Opportunistic bacteria enhancing inorganic phosphorus level in post-wildfire tropical forest peatlands

Gao, P, Cheng, X, Tian, W, Wang, H, Liu, X, Tuovinen, OH, Smith, TEL and Evers, SL ORCID: 0000-0002-6639-5776 (2026) Opportunistic bacteria enhancing inorganic phosphorus level in post-wildfire tropical forest peatlands. Applied Soil Ecology, 221. ISSN 0929-1393

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Abstract

Wildfires significantly impact on soil phosphorus (P) dynamics in forest ecosystems, yet the role of bacteria with different life-history strategies in mediating post-fire P cycling is not well understood. To investigate this, soil samples were collected from wildfire-affected tropical peat forests and oil palm agroforests, which were subjected to physicochemical analysis, high throughput sequencing and bacterial quantification. Results revealed that wildfire led to an overall decline in bacterial diversity and absolute abundance. Yet, soil inorganic phosphorus (Pi) content increased significantly. This increase may be related to the shifts in bacterial life-history strategies. Wildfire boosts soil moisture levels, which in turn increase the relative abundance of opportunistic species that are r-strategists. These r-strategists exhibited higher speciation rates, greater dormancy potential, stronger dispersal limitation, and more keystone species in networks. The traits gave them a competitive edge, leading to rapid proliferation after wildfire. Moreover, they increased the relative abundance of organic P-mineralization genes, particularly phnA , phnW , and phoN , accelerating Pi release and accumulation. This study first reveals how bacteria with different life-history strategies regulate P cycling and highlights the role of opportunistic taxa. Our findings enhance the understanding of how shifts in bacterial life-history strategies influence soil P cycling and long-term fertility maintenance in tropical forests and peatlands.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	30 Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences; 31 Biological Sciences; 3103 Ecology; 41 Environmental Sciences; 3007 Forestry Sciences; 05 Environmental Sciences; 06 Biological Sciences; 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences; Agronomy & Agriculture; 30 Agricultural, veterinary and food sciences; 31 Biological sciences; 41 Environmental sciences
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology S Agriculture > SD Forestry
Divisions:	Biological and Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19)
Publisher:	Elsevier
Date of acceptance:	13 February 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access:	18 June 2026
Date Deposited:	17 Jun 2026 14:20
Last Modified:	18 Jun 2026 00:50
DOI or ID number:	10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.106893
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28861

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