Stability and carbon uptake of the soil microbial community is determined by differences between rhizosphere and bulk soil

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Authors

  • Markus Lange
  • Mina Azizi-Rad
  • Georg Dittmann
  • Dan Frederik Lange
  • Alice May Orme
  • Simon Andreas Schroeter
  • Carsten Simon
  • Gerd Gleixner

External Research Organisations

  • Max Planck Institute of Biogeochemistry (MPI-BGC)
  • Friedrich Schiller University Jena
  • ETH Zurich
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Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number109280
JournalSoil Biology and Biochemistry
Volume189
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2024
Externally publishedYes

Abstract

The interactions between plants and soil microorganisms are fundamental for ecosystem functioning. However, it remains unclear if seasonality of plant growth impacts plant-microbial interactions, such as by inducing shifts in the microbial community composition, their biomass, or changes in the microbial uptake of plant-derived carbon. Here, we investigated the stability of the microbial community and their net assimilation of plant-derived carbon over an entire growing season. Using a C3–C4 vegetation change experiment, and taking advantage of a natural 13C label, we measured the plant-derived carbon in lipid biomarkers of soil microorganisms in rhizosphere and bulk soil in two soils with contrasting textures. We found that temporal stability was higher in bacterial than in fungal biomass, whereas the spatial stability of the fungal biomass was higher than that of bacterial biomass. Moreover, symbiotic AM fungi tended to be more stable in the uptake of plant-derived carbon than bacteria and saprophytic fungi. While soil texture did influence microbial community composition as expected, it had no effect on the microbial plant carbon assimilation and the differences between rhizosphere and bulk soil. In addition, the putative differences in carbon utilization between microbial groups, with the exception of AM fungi, were generally smaller than expected, reflecting opportunistic utilization of energy sources. Our results suggest that microbial uptake of plant carbon is primarily limited by plant carbon allocation rather than by environmental factors such as soil texture and seasonality. This indicates that the ongoing carbon assimilation during the growing season is supported by a functional redundancy within the microbial community, which, in turn, helps sustain ecosystem functioning.

Keywords

    C, Microbial functioning, NLFA, PLFA, Root exudation, Soil carbon, Vegetation change experiments

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Cite this

Stability and carbon uptake of the soil microbial community is determined by differences between rhizosphere and bulk soil. / Lange, Markus; Azizi-Rad, Mina; Dittmann, Georg et al.
In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 189, 109280, 02.2024.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Lange, M., Azizi-Rad, M., Dittmann, G., Lange, D. F., Orme, A. M., Schroeter, S. A., Simon, C., & Gleixner, G. (2024). Stability and carbon uptake of the soil microbial community is determined by differences between rhizosphere and bulk soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 189, Article 109280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2023.109280
Lange M, Azizi-Rad M, Dittmann G, Lange DF, Orme AM, Schroeter SA et al. Stability and carbon uptake of the soil microbial community is determined by differences between rhizosphere and bulk soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 2024 Feb;189:109280. doi: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2023.109280
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abstract = "The interactions between plants and soil microorganisms are fundamental for ecosystem functioning. However, it remains unclear if seasonality of plant growth impacts plant-microbial interactions, such as by inducing shifts in the microbial community composition, their biomass, or changes in the microbial uptake of plant-derived carbon. Here, we investigated the stability of the microbial community and their net assimilation of plant-derived carbon over an entire growing season. Using a C3–C4 vegetation change experiment, and taking advantage of a natural 13C label, we measured the plant-derived carbon in lipid biomarkers of soil microorganisms in rhizosphere and bulk soil in two soils with contrasting textures. We found that temporal stability was higher in bacterial than in fungal biomass, whereas the spatial stability of the fungal biomass was higher than that of bacterial biomass. Moreover, symbiotic AM fungi tended to be more stable in the uptake of plant-derived carbon than bacteria and saprophytic fungi. While soil texture did influence microbial community composition as expected, it had no effect on the microbial plant carbon assimilation and the differences between rhizosphere and bulk soil. In addition, the putative differences in carbon utilization between microbial groups, with the exception of AM fungi, were generally smaller than expected, reflecting opportunistic utilization of energy sources. Our results suggest that microbial uptake of plant carbon is primarily limited by plant carbon allocation rather than by environmental factors such as soil texture and seasonality. This indicates that the ongoing carbon assimilation during the growing season is supported by a functional redundancy within the microbial community, which, in turn, helps sustain ecosystem functioning.",
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AU - Lange, Markus

AU - Azizi-Rad, Mina

AU - Dittmann, Georg

AU - Lange, Dan Frederik

AU - Orme, Alice May

AU - Schroeter, Simon Andreas

AU - Simon, Carsten

AU - Gleixner, Gerd

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors

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