Increased microbial growth, biomass, and turnover drive soil organic carbon accumulation at higher plant diversity

Prommer, Judith; Walker, Tom W.  N.; Wanek, Wolfgang; Braun, Judith; Zezula, David; Hu, Yuntao; Hofhansl, Florian; Richter, Andreas

doi:10.1111/gcb.14777

Title: Increased microbial growth, biomass, and turnover drive soil organic carbon accumulation at higher plant diversity

Journal Article · Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2020 · Global Change Biology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14777· OSTI ID:1625879

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Univ. of Vienna (Austria). Dept. of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science
Univ. of Vienna (Austria). Dept. of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science; Univ. de Lausanne (Switzerland). Dept. of Ecology and Evolution
Univ. of Vienna (Austria). Dept. of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science; The Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban (United Kingdom)
Univ. of Vienna (Austria). Dept. of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
International Inst. for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg (Austria)
Univ. of Vienna (Austria). Dept. of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science; International Inst. for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg (Austria)

Species-rich plant communities have been shown to be more productive and to exhibit increased long-term soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. Soil microorganisms are central to the conversion of plant organic matter into SOC, yet the relationship between plant diversity, soil microbial growth, turnover as well as carbon use efficiency (CUE) and SOC accumulation is unknown. As heterotrophic soil microbes are primarily carbon limited, it is important to understand how they respond to increased plant-derived carbon inputs at higher plant species richness (PSR). We used the long-term grassland biodiversity experiment in Jena, Germany, to examine how microbial physiology responds to changes in plant diversity and how this affects SOC content. The Jena Experiment considers different numbers of species (1–60), functional groups (1–4) as well as functional identity (small herbs, tall herbs, grasses, and legumes). We found that PSR accelerated microbial growth and turnover and increased microbial biomass and necromass. PSR also accelerated microbial respiration, but this effect was less strong than for microbial growth. In contrast, PSR did not affect microbial CUE or biomass-specific respiration. Structural equation models revealed that PSR had direct positive effects on root biomass, and thereby on microbial growth and microbial biomass carbon. Finally, PSR increased SOC content via its positive influence on microbial biomass carbon. We suggest that PSR favors faster rates of microbial growth and turnover, likely due to greater plant productivity, resulting in higher amounts of microbial biomass and necromass that translate into the observed increase in SOC. We thus identify the microbial mechanism linking species-rich plant communities to a carbon cycle process of importance to Earth's climate system.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Biological Systems Science Division

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1625879

Journal Information:: Global Change Biology, Vol. 26, Issue 2; ISSN 1354-1013

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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