Contrasting geochemical and fungal controls on decomposition of lignin and soil carbon at continental scale

Wenjuan Huang, Wenjuan Yu (), Bo Yi, Erik Raman, Jihoon Yang, Kenneth E. Hammel, Vitaliy I. Timokhin, Chaoqun Lu, Adina Howe, Samantha R. Weintraub-Leff and Steven J. Hall
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Wenjuan Huang: Iowa State University
Wenjuan Yu: Iowa State University
Bo Yi: Iowa State University
Erik Raman: Iowa State University
Jihoon Yang: Iowa State University
Kenneth E. Hammel: U.S. Forest Products Laboratory
Vitaliy I. Timokhin: University of Wisconsin
Chaoqun Lu: Iowa State University
Adina Howe: Iowa State University
Samantha R. Weintraub-Leff: National Ecological Observatory Network, Battelle
Steven J. Hall: Iowa State University

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Lignin is an abundant and complex plant polymer that may limit litter decomposition, yet lignin is sometimes a minor constituent of soil organic carbon (SOC). Accounting for diversity in soil characteristics might reconcile this apparent contradiction. Tracking decomposition of a lignin/litter mixture and SOC across different North American mineral soils using lab and field incubations, here we show that cumulative lignin decomposition varies 18-fold among soils and is strongly correlated with bulk litter decomposition, but not SOC decomposition. Climate legacy predicts decomposition in the lab, and impacts of nitrogen availability are minor compared with geochemical and microbial properties. Lignin decomposition increases with some metals and fungal taxa, whereas SOC decomposition decreases with metals and is weakly related with fungi. Decoupling of lignin and SOC decomposition and their contrasting biogeochemical drivers indicate that lignin is not necessarily a bottleneck for SOC decomposition and can explain variable contributions of lignin to SOC among ecosystems.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37862-6

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