Soil microbiome structure and function reflect environmental variation rather than reindeer presence in a northern peatland

Northern peatlands store large carbon stocks but are sensitive to disturbance. Hydrology, vegetation, herbivory and snow conditions may affect the soil microorganisms driving methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) cycling. We investigated how reindeer exclusion and snow depth (increased and reduced relative to ambient) manipulations (ongoing for three seasons) influenced archaeal and bacterial communities in a boreal rich fen. Metagenomic (MG) and metatranscriptomic (MT) sequencing were combined with pore-water chemistry and CH₄ flux measurements to link the microbiome to ecosystem processes.

Microbial communities differed between outside and inside the exclosure. However, these patterns primarily reflected underlying hydrological variation. Slightly wetter inside plots showed higher expression of denitrification genes ( norB , nosZ ) and lower ( nirS + nirK )/ nosZ ratios, indicating greater potential for complete denitrification to N₂ instead of N₂O. Methane dynamics were mainly associated with vegetation: plots associated with Carex rostrata exhibited lower pmoA / mcrA ratios and elevated CH₄ fluxes. Snow manipulations had subtle effects: reduced snow depth decreased the expression of taxa dependent on microbial interactions, while the effect to the investigated metabolic marker genes was small.

Overall hydrology, leading to variations in redox conditions and nutrient availability, together with vegetation appeared as the primary drivers on microbial greenhouse gas processes in this peatland.