Pedosphere (2): 527--539, 2026
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2026 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Root traits determine the effects of organic amendments on soil aggregate organic carbon by regulating soil microbial multitrophic networks |
Changdong HAN1,2, Lin CHEN2, Zhongjun JIA2,3, Hongtao ZOU1, Ling MA1,2, Jingwang LI2, Congzhi ZHANG2, Guixiang ZHOU2, Donghao MA2, Jiabao ZHANG2 |
1 College of Land and Environment, National Engineering Research Center for Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer Resources, Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation in Northeast China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866 (China)
2 State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Fengqiu Experimental Station of National Ecosystem Research Network of China, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 211135 (China)
3 Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102 (China) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Crop root traits are known to influence soil properties that underpin agroecosystem functions, including soil aggregates, soil microbial properties, and soil organic carbon (SOC). However, the relationships among root traits, soil microbes, and organic carbon (OC) in soil under organic amendments remain poorly understood, particularly at the aggregate scale. Here, a 3-month rhizo-box experiment was conducted to investigate the impacts of organic amendments on SOC accumulation under long-term conventional and conservation tillage, with and without organic amendments. This experiment included five treatments: no fertilizer (Conv), chemical fertilizer (Conv_F), pig manure (Conv_M), and vermicompost (Conv_V) under conventional tillage and no fertilizer under conservation tillage (Cons). Compared with the Conv and Conv_F treatments, the organic amendment (Conv_M and Conv_V) and Cons treatments significantly increased root surface area and volume. Compared with the Conv treatment, the organic amendment treatments significantly increased the proportion of macroaggregates (0.25-2 mm) and the SOC content. Additionally, the organic amendment treatments significantly increased the concentrations of mineral-associated and iron-bound OC in macroaggregates and their contributions to SOC. The organic amendment treatments significantly increased the microbial network complexity and reduced the proportion of negative within-trophic associations in the microbial network of each aggregate size fraction. The partial least squares path model analysis indicated that with organic amendments, root traits regulated stable OC pools and thereby influenced aggregate-associated OC accumulation in soil by affecting microbial properties (e.g., microbial associations and network complexity). Our findings highlight the potential role of root traits in regulating the accumulation of OC in agricultural soils, which contributes to increased soil carbon sequestration potential and sustainable agriculture. |
| Key Words: microbial association,microbial taxa,network complexity,soil aggregates,soil organic carbon |
| Citation: Han C D, Chen L, Jia Z J, Zou H T, Ma L, Li J W, Zhang C Z, Zhou G X, Ma D H, Zhang J B. 2026. Root traits determine the effects of organic amendments on soil aggregate organic carbon by regulating soil microbial multitrophic networks. Pedosphere. 36(2): 527-539. |
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