Evidence for the primacy of living root inputs, not root or shoot litter, in forming soil organic carbon

• Published in: The New phytologist Vol. 221; no. 1; pp. 233 - 246
• Main Authors: Sokol, Noah W., Kuebbing, Sara. E., Karlsen‐Ayala, Elena, Bradford, Mark A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England New Phytologist Trust 01.01.2019; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Animals; C4 plants; Carbon; Carbon Cycle; Connecticut; Cycles; field experimentation; Food Chain; Food chains; Food webs; forest litter; Forests; grasses; Introduced Species; Litter; litter inputs; living roots; microbial biomass; Microorganisms; Minerals; natural‐abundance 13C tracer; Organic carbon; Organic soils; Plant Roots - chemistry; Plant Roots - metabolism; Plant Shoots - chemistry; Plant Shoots - metabolism; Poaceae; rhizodeposition; roots; shoots; Soil; Soil - chemistry; soil carbon formation; soil food webs; Soil Microbiology; Soil microorganisms; soil organic carbon; soil organic matter; Soils; Tracking; Trees; Understory; Connecticut; natural-abundance 13C tracer; rhizodeposition; litter inputs; microbial biomass; soil carbon formation; living roots; carbon cycle; soil organic matter

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is primarily formed from plant inputs, but the relative carbon (C) contributions from living root inputs (i.e. rhizodeposits) vs litter inputs (i.e. root + shoot litter) are poorly understood. Recent theory suggests that living root inputs exert a disproportionate influence...