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Mapping soil microbial residence time at the global scale.

Liyuan He1, Xiaofeng Xu1

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This summary is machine-generated.

Soil microbes drive carbon cycling. Microbial residence time (MRT), the duration microbes stay in soil, significantly impacts carbon release and varies globally, influenced most by soil properties.

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Area of Science:

  • Soil science
  • Microbial ecology
  • Biogeochemistry

Background:

  • Soil microbes are crucial for carbon (C) cycling, influencing C efflux from terrestrial ecosystems.
  • Microbial residence time (MRT) is a key factor in soil organic C mineralization and heterotrophic respiration.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To calculate and analyze microbial residence time (MRT) across diverse biomes using a comprehensive dataset.
  • To identify the key environmental drivers of MRT variations globally.
  • To map global MRT patterns and estimate the global average MRT.

Main Methods:

  • Calculated MRT using basal respiration and microbial biomass carbon from 2627 data points.
  • Analyzed biogeographic patterns of MRT in relation to climate, vegetation, and edaphic factors.
  • Developed an empirical model to map global MRT and validated it against observed data at multiple scales.

Main Results:

  • MRT varied significantly across biomes, with longest durations in boreal forests/grasslands and shortest in wetlands.
  • Edaphic properties (soil texture, pH, porosity, C, N) were the dominant factors influencing MRT variations.
  • A global average MRT of 38 (±5) days was estimated, with lower values in tropics and higher in the Arctic.

Conclusions:

  • Edaphic factors play a dominant role in regulating soil microbial residence time globally.
  • Global MRT exhibits a distinct latitudinal pattern, with implications for carbon cycling models.
  • The study provides valuable global and biome-level MRT estimates for microbial model parameterization and benchmarking.