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Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Utilizing Soil Density Fractionation to Separate Distinct Soil Carbon Pools
Published on: December 16, 2022
A keystone microbial enzyme for nitrogen control of soil carbon storage
Ji Chen1,2,3, Yiqi Luo4,5, Kees Jan van Groenigen6
1Center for Ecological and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China.
Abstract:
Agricultural and industrial activities have increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition to ecosystems worldwide. N deposition can stimulate plant growth and soil carbon (C) input, enhancing soil C storage. Changes in microbial decomposition could also influence soil C storage, yet this influence has been difficult to discern, partly because of the variable effects of added N on the microbial enzymes involved. We show, using meta-analysis, that added N reduced the activity of lignin-modifying enzymes (LMEs), and that this N-induced enzyme suppression was associated with increases in soil C. In contrast, N-induced changes in cellulase activity were unrelated to changes in soil C. Moreover, the effects of added soil N on LME activity accounted for more of the variation in responses of soil C than a wide range of other environmental and experimental factors. Our results suggest that, through responses of a single enzyme system to added N, soil microorganisms drive long-term changes in soil C accumulation. Incorporating this microbial influence on ecosystem biogeochemistry into Earth system models could improve predictions of ecosystem C dynamics.
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