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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.

Sec. Microbe and Virus Interactions with Plants

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1694593

This article is part of the Research TopicThe Complex Cross-Kingdom Interactions Between Plant, Mycorrhizal Fungi and Bacteria: Current Status and Emerging OpportunitiesView all 7 articles

Species-Specific Difference of CO₂ Emissions in Mangroves: Coupling Sediment Physicochemistry and Microbial Communities

Provisionally accepted
Ziying  HeZiying He1Xueyin  ZhuangXueyin Zhuang2Jin  LiangJin Liang2,3*Yisheng  PengYisheng Peng2*Huaye  SunHuaye Sun4Zhushi  YinZhushi Yin2Meng  XiaMeng Xia1Lili  ZhaoLili Zhao2Bowen  HuBowen Hu2,5Ming  QuMing Qu1Weidong  ZhuWeidong Zhu1
  • 1Guangdong Forestry Survey and Planning Institute, Guangzhou, China
  • 2Sun Yat-Sen University School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou, China
  • 3Sun Yat-sen University Institute of Carbon Neutrality and Green Development, Guangzhou, China
  • 4Guangdong marine development planning research Center, Guangzhou, China
  • 5Zhuhai Western Ecological Environment Monitoring Center, Zhuhai, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Mangrove ecosystems function simultaneously as carbon sinks and carbon sources. While their contribution to biomass accumulation and long-term carbon sequestration have been extensively studied, the mechanisms driving carbon emissions, particularly those mediated by tree species and microbial communities, remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated Kandelia obovate (KO), Sonneratia apetala (SA), and an adjacent mudflat in the Hanjiang River Estuary, southern China, to evaluate seasonal changes in sediment physicochemistry, microbial community structure, and CO₂ fluxes, and to evaluate the influence of vegetation on carbon emissions. This research shows that mangrove colonization significantly altered sediment conditions, with K. obovata exhibiting higher salinity, water content, and total carbon concentration than S. apetala. Sediment CO₂ fluxes were consistently greater in mangrove habitats than in mudflats and displayed clear seasonal variation. In summer, sediment CO₂ fluxes in S. apetala and K. obovata were 4.3-and 2.5-fold higher than in winter, respectively. Concurrently, root respiration intensified in S. apetala during summer, whereas K. obovata root respiration remained stable across seasons. Microbial communities were dominated by Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi across sites, however, their network structures differed. S. apetala supported tighter microbial interactions, while K. obovata exhibited higher modularity and functional specialization. Additionally, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling revealed that sediment physicochemical properties strongly constrained microbial diversity and regulated CO₂ flux both directly and indirectly. These findings highlight the importance of sediment and root respiration in mangrove carbon cycling and demonstrate how species identity modulates CO₂ fluxes by shaping the interactions between sediment conditions and microbial communities.

Keywords: mangrove, Kandelia obovate, Sonneratia apetala, Sediment CO2 fluxes, root-respiration CO2 fluxes, microbial communities

Received: 28 Aug 2025; Accepted: 30 Sep 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 He, Zhuang, Liang, Peng, Sun, Yin, Xia, Zhao, Hu, Qu and Zhu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Jin Liang, liangj86@mail2.sysu.edu.cn
Yisheng Peng, pyish@mail.sysu.edu.cn

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