Mineral reactivity determines root effects on soil organic carbon

Guopeng Liang, John Stark and Bonnie Grace Waring ()
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Guopeng Liang: Utah State University
John Stark: Utah State University
Bonnie Grace Waring: Utah State University

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Modern conceptual models of soil organic carbon (SOC) cycling focus heavily on the microbe-mineral interactions that regulate C stabilization. However, the formation of ‘stable’ (i.e. slowly cycling) soil organic matter, which consists mainly of microbial residues associated with mineral surfaces, is inextricably linked to C loss through microbial respiration. Therefore, what is the net impact of microbial metabolism on the total quantity of C held in the soil? To address this question, we constructed artificial root-soil systems to identify controls on C cycling across the plant-microbe-mineral continuum, simultaneously quantifying the formation of mineral-associated C and SOC losses to respiration. Here we show that root exudates and minerals interacted to regulate these processes: while roots stimulated respiratory C losses and depleted mineral-associated C pools in low-activity clays, root exudates triggered formation of stable C in high-activity clays. Moreover, we observed a positive correlation between the formation of mineral-associated C and respiration. This suggests that the growth of slow-cycling C pools comes at the expense of C loss from the system.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40768-y

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