Pedosphere 34(2): 289--296, 2024
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2024 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Nitrogen availability mediates the effects of roots and mycorrhizal fungi on soil organic carbon decomposition: A meta-analysis |
Tongshuo BAI1, Yunpeng QIU1 , Shuijin HU2 |
1 Ecosystem Ecology Laboratory, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095 (China);
2 Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC 27695 (USA) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Plant roots and their associated mycorrhizal fungi critically mediate the decomposition of soil organic carbon (C), but the general patterns of their impacts over a broad geographical range and the primary mediating factors remain unclear. Based on a synthesis of 596 paired observations from both field and greenhouse experiments, we found that living roots and/or mycorrhizal fungi increased organic C decomposition by 30.9%, but low soil nitrogen (N) availability (i.e., high soil C:N ratio) critically mitigated this promotion effect. In addition, the positive effects of living roots and/or mycorrhizal fungi on organic C decomposition were higher under herbaceous and leguminous plants than under woody and non-leguminous plants, respectively. Surprisingly, there was no significant difference between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and ectomycorrhizal fungi in their effects on organic C decomposition. Furthermore, roots and/or mycorrhizal fungi significantly enhanced the decomposition of leaf litter but not root litter. These findings advance our understanding of how roots and their symbiotic fungi modulate soil C dynamics in the rhizosphere or mycorrhizosphere and may help improve predictions of soil global C balance under a changing climate. |
| Key Words: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi,ectomycorrhizal fungi,leaf litter,leguminous plant,mycorrhizosphere,rhizosphere,root litter,soil C:N ratio |
| Citation: Bai T S, Qiu Y P, Hu S J. 2024. Nitrogen availability mediates the effects of roots and mycorrhizal fungi on soil organic carbon decomposition: A meta-analysis. Pedosphere. 34(2): 289-296. |
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