The Microbial Efficiency‐Matrix Stabilization (MEMS) framework integrates plant litter decomposition with soil organic matter stabilization: do labile plant inputs form stable soil organic matter?

By M. Cotrufo, M. Wallenstein, C. Boot, K. Denef, Eldor A. Paul. Global Change Biology, 2013

3,008 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Subfields: Ecology, Geochemistry and Petrology, Soil Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/82faa6e7b7a885da0febaeb5d79793ce765f3cca

How researchers see this paper

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

In Ecology

In Geochemistry and Petrology

In Soil Science

Citations in the corpus

Microbial carbon use efficiency: accounting for population, community, and ecosystem-scale controls over the fate of metabolized organic matter (2016, background): “…directly inhibit recycling by promoting formation of stable aggregates and organo-mineral associations, or can indirectly affect substrate stoichiometry through selective stabilization of some substrates, such as nitrogen-bearing compounds in clayey soils (Grandy et al. 2009; Cotrufo et al. 2013).”
Quantitative assessment of microbial necromass contribution to soil organic matter (2019, background): “…the nitrogen limitation in forest soils associated with wide C/N ratios may impede decomposition of plant litters, turnover to microbial biomass, and production of microbial necromass, result‐ ing in the decrease in the mineral‐associated organic matter (Colin & Bonnie, 2018; Cotrufo et al., 2013).”
Beyond microbes: Are fauna the next frontier in soil biogeochemical models? (2016, background): “Soil organic matter (SOM) formation concepts emphasize that plant inputs do not become stable SOM until they first pass through microbial biomass (e.g. Grandy and Neff, 2008; Schmidt et al., 2011; Cotrufo et al., 2013).”
Active microorganisms in soil: Critical review of estimation criteria and approaches (2013, background): “…and ranges for parameters obtained by various apls and references). is very dynamic due to permanent re-utilization of microbial C, which can be 1) mineralized to CO2, 2) further incorporated into microorganisms or 3) transformed to stabilized SOM (Cotrufo et al., 2012; Bradford et al., 2013).”
Do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi stabilize litter‐derived carbon in soil? (2016, background): “In many ecosystems, soil C build-up may be determined by the amount of C contained in microbial deposits and the extent to which these are stabilized (Cotrufo et al. 2013).”
Pathways of mineral‐associated soil organic matter formation: Integrating the role of plant carbon source, chemistry, and point of entry (2018, methodology): “We integrate and build upon prior conceptual frameworks (Cotrufo et al., 2013; Kaiser & Kalbitz, 2012; Guggenberger & Kaiser, 2003) to propose that biotic and abiotic controls on MAOM are not mutually exclusive, but rather operate in spatially distinct microregions of the upper mineral soil (i.e.,…”
Decay rates of leaf litters from arbuscular mycorrhizal trees are more sensitive to soil effects than litters from ectomycorrhizal trees (2015, background): “…decomposition is the rate-limiting step for nutrient cycling and soil organic matter formation and stabilization (Swift, Heal & Anderson 1979; Herman, Moorhead & Berg 2008; Cotrufo et al. 2013), but significant gaps remain in our understanding of what controls litter decomposition at local scales.”
The microbial aspect of climate change (2016, background): “Carbon use efficiency is a key determinant of the long-term stability of carbon in soil, because microbial biomass, rather than recalcitrant plant matter, is most resistant to decay (Conant et al. 2011; Schurig et al. 2013; Cotrufo et al. 2013).”
The roles of microorganisms in litter decomposition and soil formation (2014, background): “Microbial growth and the resulting biomass and necromass significantly alter the chemical characteristics of soil organic matter, as observed in nutrient immobilization (Hart et al. 1994; Bengtsson et al. 2003; Tremblay and Benner 2006; Simpson et al.2007; Wanek et al. 2010; Liang and Balser 2011; C”
Revisiting the hypothesis that fungal-to-bacterial dominance characterizes turnover of soil organic matter and nutrients (2015, background): “…this measure only includes one aspect of the microbial C use (catabolism; not anabolism), it has been found to be a robust proxy for microbial assimilability of C for both growth and respiration under stable-state laboratory conditions (Ågren et al. 1996, Schiff et al. 1997, Cotrufo et al. 2013).”
Forests and Decarbonization – Roles of Natural and Planted Forests (2020, background): “Instead, the fate of plantderived carbon in soils is largely determined by the physiology of decomposer microorganisms and their interactions with soil minerals (Dungait et al., 2012; Cotrufo et al., 2013).”