Mycorrhizae enhance reactive minerals but reduce mineral-associated carbon

• Published in: Global change biology Vol. 29; no. 20; pp. 5941 - 5954
• Main Authors: Li, Huan, Yu, Guang-Hui, Hao, Liping, Qiu, Yunpeng, Hu, Shuijin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2023
• Subjects: Arbuscular mycorrhizas; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide emissions; Cycles; Decomposition; Decomposition reactions; Earth surface; Exudates; Exudation; Fungi; Hyphae; Iron; Litter; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Minerals; Organic carbon; Organic soils; Rhizosphere; Roots; Secondary ion mass spectrometry; Soil; Soil dynamics; Soil management; Soil microorganisms; Soils; Symbiosis; litter decomposition; microbial community; arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; soil carbon persistence; mineral-associated organic carbon; Glomus
• ISSN: 1354-1013; 1365-2486
• DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16886

Soil organic carbon (C) is the largest active C pool of Earth's surface and is thus vital in sustaining terrestrial productivity and climate stability. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form symbioses with most terrestrial plants and critically modulate soil C dynamics. Yet, it remains unclear whether and how AMF-root associations (i.e., mycorrhizae) interact with soil minerals to affect soil C cycling. Here we showed that the presence of both roots and AMF increased soil dissolved organic C and reactive Fe minerals, as well as litter decomposition and soil CO emissions. However, it reduced mineral-associated C. Also, high-resolution nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry images showed the existence of a thin coating (0.5-1.0 μm thick) of Fe O (Fe minerals) on the surface of C N (fungal biomass), illustrating the close physical association between fungal hyphae and soil Fe minerals. In addition, AMF genera were divergently related to reactive Fe minerals, with Glomus being positively but Paraglomus and Acaulospora negatively correlated with reactive Fe minerals. Moreover, the presence of roots and AMF, particularly when combined with litter addition, enhanced the abundances of several critical soil bacterial genera that are associated with the formation of reactive minerals in soils. A conceptual framework was further proposed to illustrate how AMF-root associations impact soil C cycling in the rhizosphere. Briefly, root exudates and the inoculated AMF not only stimulated the decomposition of litter and SOC and promoted the production of CO emission, but also drove soil C persistence by unlocking mineral elements and promoting the formation of reactive minerals. Together, these findings provide new insights into the mechanisms that underlie the formation of reactive minerals and have significant implications for understanding and managing soil C persistence.