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eISSN: 2083-5906
ISSN: 1230-1485
ISSN: 1230-1485
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Soil Organic Matter Significantly
Regulates Bacterial Carbon Metabolism
in Semi-Arid Mining Areas
1
Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, China
2
College of Environmental & Resource Sciences, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
Submission date: 2025-05-09
Final revision date: 2025-06-24
Acceptance date: 2025-07-14
Online publication date: 2025-11-12
Corresponding author
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Soil organic matter (SOM) strongly influences microbial-driven nutrient cycling; however, its role
in shaping bacterial carbon metabolism in reclaimed mining soils remains underexplored.
We established a greenhouse pot experiment simulating SOM accumulation during restoration, with
five SOM levels (1.1%-3.5%), to assess impacts on bacterial diversity, abundance, and carbon metabolic
activity using molecular and biochemical assays. Results showed that SOM significantly increased
bacterial diversity and metabolic function, with peak diversity at 2.5% SOM. High SOM content was
associated with increased abundance of carbon metabolism-related genes and biofilm-forming bacteria.
Structural equation modeling revealed that SOM directly enhanced microbial diversity and indirectly
stimulated carbon metabolism by altering soil pH and nutrient status. These findings highlight SOM
as a central ecological driver of microbial carbon cycling and support SOM-enrichment strategies
for restoring soil microbial functions in degraded mining environments.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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| eISSN: | 2083-5906 |
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