and then assessed the impact of highways/railways and their corridors on habitat connectivity using a graph-based landscape connectivity model. Our results indicated that the study area had 51,137 km2 of potentially suitable habitat for snow leopards and that there were four protection gaps outside of Qilian Mountain National Park. The findings revealed that the investigated highway and railway resulted in a decrease in connectivity at a regional scale, and that corridor development might enhance regional connectivity, which strengthens the capacity of central habitat patches to act as stepping stones and improve connections between western and eastern habitat patches. This study emphasized the need for assessing the impact of highways and railways, as well as their role in corridor development, on species’ connectivity. Based on our results, we provide some detailed recommendations for designing protection action plans for effectively protecting snow leopard habitat and increasing habitat connectivity.

Human conservation efforts have pros and cons for endangered animals. Metagenomic analysis of the gut microbiome provides valuable insights and tools for wildlife conservation. However, most studies only focus on changes in microbial species and potential functional genes, leaving out the assembly mechanisms and metabolic activities of wildlife gut microbiome. Herein, we investigated the gut microbiome of golden snub-nosed monkeys under varied conservation strategies (wild, captive, and food provision) using metagenome and metabolome analysis. We found that the conserved monkeys had more non-redundant genes, distinct community diversities, and less stable gut microbiota. Source-tracking analysis showed captive group has fewer wild-sourced microbes than food provision group. The captive group had more habitat specialists with narrower niche breadth compared to the provision/wild counterparts. Besides, captive group’s microbiota governed by deterministic processes more than provisioned/wild groups. Procrustes analysis revealed changes in antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors linked to mobile genetic elements in conserved monkeys. Notably, gut microbiota and metabolomic dataset had significant co-variation and clear separation among the wild, captive and food provision groups. Weighted correlation network analysis identified co-varying modules of microbiota and metabolites with opposite variation trends between the wild and conserved animals, specifically linked to co-metabolism pathways associated with essential amino acids. This study provides new insights into the structural features, assembly mechanisms, community functions, and microbiota-metabolome associations of wildlife gut microbiome under different conservation strategies and have significant implications for advancing sustainable conservation practices.

Human conservation efforts have pros and cons for endangered animals. Metagenomic analysis of the gut microbiome provides valuable insights and tools for wildlife conservation. However, most studies only focus on changes in microbial species and potential functional genes, leaving out the assembly mechanisms and metabolic activities of wildlife gut microbiome. Herein, we investigated the gut microbiome of golden snub-nosed monkeys under varied conservation strategies (wild, captive, and food provision) using metagenome and metabolome analysis. We found that the conserved monkeys had more non-redundant genes, distinct community diversities, and less stable gut microbiota. Source-tracking analysis showed captive group has fewer wild-sourced microbes than food provision group. The captive group had more habitat specialists with narrower niche breadth compared to the provision/wild counterparts. Besides, captive group's microbiota governed by deterministic processes more than provisioned/wild groups. Procrustes analysis revealed changes in antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors linked to mobile genetic elements in conserved monkeys. Notably, gut microbiota and metabolomic dataset had significant co-variation and clear separation among the wild, captive and food provision groups. Weighted correlation network analysis identified co-varying modules of microbiota and metabolites with opposite variation trends between the wild and conserved animals, specifically linked to co-metabolism pathways associated with essential amino acids. This study provides new insights into the structural features, assembly mechanisms, community functions, and microbiota-metabolome associations of wildlife gut microbiome under different conservation strategies and have significant implications for advancing sustainable conservation practices.

Soil microbes play important roles in determining plant community composition and terrestrial ecosystem functions, as well as the direction and extent of terrestrial ecosystem feedback to environmental changes. Understanding the distribution patterns of plant and soil microbiota along elevation gradients is necessary to shed light on important ecosystem functions. In this study, soil bacteria along an elevation gradient in an alpine meadow ecosystem of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau were investigated using Illumina sequencing and GeoChip technologies. The community structure of the soil bacteria and plants presented a continuous trend along the elevation gradient, and their alpha diversity displayed different distribution patterns; however, there were no linkages between them. Beta diversity of the soil bacteria and plants was significantly influenced by elevational distance changes (p < 0.05). Functional gene categories involved in nitrogen and phosphorus cycling had faster changes than those involved in carbon degradation, and functional genes involved in labile carbon degradation also had faster variations than those involved in recalcitrant carbon degradation with elevational changes. According to Pearson’s correlation, partial Mantel test analysis, and canonical correspondence analysis, soil pH and mean annual precipitation were important environmental variables in influencing soil bacterial diversity. Soil bacterial diversity and plant diversity had different distribution patterns along the elevation gradient.