Plants and microorganisms both contribute to soil organic matter formation through mineral interactions: Evidence from a subtropical forest succession
Understanding the formation and stabilization of soil organic carbon (SOC) is essential for predicting SOC dynamics. Traditionally, it was believed that SOC accumulates primarily through the selective retention of recalcitrant plant lignin components. However, an emerging hypothesis suggests that mi...
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Elsevier
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Geoderma |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706124003288 |
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| author | Yiren Zhu Minghui Hu Dafeng Hui Guoxiang Niu Jianling Li Xianyu Yao Yuanliu Hu Xiaolin Huang Yonghui Li Deqiang Zhang Qi Deng |
| author_facet | Yiren Zhu Minghui Hu Dafeng Hui Guoxiang Niu Jianling Li Xianyu Yao Yuanliu Hu Xiaolin Huang Yonghui Li Deqiang Zhang Qi Deng |
| author_sort | Yiren Zhu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding the formation and stabilization of soil organic carbon (SOC) is essential for predicting SOC dynamics. Traditionally, it was believed that SOC accumulates primarily through the selective retention of recalcitrant plant lignin components. However, an emerging hypothesis suggests that microbial necromass adsorbed onto mineral-associated soil fractions play a more significant role in promoting SOC formation. In this study, we tested the above hypothesis by investigating SOC content, particulate fraction (LF + POC) vs. mineral-associated fraction (MAOC), along with microbial necromass (amino sugars as biomarker) and plant lignin component (lignin phenols as biomarker) in the topsoil (0–20 cm) and subsoil (20–40 cm) across three successional stages: early coniferous forest, middle mixed forest and climax broadleaved forest in southern China. Results showed that SOC content increased with forest succession, accompanied by increasing contributions of MAOC in both soil layers. Interestingly, the contribution of microbial necromass to SOC increased throughout the succession only in the subsoil, whereas in the topsoil, it increased from the early to the middle stage, then slightly decreased at the climax stage. Additionally, the contributions of lignin phenols or LF + POC to SOC decreased in both soil layers with forest succession. A partial least squares path model further revealed that MAOC played a dominate role in governing SOC accumulation, driven by active mineral content combined with plant-derived dissolved organic matter in the topsoil and microbial necromass in the subsoil. Collectively, our findings suggest that plants and microorganisms contribute to SOC formation through interactions with minerals, unveiling an intricate interactive mechanism of plant–microbe-mineral continuum in SOC stabilization. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9cfefbdba2f445bf8c7529704f0f94de |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1872-6259 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geoderma |
| spelling | doaj-art-9cfefbdba2f445bf8c7529704f0f94de2025-08-20T02:19:21ZengElsevierGeoderma1872-62592024-12-0145211709910.1016/j.geoderma.2024.117099Plants and microorganisms both contribute to soil organic matter formation through mineral interactions: Evidence from a subtropical forest successionYiren Zhu0Minghui Hu1Dafeng Hui2Guoxiang Niu3Jianling Li4Xianyu Yao5Yuanliu Hu6Xiaolin Huang7Yonghui Li8Deqiang Zhang9Qi Deng10Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, ChinaDepartment of Biological Sciences, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN 37209, USALushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, China; College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, China; Corresponding author at: South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 723 Xingke Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510650, China.Understanding the formation and stabilization of soil organic carbon (SOC) is essential for predicting SOC dynamics. Traditionally, it was believed that SOC accumulates primarily through the selective retention of recalcitrant plant lignin components. However, an emerging hypothesis suggests that microbial necromass adsorbed onto mineral-associated soil fractions play a more significant role in promoting SOC formation. In this study, we tested the above hypothesis by investigating SOC content, particulate fraction (LF + POC) vs. mineral-associated fraction (MAOC), along with microbial necromass (amino sugars as biomarker) and plant lignin component (lignin phenols as biomarker) in the topsoil (0–20 cm) and subsoil (20–40 cm) across three successional stages: early coniferous forest, middle mixed forest and climax broadleaved forest in southern China. Results showed that SOC content increased with forest succession, accompanied by increasing contributions of MAOC in both soil layers. Interestingly, the contribution of microbial necromass to SOC increased throughout the succession only in the subsoil, whereas in the topsoil, it increased from the early to the middle stage, then slightly decreased at the climax stage. Additionally, the contributions of lignin phenols or LF + POC to SOC decreased in both soil layers with forest succession. A partial least squares path model further revealed that MAOC played a dominate role in governing SOC accumulation, driven by active mineral content combined with plant-derived dissolved organic matter in the topsoil and microbial necromass in the subsoil. Collectively, our findings suggest that plants and microorganisms contribute to SOC formation through interactions with minerals, unveiling an intricate interactive mechanism of plant–microbe-mineral continuum in SOC stabilization.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706124003288Forest successionMineral preservationParticulate organic carbonMineral-associated organic carbonAmino sugarsLignin phenols |
| spellingShingle | Yiren Zhu Minghui Hu Dafeng Hui Guoxiang Niu Jianling Li Xianyu Yao Yuanliu Hu Xiaolin Huang Yonghui Li Deqiang Zhang Qi Deng Plants and microorganisms both contribute to soil organic matter formation through mineral interactions: Evidence from a subtropical forest succession Geoderma Forest succession Mineral preservation Particulate organic carbon Mineral-associated organic carbon Amino sugars Lignin phenols |
| title | Plants and microorganisms both contribute to soil organic matter formation through mineral interactions: Evidence from a subtropical forest succession |
| title_full | Plants and microorganisms both contribute to soil organic matter formation through mineral interactions: Evidence from a subtropical forest succession |
| title_fullStr | Plants and microorganisms both contribute to soil organic matter formation through mineral interactions: Evidence from a subtropical forest succession |
| title_full_unstemmed | Plants and microorganisms both contribute to soil organic matter formation through mineral interactions: Evidence from a subtropical forest succession |
| title_short | Plants and microorganisms both contribute to soil organic matter formation through mineral interactions: Evidence from a subtropical forest succession |
| title_sort | plants and microorganisms both contribute to soil organic matter formation through mineral interactions evidence from a subtropical forest succession |
| topic | Forest succession Mineral preservation Particulate organic carbon Mineral-associated organic carbon Amino sugars Lignin phenols |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706124003288 |
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