Soil organic matter dynamics: a biological perspective derived from the use of compound-specific isotopes studies

By G. Gleixner. Ecological research, 2013

214 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Current attempts to explain the persistence of carbon in soils focuses on explanations such as the recalcitrant plant residues and the physical isolation of substrates from decomposers. A pool of organic matter that can persist for centuries to millennia is hypothesized because of the evidence provided by the persistence of pre-disturbance C in fallow or vegetation change experiments, and the radiocarbon age of soil carbon. However, new information, which became available through advances in the ability to measure the isotope signatures of specific compounds, favors a new picture of organic matter dynamics. Instead of persistence of plant-derived residues like lignin in the soil, the majority of mineral soil is in molecules derived from microbial synthesis. Carbon recycled multiple times through the microbial community can be old, decoupling the radiocarbon age of C atoms from the chemical or biological lability of the molecules they comprise. In consequence is soil microbiology, a major control on soil carbon dynamics, which highlights the potential vulnerability of soil organic matter to changing environmental conditions. Moreover, it emphasizes the need to devise new management options to restore, increase, and secure this valuable resource.

Subfields: Ecology, Soil Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/2e57477a867149f19eb2759684d3dd0547185c7d

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Ecology

1. K. Treseder
2. M. Bradford
3. S. Allison
4. M. Högberg
5. P. Högberg
6. A. Malik
7. Eoin L. Brodie
8. B. Jansen

In Soil Science

1. S. Allison
2. K. Treseder
3. M. Bradford
4. P. Högberg
5. M. Högberg
6. T. Näsholm
7. Oskar Franklin
8. N. Sokol

Citations in the corpus

• Tamm Review: On the nature of the nitrogen limitation to plant growth in Fennoscandian boreal forests (2017, background): “In line with the revised view of so called recalcitrance (Schmidt et al., 2011), the observed 15N enrichment might be reinforced by recycling of ECM N by ECM fungal mycelium and associated microorganisms (Gleixner, 2013).”
• Pathways of mineral‐associated soil organic matter formation: Integrating the role of plant carbon source, chemistry, and point of entry (2018, background): “Some authors assert that the majority of LMW C in MAOM is microbial‐derived, because C inputs have undergone microbial assimilation, biosynthesis, and turnover prior to incorporation into MAOM—referred to as the “in vivo microbial turnover pathway” (sensu Liang, Schimel, & Jastrow, 2017) (Bradford, ”
• Defining trait-based microbial strategies with consequences for soil carbon cycling under climate change (2018, background): “On the one hand, microbial biomass is thought to contribute significantly to organic matter accumulation and hence to the genesis of soil organic matter (Gleixner, 2013; Kallenbach et al., 2016).”
• Opportunities and limitations related to the application of plant-derived lipid molecular proxies in soil science (2017, background): “Coupled to this are indications that the microbial recycling of organic matter upon entering the soil de-couples the molecules from their biological sources (Miltner et al., 2012; Gleixner, 2013).”