塔斯马尼亚桉树林是世界上碳密度最高的森林之一，但预计的气候变化可能会破坏这一关键碳汇的稳定。虽然非生物因素对森林生态系统碳动态的影响受到了相当多的关注，但诸如动物粪便输入等生物因素却知之甚少。塔斯马尼亚袋獾（Sarcophilus harrisii）是一种食骨清道夫，可以摄取并溶解锁定在骨骼材料中的营养物质，可以通过在粪便厕所中浓缩生物可利用的营养物质（例如氮和磷）来提高植物和微生物的生产力。然而，由于传染性癌症的传播，袋獾种群密度急剧下降，可能会通过改变养分循环而对土壤有机碳（SOC）储存和森林生产力产生低估的后果。在这里，我们融合实验数据和模型来量化和预测各种气候和粪便质量未来下森林生产力和有机碳的未来变化。我们发现，魔鬼粪便显着增加了土壤中氮、铵、磷和磷酸盐的浓度，并使土壤微生物群落转向以 r 选择（例如快速生长）门为主的微生物群落。此外，在预期的温度上升和降水变化的情况下，到 2100 年，魔鬼粪便的输入预计将增加地上和地下的净初级生产力和微生物生物量碳。相反，当魔鬼粪便被较低质量的粪便取代时（例如， ，来自非食骨食腐动物和食草动物），森林碳库的增加可能会更慢，或者在某些情况下会下降。总之，我们的结果表明，经常被忽视的生物因素将与气候变化相互作用，从而推动塔斯马尼亚森林当前和未来的碳库动态。© 2024 John Wiley

Tasmanian eucalypt forests are among the most carbon-dense in the world, but projected climate change could destabilize this critical carbon sink. While the impact of abiotic factors on forest ecosystem carbon dynamics have received considerable attention, biotic factors such as the input of animal scat are less understood. Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii)-an osteophageous scavenger that can ingest and solubilize nutrients locked in bone material-may subsidize plant and microbial productivity by concentrating bioavailable nutrients (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus) in scat latrines. However, dramatic declines in devil population densities, driven by the spread of a transmissible cancer, may have underappreciated consequences for soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and forest productivity by altering nutrient cycling. Here, we fuse experimental data and modeling to quantify and predict future changes to forest productivity and SOC under various climate and scat-quality futures. We find that devil scat significantly increases concentrations of nitrogen, ammonium, phosphorus, and phosphate in the soil and shifts soil microbial communities toward those dominated by r-selected (e.g., fast-growing) phyla. Further, under expected increases in temperature and changes in precipitation, devil scat inputs are projected to increase above- and below-ground net primary productivity and microbial biomass carbon through 2100. In contrast, when devil scat is replaced by lower-quality scat (e.g., from non-osteophageous scavengers and herbivores), forest carbon pools are likely to increase more slowly, or in some cases, decline. Together, our results suggest often overlooked biotic factors will interact with climate change to drive current and future carbon pool dynamics in Tasmanian forests.© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.