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Litter quality controls the contribution of microbial carbon to main microbial groups and soil organic carbon during its decomposition

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Abstract

A 163-day decomposition experiment with 13C-enriched leaf litter of Populus davidiana (low quality, with low N content, high C:N and high lignin content) and Quercus wutaishanica (high quality, with high N content, low C:N and low lignin content) was conducted to investigate the effects of litter quality on the microbial contribution to soil organic C (SOC). We used stable isotope probing (SIP) technology of phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) and amino sugar, determined soil enzyme activities, and microbial C use efficiency (CUE) to study the microbial contribution to SOC formation as affected by litter quality. Gram-positive (G +) and Gram-negative (G −) bacteria rapidly assimilated the readily available C of high- and low-quality litter, whereas fungi selectively utilized more recalcitrant compounds. The ratio of 13C-fungal to 13C-bacterial necromass increased and then leveled off until the end of the incubation for both litters. Therefore, litter-derived C was first utilized by bacteria, then allocated presumably by the consumption of bacterial necromass to fungi, and, at the end, the litter C was mainly stabilized as fungal necromass. The addition of high-quality litter led to higher total necromass and SOC in comparison to the addition of low-quality litter. Likely this difference depended on the higher availability of easily available C compounds in the Q. wutaishanica than in P. davidiana litters. The efficiency of SOC formation, determined by the percentage of SOC content gain divided by the litter C content loss, correlated with the microbial incorporation of P. davidiana litter-derived 13C into PLFAs and amino sugars. However, it increased sharply in the late phases of Q. wutaishanica litter decomposition despite the decreased 13C incorporation in PLFAs and amino sugars, suggesting the dominance of physical litter C stabilization. Compared to the high-quality litter, the low-quality litter induced lower but steadier necromass accumulation, thus increasing the SOC content in the long term. Litter quality, litter-derived 13C in PLFAs, and microbial CUE are the main drivers of litter-derived C use pathways. Our findings underpin the microbial C pump-regulated SOC formation, whereby differences in litter quality shape the composition of main microbial groups, leading to differences in enzyme activities and CUE, which determine necromass turnover and thus SOC formation.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42307442, 42077072), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2022M720987), Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province of Youth (C2022205030), Advanced Programs of Hebei Province Postdoctoral Research Project (B2023003026), and Science Foundation of Hebei Normal University (L2022B36). Michaela A. Dippold conducted this study in close interaction with further studies in the framework of the priority program 2322 “Soil Systems–System ecology of soils” funded by the DFG, project number DFG DI 2136/17-1.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China, 42307442, Xuejuan Bai, 42077072, Xuejuan Bai, Postdoctoral Research Foundation of China, 2022M720987, Xuejuan Bai, Science Research Project of Hebei Education Department (BJK2024199), Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province, C2022205030, Xuejuan Bai, Advanced Programs of Hebei Province Postdoctoral Research Project, B2023003026, Xuejuan Bai, Science Foundation of Hebei Normal University, L2022B36, Xuejuan Bai.

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  1. Xuejuan Bai and Guoqing Zhai contributed equally to this study

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, China

    Xuejuan Bai, Guoqing Zhai & Jingze Liu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dry Land Farming On Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Xuejuan Bai & Shaoshan An

  3. Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-Environment of Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture. College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Baorong Wang

  4. School of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China

    Zhijing Xue

  5. Geo-Biosphere Interactions, Department of Geosciences, University of Tuebingen, 72076, Tuebingen, Germany

    Michaela A. Dippold

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  1. Xuejuan Bai
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  2. Guoqing Zhai
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  3. Baorong Wang
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  4. Shaoshan An
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  5. Jingze Liu
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  7. Michaela A. Dippold
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Contributions

All authors contributed to research. The manuscript was primarily written by Xuejuan Bai, Guoqing Zhai, and Michaela Dippold, with contributions from Shaoshan An and Jingze Liu. The data were analyzed by Baorong Wang. Zhijing Xue edited the language. All authors have several times revised the manuscript and given approval to the final version of the manuscript.

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Bai, X., Zhai, G., Wang, B. et al. Litter quality controls the contribution of microbial carbon to main microbial groups and soil organic carbon during its decomposition. Biol Fertil Soils 60, 167–181 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-023-01792-8

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