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Aridity Modulates Warming Impacts on Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency
Zhenrui Zhang1, Xiaoxia Gao2, Hui Gao1
1Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Climate warming reduces microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) in humid abandoned croplands, impacting carbon sequestration. Arid regions show little effect, highlighting the need for region-specific soil management strategies.
Area of Science:
- Soil Science
- Microbiology
- Ecology
Background:
- Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is crucial for carbon cycling, influencing the balance between microbial biomass and CO2 emissions.
- The impact of climate warming on CUE in regenerating ecosystems, such as abandoned croplands, is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of experimental warming on microbial CUE across diverse climatic zones in Chinese abandoned croplands.
- To identify the microbial and soil organic carbon factors driving CUE responses to warming.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a 3-year in situ warming experiment (+1.6 °C) across 12 abandoned cropland sites.
- Utilized the 18O-H2O method and molecular characterization to assess microbial activity and community structure.
- Analyzed soil organic carbon (SOC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) composition.
Main Results:
- Warming significantly decreased microbial CUE in humid areas (aridity index >0.65) but had minimal impact in arid areas (aridity index <0.65).
- In humid regions, reduced CUE was linked to increased fungal biomass (pathotrophic and pathotroph-saprotrophic guilds) and a shift towards more recalcitrant DOC.
- Changes in CUE correlated positively with DOC changes, not SOC changes, indicating temporal asynchrony in carbon pools.
Conclusions:
- Climate-dependent microbial mechanisms influence CUE, potentially weakening carbon sequestration in humid abandoned croplands under warming.
- Findings emphasize the importance of considering active carbon pools and implementing region-specific soil management strategies for abandoned croplands.
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