Nitrogen availability regulates the soil organic carbon sequestration by promoting microbial necromass and plant lignin phenol accumulation in orchard soil amended with organic residues

Dongmei Lang, Feiyan Zhu, Fengge Hao and Peng Zhang
Additional contact information
Dongmei Lang: School of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, Henan, P.R. China
Feiyan Zhu: School of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, Henan, P.R. China
Fengge Hao: School of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, Henan, P.R. China
Peng Zhang: School of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, Henan, P.R. China

Plant, Soil and Environment, 2026, vol. 72, issue 5, 298-306

Abstract: Plant carbon (C) inputs and their subsequent microbial transformation affect the soil organic C (SOC) net sequestration. However, the characteristics of plant- and microbial-derived C and SOC sequestration under organic matter plus different nitrogen (N) levels in orchard soils remain unclear. Therefore, a pot experiment over 120 days was conducted to investigate the plant and microbial biomarkers in soils under 13C-labelled branches chip combined with N of 225 mg/kg (BRN1), 180 mg/kg (BRN2), 160 mg/kg (BRN3), 140 mg/kg (BRN4) and 0 mg/kg (BR). Branch residue and N addition increased the net SOC sequestration; the 13C recovered in SOC under branch residue plus N treatments was higher than the BR treatment. The highest newly formed C was found under BRN1, followed by BRN2 and BRN3; BRN4 had the lowest newly formed C. Branch residue and N increased lignin phenol content, which promoted syringyl-to-vanillyl and decreased acid-to-aldehyde ratios of vanillyl phenol, indicating branch-C retention in the soil. The microbial necromass C content under residue plus N treatments was higher than under the branch alone treatment, and the highest values were found under the BRN2 treatment. Additional N supply resulted in a greater contribution of microbial necromass C to SOC in soil under branch residue amendment, rather than plant C. Accordingly, BRN2 is considered optimal for net SOC sequestration by plant-derived and fungal necromass C.

Keywords: amino sugar; pruned branch; plant-derived C; N fertiliser; net SOC content (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/555/2025-PSE.html (text/html)
http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/555/2025-PSE.pdf (application/pdf)
free of charge

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:72:y:2026:i:5:id:555-2025-pse

DOI: 10.17221/555/2025-PSE

Access Statistics for this article

Plant, Soil and Environment is currently edited by Mgr. Kateřina Součková

More articles in Plant, Soil and Environment from Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Ivo Andrle ().