Which Plant Traits Increase Soil Carbon Sequestration? Empirical Evidence From a Long‐Term Poplar Genetic Diversity Trial

Field, John L.; Sloan, Brandon P.; Craig, Matthew E.; Calloway, Parker; Ottinger, Sarah L.; Mead, Thomas; Abramoff, Rose Z.; Venegas, Mirko Pavicic; Chhetri, Hari B.; Haiby, Kathy; Kalluri, Udaya C.; Muchero, Wellington; Schadt, Christopher Warren; Mayes, Melanie A.

doi:10.1111/gcb.70450

Which Plant Traits Increase Soil Carbon Sequestration? Empirical Evidence From a Long‐Term Poplar Genetic Diversity Trial

Journal Article · Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · Global Change Biology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70450· OSTI ID:3002702

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (United States)
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Knoxville, TN (United States)
Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME (United States); Wintergreen Earth Science, Kennebunk, ME (United States)
Poplar Innovations, Inc., Castle Rock, WA (United States)

Plants play a key role in mediating soil response to global change, and breeding or engineering crops to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) storage is a potential route to land-based carbon dioxide removal in agricultural systems. However, due to limited observational datasets plus shifting paradigms of SOC stabilization, it is unclear which plant traits are most important for enhancing different types of soil organic matter. Existing long-term common gardens of genetically diverse plant populations may provide an opportunity to evaluate biological controls on SOC, separate from environmental or management variability. Here we report on soil and root chemical data collected for 24 genotypes within a 13-year-old common garden in northwestern Oregon planted with a large natural variant population of Populus trichocarpa. Fractionating surface soil (0–15 cm) revealed substantial variation in stocks of mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM; 18–67 t C/ha) and particulate organic matter (POM; 2–22 t C/ha). Tree genotype explained 24% and 26% of the MAOM and POM stock variability, respectively, after controlling for background variability. We found minimal association between SOC concentration and either aboveground tree productivity or root biomass recalcitrance (C/N ratios and lignin content). In contrast, root elemental content appeared influential for MAOM-C concentration, which showed a strong positive association with root aluminum (Al) and a strong negative association with root boron (B) and magnesium (Mg). Furthermore, root concentrations of these elements were highly heritable (57%–78%) and not simply a reflection of background variation in soil elemental concentrations. We estimate that surface SOC stocks under these 24 genotypes have diverged at rates of up to 1.2–4.3 t C/ha/year. These results suggest that long-term genetic diversity trials have value for elucidating biological controls on soil organic matter dynamics, and that traits associated with root elemental content may be a useful target for enhancing biosequestration.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 3002702

Journal Information:: Global Change Biology, Journal Name: Global Change Biology Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 31; ISSN 1354-1013; ISSN 1365-2486

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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