Significance of microbial asynchronous anabolism to soil carbon dynamics driven by litter inputs.

ABSTRACT: Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. However, it remains largely unknown how plant litter inputs impact magnitude, composition and source configuration of the SOC stocks over long term through microbial catabolism and anabolism, mostly due to uncoupled research on litter decomposition and SOC formation. This limits our ability to predict soil system responses to changes in land-use and climate. Here, we examine how microbes act as a valve controlling carbon sequestrated from plant litters versus released to the atmosphere in natural ecosystems amended with plant litters varying in quantity and quality. We find that litter quality - not quantity - regulates long-term SOC dynamics under different plausible scenarios. Long-term changes in bulk SOC stoc

SUBMITTER: Fan Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4387914 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature