Abstract

The modification of soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition by plant carbon (C) input (priming effect) represents a critical biogeochemical process that controls soil C dynamics. However, the patterns and drivers of the priming effect remain hidden, especially over broad geographic scales under various climate and soil conditions. By combining systematic field and laboratory analyses based on multiple analytical and statistical approaches, we explore the determinants of priming intensity along a 2200 km grassland transect on the Tibetan Plateau. Our results show that SOM stability characterized by chemical recalcitrance and physico-chemical protection explains more variance in the priming effect than plant, soil and microbial properties. High priming intensity (up to 137% of basal respiration) is associated with complex SOM chemical structures and low mineral-organic associations. The dependence of priming effect on SOM stabilization mechanisms should be considered in Earth System Models to accurately predict soil C dynamics under changing environments.

Details

Title
Regulation of priming effect by soil organic matter stability over a broad geographic scale
Author
Chen, Leiyi 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Liu, Li 2 ; Qin, Shuqi 2 ; Yang, Guibiao 2 ; Fang, Kai 2 ; Zhu, Biao 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Kuzyakov, Yakov 4 ; Chen, Pengdong 5 ; Xu, Yunping 6 ; Yang, Yuanhe 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 
 State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 
 Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China 
 Department of Soil Science of Temperate Ecosystems, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany; Department of Agricultural Soil Science, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany; Agro-Technological Institute, RUDN University, Moscow, Russia 
 State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; College of Life Sciences, Ludong University, Yantai, China 
 Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hadal Science and Technology, College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China 
Pages
1-10
Publication year
2019
Publication date
Nov 2019
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20411723
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2313067699
Copyright
© 2019. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.