BackgroundAccelerated glacial retreat driven by climate change is rapidly reshaping alpine and polar environments, exposing deglaciated terrains that serve as critical sites for microbial colonization and early ecosystem development. These newly exposed substrates provide a unique setting for studying primary microbial succession, the onset of soil formation, and the initiation of biogeochemical cycles, particularly carbon cycling. Microbial communities, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae, and viruses, play pivotal roles in regulating elemental fluxes and establishing foundational ecosystem processes in these nascent landscapes.ResultsRecent studies highlight substantial shifts in microbial community structure and function across different glacial forefields and cryospheric habitats. Microbial assemblages display pronounced spatial heterogeneity shaped by physicochemical gradients and successional age. Functional analyses reveal diverse metabolic pathways involved in carbon fixation, organic matter transformation, and long-term carbon storage. Additionally, viral populations emerge as influential regulators of microbial metabolism and potential archives of past environmental conditions. The assembly of these communities is influenced by a combination of abiotic factors, dispersal mechanisms, and local adaptation, with cascading effects on carbon fluxes and nutrient dynamics.ConclusionsMicrobial processes in deglaciated environments are central to early biogeochemical transformations and represent key drivers of carbon sequestration in retreating glacial landscapes. Understanding the ecological roles, functional diversity, and climate sensitivity of these microbial communities is essential for projecting biogeochemical and climate system feedbacks in the context of ongoing glacial loss. Integrating microbial ecology into Earth system models will enhance predictions of carbon dynamics and inform conservation and climate mitigation strategies in polar and alpine regions.

This review examines natural pests, competitors of the Heracleum sosnowsky. Special attention is paid to the role of mutualism in the invasiveness of hogweed. the parsnip yellow spot virus, larvae of the weevil ( Lixus iridis (Olivier, 1807)), agromyzid flies ( Phytomyza pastinacae (Hendel, 1923)), umbrella moth ( Epermenia chaerophyllella (Goeze, 1783)), scoops ( Dasypolia temple (Thunberg, 1792)), depressariids ( Depressaria radiella (Goeze, 1783)), celery fly ( Euleia heraclei (Linnaeus, 1758)), lamellate beetles ( Oxythyrea funesta (Poda, 1761)), caterpillars of the Kamchatka Swallowtail ( Papiliomachaon (Linnaeus, 1758)) significantly damaged Heracleum sosnowsky. Thrips vulgatissimus (Haliday, 1836) feeds on the sap, while Lixus iridis eat leaves and stems of the above mentioned hogweed. Phoma complanate (Tode) (= Calophoma complanate) is a phytopathogenic fungi that damage Heracleum sosnowsky. Powdery mildew, ascochitosis and cylindrosporosis are most common fungal diseases of the giant hogweed. Shellfish farming and livestock grazing curb the spread of hogweed. Due to the lack of competition in the environment, the importance of its artificial creation is discussed. The fast-growing perennial grasses create dense turf that prevents germinating of hogweed seeds. Poapratensis L., Alopecuruspratensis L., Bromus inermis Leyss., Festuca rubra L., Phlumpratense L., Loliumperenne L., Helianthus tuberosus L., and Galega orientalis Lam. are among them. Replacement crops, such as Picea abies (L.) Karst. and Pinus sylvestris L., can compete in vacant lots and abandoned lands. The success of the hogweed populations introduction depends on the presence of pollinators, the spread of its seeds by animals and humans; symbiosis with fungi and bacteria. The possibility of limiting the spread of hogweed through the absence of species that improve its adaptability is discussed. It was concluded that biological control agents are promising to use and additional studies is needed to reduce the number of Heracleum sosnowsky and eliminate negative consequences for the environment.

Permafrost stores approximately 50% of global soil carbon (C) in a frozen form; it is thawing rapidly under climate change, sand little is known about viral communities in these soils or their roles in C cycling. In permafrost soils, microorganisms contribute significantly to C cycling, and characterizing them has recently been shown to improve prediction of ecosystem function. In other ecosystems, viruses have broad ecosystem and community impacts ranging from host cell mortality and organic matter cycling to horizontal gene transfer and reprogramming of core microbial metabolisms. Here we developed an optimized protocol to extract viruses from three types of high organic matter peatland soils across a permafrost thaw gradient (palsa, moss-dominated bog, and sedge-dominated fen). Three separate experiments were used to evaluate the impact of chemical buffers, physical dispersion, storage conditions, and concentration and purification methods on viral yields. The most successful protocol, amended potassium citrate buffer with bead-beating or vortexing and BSA, yielded on average as much as 2-fold more virus-like particles (VLPs) g(-1) of soil than other methods tested. All method combinations yielded VLPs g(-1) of soil on the 108 order of magnitude across all three soil types. The different storage and concentration methods did not yield significantly more VLPs g(-1) of soil among the soil types. This research provides much-needed guidelines for resuspending viruses from soils, specifically carbon-rich soils, paving the way for incorporating viruses into soil ecology studies.