Microbial spatial footprint as a driver of soil carbon stabilization

A. N. Kravchenko (), A. K. Guber, B. S. Razavi, J. Koestel, M. Y. Quigley, G. P. Robertson and Y. Kuzyakov
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A. N. Kravchenko: Michigan State University
A. K. Guber: Michigan State University
B. S. Razavi: Christian-Albrecht-University of Kiel
J. Koestel: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
M. Y. Quigley: Michigan State University
G. P. Robertson: Michigan State University
Y. Kuzyakov: University of Göttingen

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Increasing the potential of soil to store carbon (C) is an acknowledged and emphasized strategy for capturing atmospheric CO2. Well-recognized approaches for soil C accretion include reducing soil disturbance, increasing plant biomass inputs, and enhancing plant diversity. Yet experimental evidence often fails to support anticipated C gains, suggesting that our integrated understanding of soil C accretion remains insufficient. Here we use a unique combination of X-ray micro-tomography and micro-scale enzyme mapping to demonstrate for the first time that plant-stimulated soil pore formation appears to be a major, hitherto unrecognized, determinant of whether new C inputs are stored or lost to the atmosphere. Unlike monocultures, diverse plant communities favor the development of 30–150 µm pores. Such pores are the micro-environments associated with higher enzyme activities, and greater abundance of such pores translates into a greater spatial footprint that microorganisms make on the soil and consequently soil C storage capacity.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11057-4

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