Microbially mediated mechanisms underlie soil carbon accrual by conservation agriculture under decade-long warming
Abstract Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) in croplands by switching from conventional to conservation management may be hampered by stimulated microbial decomposition under warming. Here, we test the interactive effects of agricultural management and warming on SOC persistence and underlying mic...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44647-4 |
| _version_ | 1797355635540492288 |
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| author | Jing Tian Jennifer A. J. Dungait Ruixing Hou Ye Deng Iain P. Hartley Yunfeng Yang Yakov Kuzyakov Fusuo Zhang M. Francesca Cotrufo Jizhong Zhou |
| author_facet | Jing Tian Jennifer A. J. Dungait Ruixing Hou Ye Deng Iain P. Hartley Yunfeng Yang Yakov Kuzyakov Fusuo Zhang M. Francesca Cotrufo Jizhong Zhou |
| author_sort | Jing Tian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) in croplands by switching from conventional to conservation management may be hampered by stimulated microbial decomposition under warming. Here, we test the interactive effects of agricultural management and warming on SOC persistence and underlying microbial mechanisms in a decade-long controlled experiment on a wheat-maize cropping system. Warming increased SOC content and accelerated fungal community temporal turnover under conservation agriculture (no tillage, chopped crop residue), but not under conventional agriculture (annual tillage, crop residue removed). Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) and growth increased linearly over time, with stronger positive warming effects after 5 years under conservation agriculture. According to structural equation models, these increases arose from greater carbon inputs from the crops, which indirectly controlled microbial CUE via changes in fungal communities. As a result, fungal necromass increased from 28 to 53%, emerging as the strongest predictor of SOC content. Collectively, our results demonstrate how management and climatic factors can interact to alter microbial community composition, physiology and functions and, in turn, SOC formation and accrual in croplands. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:13:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3f8fa0c586e24e638ee64a70fe046f9b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:13:58Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-3f8fa0c586e24e638ee64a70fe046f9b2024-01-14T12:29:45ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-01-0115111610.1038/s41467-023-44647-4Microbially mediated mechanisms underlie soil carbon accrual by conservation agriculture under decade-long warmingJing Tian0Jennifer A. J. Dungait1Ruixing Hou2Ye Deng3Iain P. Hartley4Yunfeng Yang5Yakov Kuzyakov6Fusuo Zhang7M. Francesca Cotrufo8Jizhong Zhou9State Key Laboratory of Nutrient Use and Management, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural UniversityGeography, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Rennes DriveKey Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)CAS Key Laboratory for Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of SciencesGeography, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Rennes DriveState Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua UniversityDepartment of Soil Science of Temperate Ecosystems, University of GöttingenState Key Laboratory of Nutrient Use and Management, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural UniversityDepartment of Soil and Crop Science, Colorado State UniversityInstitute for Environmental Genomics, University of OklahomaAbstract Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) in croplands by switching from conventional to conservation management may be hampered by stimulated microbial decomposition under warming. Here, we test the interactive effects of agricultural management and warming on SOC persistence and underlying microbial mechanisms in a decade-long controlled experiment on a wheat-maize cropping system. Warming increased SOC content and accelerated fungal community temporal turnover under conservation agriculture (no tillage, chopped crop residue), but not under conventional agriculture (annual tillage, crop residue removed). Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) and growth increased linearly over time, with stronger positive warming effects after 5 years under conservation agriculture. According to structural equation models, these increases arose from greater carbon inputs from the crops, which indirectly controlled microbial CUE via changes in fungal communities. As a result, fungal necromass increased from 28 to 53%, emerging as the strongest predictor of SOC content. Collectively, our results demonstrate how management and climatic factors can interact to alter microbial community composition, physiology and functions and, in turn, SOC formation and accrual in croplands.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44647-4 |
| spellingShingle | Jing Tian Jennifer A. J. Dungait Ruixing Hou Ye Deng Iain P. Hartley Yunfeng Yang Yakov Kuzyakov Fusuo Zhang M. Francesca Cotrufo Jizhong Zhou Microbially mediated mechanisms underlie soil carbon accrual by conservation agriculture under decade-long warming Nature Communications |
| title | Microbially mediated mechanisms underlie soil carbon accrual by conservation agriculture under decade-long warming |
| title_full | Microbially mediated mechanisms underlie soil carbon accrual by conservation agriculture under decade-long warming |
| title_fullStr | Microbially mediated mechanisms underlie soil carbon accrual by conservation agriculture under decade-long warming |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microbially mediated mechanisms underlie soil carbon accrual by conservation agriculture under decade-long warming |
| title_short | Microbially mediated mechanisms underlie soil carbon accrual by conservation agriculture under decade-long warming |
| title_sort | microbially mediated mechanisms underlie soil carbon accrual by conservation agriculture under decade long warming |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44647-4 |
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