Soil microbial necromass carbon in forests: A global synthesis of patterns and controlling factors

Highlights

● Boreal and temperate forests had higher MNC and FNC/BNC than other forest biomes.

● Mixed forests had higher MNC and lower FNC/BNC than other forest types.

● The dependence of MNC on forest type varied among forest biomes.

● MAT and soil total N were the important factors on MNC and MNC/SOC.

● MAT, soil pH, and clay content were identified as direct factors on FNC/BNC.

Abstract

Soil microbial necromass carbon (MNC) is an important contributor to soil organic carbon (SOC) and plays a vital role in carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. However, it remains unclear whether the content, contribution to SOC (MNC/SOC), and fungal-to-bacterial necromass carbon ratio (FNC/BNC) of MNC vary across forest biomes and types. By summarizing data from 1704 points across 93 forest sites, we explored the spatial patterns of MNC, MNC/SOC, and FNC/BNC in the surface layer of 0–20 cm of forest soils, as well as the controlling factors involved. Overall, boreal and temperate forests had higher MNC and FNC/BNC values than tropical, subtropical, and Mediterranean forests, whereas both boreal and Mediterranean forests had low MNC/SOC values. Mixed forests had higher MNC and lower FNC/BNC than broadleaved and coniferous forests, whereas MNC/SOC was higher in broad-leaved forests than that in coniferous forests. Interestingly, the dependence of MNC on forest type also varies among forest biomes. Regression analyses identified soil total N as one of the most important factors affecting MNC and MNC/SOC; whereas MAT, soil pH, and clay content were identified as the important factors affecting FNC/BNC. This synthesis is critical for managing soil MNC to mitigate climate change in forests.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

soil microbial necromass carbon / MNC/SOC / forest biome / forest type / climate / soil properties

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Abbreviations

MNC, microbial necromass carbon; SOC, soil organic carbon; FNC/BNC, fungal-to-bacterial necromass carbon ratio; AS, amino sugars; GluN, glucosamine; MurA, muramic acid.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Data availability

The data set used will be made available after acceptance.

Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42122054, 42192513, and 42321004), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2021B1515020082), Key Platform and Scientific Research Projects of the Guangdong Provincial Education Department (2020KCXTD006), and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Pollution Control (No. 2023B1212060002).

Author contributions

SX and JJW designed this study. SX and XYS searched the papers and collected the data, and SX analyzed the data. SX and JJW prepared the manuscript. HZ revised and commented on the initial draft and final manuscript.

Electronic supplementary material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s42832-024-0237-3 and is accessible for authorized users.

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