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Updated: May 19, 2026

Assessment of Labile Organic Carbon in Soil Using Sequential Fumigation Incubation Procedures
Published on: October 29, 2016
The source of microbial C has little impact on soil organic matter stabilisation in forest ecosystems
Heather M Throckmorton1, Jeffrey A Bird2, Laura Dane3
1University of California, (UCD), Davis, US.
Abstract:
The source of microbial C is thought to impact its stability in soil due to variations in cellular biochemistry. It has been hypothesised that a fungal-dominated community stabilises more C than a bacterial-dominated community, in part due to chemical recalcitrance of their non-living biomass, particularly cell wall components and pigments. We compared the turnover of (13)C-labelled (99.9 atom %) temperate and tropical microbial isolates [i.e. fungi, Gram-positive bacteria (including actinobacteria) and Gram-negative bacteria] in temperate (California) and tropical (Puerto Rico) forest soils. While significant differences in (13)C recovery and mean residence times occurred among some microbial additions, similar turnover rates were observed, and in general, results do not support the view that microbial biochemistry affects soil C maintenance. Different effects by microbial necromass additions in California and Puerto Rico suggest that ecosystem-specific effects may be as important to microbial C stabilisation as its macromolecular composition and recalcitrance.
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