Soil organic carbon thresholds control fertilizer effects on carbon accrual in croplands worldwide

Jun Ling, Jennifer A. J. Dungait, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Zhenling Cui, Ranran Zhou, Wushuai Zhang, Qiang Gao, Yuanxue Chen, Shanchao Yue, Yakov Kuzyakov, Fusuo Zhang, Xinping Chen () and Jing Tian ()
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Jun Ling: China Agricultural University
Jennifer A. J. Dungait: University of Exeter
Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo: CSIC
Zhenling Cui: China Agricultural University
Ranran Zhou: China Agricultural University
Wushuai Zhang: Southwest University
Qiang Gao: Jilin Agricultural University
Yuanxue Chen: Sichuan Agricultural University
Shanchao Yue: Shanxi Agricultural University
Yakov Kuzyakov: University of Göttingen
Fusuo Zhang: China Agricultural University
Xinping Chen: China Agricultural University
Jing Tian: China Agricultural University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Initiatives to restore soil fertility and mitigate global warming rely on rebuilding soil organic carbon (SOC). Nitrogen (N) fertilization is crucial for crop yields but affects SOC unpredictably due to varying responses of particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) pools to initial SOC levels. To clarify these effects, here, by combining a global meta-analysis with continental-scale field experiments, we determine that an initial SOC threshold of 15 g C kg−1 controls the effect of N fertilization on POC and MAOC. In SOC-poor soils (

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57981-6

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