Pedosphere (2): 540--553, 2026
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2026 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis enhances microbial contribution to mineral-associated organic carbon persistence in soil: Insights from soil microbial community and microbial necromass carbon |
Yin LIU1,2, Jin QIAN1,2 , Yueming ZHU3, Jing HU4, Bianhe LU1,2, Yuxuan HE1,2, Junwei SHEN1,2 |
1 Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098 (China)
2 College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098 (China)
3 Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042 (China)
4 Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando FL 32816 (USA) |
| ABSTRACT |
| The formation of mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC), a critical soil fraction related to soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration, is significantly influenced by microbial processes. Yet, how arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis impacts MAOC accumulation in rhizosphere soils through its effects on microbial contribution remains poorly understood. Here, a pot experiment was conducted in a climate chamber using Lythrum salicaria L. as the host plant and Archaeospora trappei as the AM fungi inoculum to assess the microbial community in the samples collected from bulk soil (BS) and rhizosphere soil (RS) under the AM fungi inoculation (+AM) and non-inoculation (-AM) treatments using 16S rRNA sequencing. The results showed that AM symbiosis influenced soil microbial community composition and enhanced soil microbial community functions related to carbon (C) degradation. The number of live and dead cells (all cells in the soil) was the highest in RS under the +AM treatment (RS+AM) based on confocal laser scanning microscopy images. Meanwhile, AM symbiosis increased the proportions of apoptotic cells (19.02%) and necrotic cells (12.12%) in RS. Using soil amino sugars as microbial biomarkers, the concentrations of bacterial necromass C (188.01 g kg-1 OC) and fungal necromass C (392.19 g kg-1 OC) were the highest in the MAOC fraction in RS+AM. Additionally, the MAOC content (17.20 g kg-1 soil) and proportion (42.06%) were the highest in RS+AM. This study illustrated two primary mechanisms by which AM symbiosis enhanced MAOC accumulation: 1) altering soil microbial community composition and functions related to C degradation and 2) promoting the input of microbial necromass C, especially fungal necromass C. This study broadens our horizons to understand the mechanisms of microbial contribution to MAOC accumulation stimulated by AM symbiosis in rhizosphere soils and provides management practices for the application of AM fungi to SOC sequestration. |
| Key Words: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi,carbon sequestration,fungal necromass carbon,microbial community function,soil carbon degradation,soil organic carbon |
| Citation: Liu Y, Qian J, Zhu Y M, Hu J, Lu B H, He Y X, Shen J W. 2026. Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis enhances microbial contribution to mineral-associated organic carbon persistence in soil: Insights from soil microbial community and microbial necromass carbon. Pedosphere. 36(2): 540-553. |
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