%0 Journal Article
%T Examining the Shift in the Decomposition Channel Structure of the Soil Decomposer Food Web: A Methods Comparison.
%A Xing W
%A Hu N
%A Li Z
%A Yuan M
%A Luo M
%A Han S
%A Blagodatskaya E
%A Lu S
%A Lou Y
%J Microorganisms
%V 11
%N 10
%D 2023 Oct 19
%M 37894247
%F 4.926
%R 10.3390/microorganisms11102589
%X Selecting the appropriate indicators and measuring time point numbers is important for accurately examining the shift in soil gross decomposition channel structure. Through a selected case study on a natural forest vs. rainfed arable system over a two-month-long experiment, the utility of three commonly employed indicators (fungi to bacteria ratio (F:B), fungivore to bacterivore ratio (FF:BF), and glucosamine to muramic acid ratio (GlcN:MurN)) were compared to reflect the shift in soil gross decomposition channel structure. The requirement of measuring the time point numbers for the three indicators was also assessed, and we suggest a potential methodology. Our results revealed that the GlcN:MurN ratio was more reliable for assessing the shifts in gross decomposition channel structure for long-term land use changes, while it was less sensitive to short-term drought compared with the other two indicators. The F:B ratio was more applicable than the FF:BF ratio for reflecting both long- and short-term changes. Furthermore, the reliability of the GlcN:MurN ratio was the least dependent on measuring time point numbers. We suggest the use of multiple indicators and the adoption of multiple measuring time points for the overall methodology.