Glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP), a glycoprotein primarily exuded by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), exerts key roles in ecological processes in terrestrial ecosystems. Nevertheless, the intricate nature of GRSP, coupled with constraints in its extraction and analytical methodologies, impedes a comprehensive understanding of its compositional attributes and ecological functions. Moreover, the scope of current GRSP research has undergone significant expansion, necessitating a comprehensive synthesis in this field. Here, we employed bibliometric analysis to systematically assess research trends and hotspots in the research field of GRSP based on 840 relevant articles indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection database. Among them, key parameters evaluated encompass publications’ quantity, highly cited articles, high-frequency keywords, and historical direct citations. These analyses illuminated the state-of-the-art of GRSP research, delineated emergent trends, and provided future perspectives. Current investigations into GRSP predominantly focus on three major topics: (i) GRSP’s nature, origin, and quantification methodologies; (ii) GRSP’s key influencing factors including agricultural management practices, climate and land use change; and (iii) GRSP’s ecological functions enhancing soil aggregate stability, C sequestration, and contamination remediation. Our findings can serve as a scholarly resource for advancing inquiries into the ecological functionalities of GRSP and its prospective applications in sustainable soil management and ecological restoration.

Identifying the main climatic controls of productivity differences in different forest ecosystems is beneficial for revealing the patterns of carbon cycle changes in terrestrial ecosystems. Moreover, exploring the differences in their productivity responses to temperature and precipitation at interannual and inter-monthly scales is conducive to identifying the mechanisms of carbon cycle changes in forest ecosystems, which can enhance the study of the forest ecosystem carbon cycle. In addition, the effect of climate factor changes on the net primary productivity (NPP) of typical forest types in subtropical areas remains unclear. Here, we simulated the dynamic changes in the NPP of four typical forest types (evergreen needleleaf forest (ENF), evergreen broadleaf forest (EBF), bamboo forest (BF), and evergreen needleleaf–broadleaf mixed forest (ENBMF)) in the Poyang Lake Basin from 1970 to 2021 using the Biome-BGC model where its parameters were adjusted according to the ecophysiological characteristics of forest types in this study. Then, the correlation between the NPP of the four typical forest types and climate factors was examined at interannual and inter-monthly scales; the response of the NPP of four typical forest types to future temperature and precipitation changes was explored. The results revealed that NPP showed a fluctuating downward trend after 2000 in ENF, EBF, and ENBMF. The NPP of the ENF was primarily driven by precipitation at the interannual and inter-monthly levels (p < 0.01). The impact of precipitation and accumulated temperature (AT) on NPP of EBF is not significant interannually; the NPP of BF demonstrated a minor correlation with AT and no significant correlation with precipitation. However, the NPP variation of EBF and BF was significantly affected by the temperature at the inter-monthly scale (p < 0.01), with R² of 0.85 and 0.92, respectively. At the interannual scale, the NPP of ENBMF was mainly driven by precipitation (p < 0.01); at the inter-monthly scale, it was driven by precipitation (p < 0.01) and AT (p < 0.01), with R² of 0.74 and 0.62, respectively. Under designed climate scenarios, the precipitation changes will have a greater impact on NPP of ENF; the NPP changes in the EBF, BF, and ENBMF will be mainly controlled by temperature increase, and only a 10% change in precipitation leads to its smaller impact on their NPP changes.

Soil viruses, ubiquitous and abundant biological entities that are integral to microbial communities, exert pivotal impacts on ecosystem functionality, particularly within carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles, through intricate interactions with bacteria, archaea, fungi, and other microbial taxa. While their contributions to soil ecosystem dynamics are increasingly elucidated, the specific roles of soil viruses in karst forest soil remain largely underexplored. Karst ecosystems (covering 15% of the global terrestrial surface) are characterized by unique geological formations, thin and patchy soil layers, high pH and Ca²⁺, and rapid hydrological dynamics, collectively fostering unique environmental conditions that may shape viral ecology and modulate C and N cycling. This perspective synthesizes existing knowledge of soil viral functions with the distinctive characteristics of karst forest soil, proposing potential mechanisms by which soil viruses could influence C and N cycling in such fragile ecosystems. Soil viruses regulate C and N cycles both directly and indirectly via their interactions with microbial hosts, mainly including shaping the microbial community structure, mediating horizontal gene transfer and microbial metabolism, increasing C and N availability and alleviating nutrient limitations, promoting C and N sequestration, and mitigating climate change. This work aims to bridge soil viral ecology and karst biogeochemical cycles, providing insights into sustainable forest stewardship and climate resilience. We delineate critical knowledge gaps and propose future perspectives, advocating for targeted metagenomic and long-term experimental studies into viral diversity, virus–host-environment interactions, and temporal dynamics. Specifically, we advocate the following research priorities to advance our understanding of soil viruses in karst forest ecosystems in future studies: (I) soil viral diversity, abundance, and activity: characterizing the diversity, abundance, and activity of soil viruses in karst forests using metagenomics and complementary molecular approaches; (II) virus–host interactions: investigating the dynamics between the viruses and key microbial taxa involved in C and N cycling; (III) biogeochemical impacts: quantifying the contributions of viral lysis and horizontal gene transfer to C and N fluxes within karst forest soil; and (IV) modeling the viral impacts on C and N cycles: developing integrative models that incorporate soil virus-mediated processes into existing karst forest soil biogeochemical frameworks at different temporal and spatial scales. Such efforts are essential to validate the hypothesized viral roles and underlying mechanisms, offering a foundation for nature-based solutions to facilitate C and N cycling and support ecological restoration in vulnerable karst regions amid global climate change.

Lithology shapes the Earth’s critical zone, yet its influence on microbial genomic potential in subtropical forests remains unclear. Here, we quantified soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S) cycling functional genes across three contrasting lithologies in southwest China using HT-qPCR. We found limestone soils consistently harbored significantly higher gene abundances than dolostone and clasolite soils. Random forest models explained a substantial proportion of the variation in functional gene pools ( R ² = 0.87–0.92). Based on these identified key drivers, we propose a Nitrogen availability–Microbial resource limitation–Reactive minerals (NMR) framework, where total dissolved nitrogen fuels activity, eco-enzymatic stoichiometry reflects metabolic adaptation, and iron/aluminum oxides regulate substrate accessibility via physical protection. Overall, specific carbonate rock types should be differentiated when modeling biogeochemical cycles.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are vital for nutrient cycling, but how lithology across bulk soil and the rock–soil interface influence AMF communities remains poorly understood. We investigated the effects of karst (dolomite, limestone) and non-karst (clastic rock) lithologies across bulk soil and the rock–soil interface on AMF diversity, community composition, and co-occurrence networks in southwest China. AMF diversity did not differ among lithologies or between bulk soil and rock–soil interface, whereas community composition showed significant differences across lithology. The relative abundance of Glomus was lower in karst than in non-karst, whereas Paraglomus showed the opposite pattern. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed that karst soils exhibited higher numbers of nodes and edges but lower network density, transitivity, betweenness centrality, and average path length compared to non-karst soils. Within the same dolomite and limestone, network properties were similar between the rock–soil interface and bulk soil. Soil pH, exchangeable Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺, total nitrogen, and nitrate nitrogen were negatively correlated with Glomus and network properties (e.g., number of nodes and edges), while ammonium nitrogen showed positive correlations. Our results indicate that lithology exerts a stronger influence than soil compartment on AMF community composition and interspecific interactions, emphasizing the key role of lithological substrates in regulating AMF communities.