Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
181,716 studies31 sourcesUpdated 10 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BYCommunications earth & environment

Legacy of peatland erosion shapes microbial communities during recovery.

  • Fin Ring-Hrubesh1,2
  • Mike Vreeken1,2,3
  • Anne Eberle1,4
  • Bradley Welch5
  • Paul Sinnadurai5
  • Penny Johnes2,6
  • Robert Griffiths7
  • Angela Gallego-Sala8
  • Richard Pancost1,2,3
  • Casey Bryce1,2
8 affiliations
  1. 1School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
  2. 2Cabot Institute for the Environment, Royal Fort House, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
  3. 3Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
  4. 4Present Address: GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany.
  5. 5Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority, Brecon, Powys UK.
  6. 6School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
  7. 7School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd UK.
  8. 8Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Human degradation has caused many peatlands worldwide to shift from long-term carbon sinks to net sources. In upland blanket peatlands, erosion disrupts plant-derived carbon input and exposes deep peat, accelerating oxidation of old carbon. The efficacy of restoration in preventing carbon loss and recovering ecosystem function depends on microbial responses to both water table manipulation and renewed litter input. Yet it is unclear how these factors alter the microbial communities that ultimately control carbon storage and emissions. Here we show that microbial community composition in the eroded Waun Fignen Felen peatland, South Wales, was governed primarily by organic matter bioavailability rather than water-table position. Long-term erosion leaves a legacy of highly decomposed organic matter, unaltered by re-wetting. Where plant litter accumulation is renewed on formerly eroded peat surfaces, the influx of bioavailable organic input supports a distinct prokaryote community with a greater bacterial population size, and evidence of elevated respiration.

Related

  1. Land-use legacy shapes soil- and root-associated microbial communities, modifies nutrient cycling, and influences vine physiology
    Célien Durney, Pierre-Antoine Noceto, Sam Ballenghien +5
    Applied Soil EcologyPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textGeneral biologyEnvironmental science & pollutionHAL
  2. From temporary event spaces to permanent urban communities: A physical-relational-legacy framework for Olympic Village transformation
    Yezi Liu, Shengchen Zhang, Hai Li
    PLOS OnePeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textGeneral biologyGeneral earth sciencePLOS
  3. The builder's legacy: persistent reef structure creates a window for coral recovery after adult loss
    M. Asbury, C. Couch, T. Oliver +2
    bioRxivPreprintCC BY-NCFull text1 citedEcologybioRxiv
  4. Hydrogeological compartmentalization outweighs hydrochemistry in structuring microbial communities across contrasting subsurface habitats
    Cassandre Sara Lazar, Pierre Betti, Coralie Rolland +1
    Frontiers in microbiologyPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textMicrobiologyEurope PMC
  5. Deciphering the nitrogen-promoting effect of vermicompost: from a complex organic matrix to synthetic microbial communities
    Yangfei Li, Jing Huang, Yuanke Liang
    Frontiers in plant sciencePeer-reviewedCC BYFull textPlant biologyEurope PMC

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{ringhrubesh2026legacy,
  title = {{Legacy of peatland erosion shapes microbial communities during recovery.}},
  author = {Fin Ring-Hrubesh and Mike Vreeken and Anne Eberle and Bradley Welch and Paul Sinnadurai and Penny Johnes and Robert Griffiths and Angela Gallego-Sala and Richard Pancost and Casey Bryce},
  journal = {Communications earth \& environment},
  year = {2026},
  month = jun,
  doi = {10.1038/s43247-026-03766-8},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908696},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Legacy of peatland erosion shapes microbial communities during recovery.
AU  - Fin Ring-Hrubesh
AU  - Mike Vreeken
AU  - Anne Eberle
AU  - Bradley Welch
AU  - Paul Sinnadurai
AU  - Penny Johnes
AU  - Robert Griffiths
AU  - Angela Gallego-Sala
AU  - Richard Pancost
AU  - Casey Bryce
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/01
JO  - Communications earth & environment
DO  - 10.1038/s43247-026-03766-8
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908696
AB  - Human degradation has caused many peatlands worldwide to shift from long-term carbon sinks to net sources. In upland blanket peatlands, erosion disrupts plant-derived carbon input and exposes deep peat, accelerating oxidation of old carbon. The efficacy of restoration in preventing carbon loss and recovering ecosystem function depends on microbial responses to both water table manipulation and renewed litter input. Yet it is unclear how these factors alter the microbial communities that ultimately control carbon storage and emissions. Here we show that microbial community composition in the eroded Waun Fignen Felen peatland, South Wales, was governed primarily by organic matter bioavailability rather than water-table position. Long-term erosion leaves a legacy of highly decomposed organic matter, unaltered by re-wetting. Where plant litter accumulation is renewed on formerly eroded peat surfaces, the influx of bioavailable organic input supports a distinct prokaryote community with a greater bacterial population size, and evidence of elevated respiration.
SN  - 2662-4435
ER  -