Woolly beech aphid infestation reduces soil organic carbon availability and alters phyllosphere and rhizosphere bacterial microbiomes

Abstract Purpose The woolly beech aphid thrives on European leaves, which has complex direct and indirect impacts above- belowground processes. A mechanistic understanding of insect-mediated changes in organic carbon (OC) availability for microbial life its implications element cycling is still lacking. This study aims at disentangling aphid-induced effects phyllosphere rhizosphere bacterial communities, as well investigating feedbacks to OC transfer from the canopy mineral soil. Methods Following 2.5 months infestation, we tracked fate ( 13 CO 2 pulse-labelling) several compartments sapling – soil mesocosms over 5 days. In ecosystem solutions, water extracts soil/plant determined N solid δ C. Bacterial community structure (16S rRNA gene targeted amplicon sequencing quantitative PCR) metabolite profiles (LC-qTOF-MS) were analysed. Results We found significantly higher aphid-mediated inputs within throughfall. Honeydew-derived C infested leaves was inconsequential total abundances, but verifiably affected structure. all compartments, cold-water extractable pools declined by frequent readily available OC. pattern might relate reductions rhizodepositions altered processing accelerated C-mineralization. As a result, abundance metabolites changed different solutions. Conclusions Our findings attest that insect infestations induce distinct plant-insect-microbiome interactions leading marked alterations dynamics. integrated approach improves our dynamics biogeochemistry evaluates role insects