Faster turnover of new soil carbon inputs under increased atmospheric CO2

Synergies between Carbon Sequestration, Nitrogen Utilization, and Mushroom Quality: A Comprehensive Review of Substrate, Fungi, and Soil Interactions

Mushroom cultivation offers a sustainable approach by combining carbon sequestration, nitrogen use, and quality food production. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the synergistic interactions between substrate composition, fungal species, environmental factors, and their cumulative effects on the carbon and nitrogen cycles, mushroom yield, and nutritional quality. Key research gaps include the long-term impact of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) on soil carbon dynamics, limited use of fungal diversity, and the vulnerability of substrates and enzyme activity to climate change. To address these challenges, this review proposes strategies such as blending fast- and slow-decomposing agricultural waste, enriching substrates with biochar, and using genetically modified fungi to enhance lignin breakdown and stress tolerance. It also highlights promising species like Ganoderma lucidum and Trametes versicolor, and emphasizes interspecies microbial synergy. A systems-based approach combining C:N optimization, microbial interaction, and substrate innovation is recommended to improve productivity, reduce waste, and support carbon-neutral cultivation.

Long-term free-air-CO2-enrichment increases carbon distribution in the stable fraction in the deep layer of non-clay soils

Elevated CO2 (eCO2) in the atmosphere can increase plant C input into soils. However, in dryland cropping systems, it remains unclear how eCO2 may alter soil organic C content and stability in relation to potential changes in microbial community composition and whether these changes may depend on soil type and depth. Using an eight-year free-air-CO2-enrichment (SoilFACE) system, this study addressed these questions in three farming soils including a sandy Calcarosol, a clay Vertosol and a silt loam Chromosol at depths of 0-40 cm. Long-term eCO2 did not change soil C content or its distribution in different C fractions in the top 30-cm soil. The majority of the relatively abundant bacterial taxa significantly affected by eCO2 in the 0-10 cm layer were copiotrophic; this also occurred to fungal community, except for the Calcarosol where some saprotrophs showed a decreasing trend. These changes in microbial taxa indicate that eCO2 accelerated the decomposition of both new and pre-existing C pools in the topsoil. Although eCO2 did not change soil C content in the 30-40 cm layer, it increased soil C content in the stable C fraction associated with particles < 50 μm in the Calcarosol (by 39%) and particles < 2 μm in the Chromosol (by 29%). In the 30-40 cm layer of the Calcarosol, many fungal saprotrophs were enriched, and the abundance of fungal community increased under eCO2. Further investigation is warranted on whether the enhanced stability subsoil C under eCO2 results from the leaching of stable organic molecules from the topsoil to the subsoil for buildup in the non-clay Calcarosol and Chromosol. Overall, these findings suggest that eCO2 is likely to enhance soil C stability in the deeper parts of the profile of non-clay soils.

The impact of global change factors on the functional genes of soil nitrogen and methane cycles in grassland ecosystems: a meta-analysis

Soil functional genes in grasslands are crucial for processes like nitrogen fixation, nitrification, denitrification, methane production, and oxidation, integral to nitrogen and methane cycles. However, the impact of global changes on these genes is not well understood. We reviewed 84 studies to examine the effects of nitrogen addition (N), warming (W), increased precipitation (PPT +), decreased precipitation (PPT-), and elevated CO2 (eCO2) on these functional genes. For nitrogen cycling, global changes mainly boost genes involved in nitrification but reduce those in denitrification, with nirK being the most sensitive. Most nitrogen fixation-related genes did not show a significant response. Among single factors, N and PPT + have the most significant effects. The impact of global changes on nitrogen cycling genes is largely additive, and their interaction with N is particularly influential. For methane cycling, global changes notably affect mcrA, while only PPT + significantly reduces pmoA. The magnitude and duration of global change treatments are more critical than the treatment form for nitrogen cycling genes. For methane cycling, the form and intensity of nitrogen addition, along with treatment duration, affect pmoA abundance. We also identified a competitive relationship between methane oxidation and nitrification and a complex coupling with denitrification. This study provides new insights into microbial responses in nitrogen and methane cycling under global changes, with significant implications for experimental design and management strategies in grassland ecosystems.

Occurrence and characteristics of microplastics across the watershed of the world's third-largest river

While rivers as primary conduits for land-based plastic particles transferring to their "ultimate" destination, the ocean, have garnered increasing attention, research on microplastic pollution at the scale of whole large river basins remains limited. Here we conducted a large-scale investigation of microplastic contamination in water and sediment of the world's third-largest river, the Yangtze River. We found concentrations of microplastics in water and sediment to be 5.13 items/L and 113.9 items/kg (dry weight), respectively. Moreover, microplastic pollution levels exhibited a clear decreasing trend from upstream to downstream. The detected microplastics were predominantly transparent in color, with fibrous shapes predominating, sizes mainly concentrated below 1 mm and composed primarily of PP and PE polymers. Our analysis results indicated that compared to geographical and water quality parameters, anthropogenic factors primarily determined the spatial distribution pattern of microplastics. Moreover, the microplastic abundance in sediment upstream of the dam was significantly higher than that in the downstream sediment, while the trend of microplastic concentrations in water was opposite. Therefore, more effort is needed to monitor microplastic contamination and their ecological environmental effects of sediment before dams in future research.

Changes in soil inorganic carbon following vegetation restoration in the cropland on the Loess Plateau in China: A meta-analysis

Vegetation restoration in the cropland has been widely implemented to protect the ecological environment of the Loess Plateau, China. However, a quantitative and comprehensive understanding of the changes in soil inorganic carbon (SIC) after vegetation restoration is lacking. Based on 637 pieces of data from 35 studies on the Loess Plateau, we performed a meta-analysis to quantify the variations in SIC after vegetation restoration in the cropland and analyze the influences of environment factors on the variations in SIC. Overall, SIC significantly increased by 6.73% after vegetation restoration. The conversions of cropland to broadleaf forestland, coniferous forestland and grassland significantly increased the SIC contents by 3.16, 14.77 and 6.32%, respectively. The response ratio of SIC (RR-SIC) to vegetation restoration was positively related with restoration age, the response ratio of soil organic carbon and the soil pH respectively, but was significantly negatively correlated with mean annual precipitation and mean annual temperature. The results demonstrated that vegetation restoration in cropland has a high potential to SIC sequestration on the Loess Plateau. The relationship of RR-SIC with environmental factors indicated that the production of pedogenic inorganic carbon plays a crucial role in SIC sequestration after vegetation restoration in the cropland on the Loess Plateau. Our findings highlight that SIC is as vital to soil carbon sequestration as soil organic carbon after vegetation restoration, and SIC should not be neglected for assessing carbon sequestration capacity of vegetation restoration on the Loess Plateau.

Differential impacts of microplastics on carbon and nitrogen cycling in plant-soil systems: A meta-analysis

Microplastics (MPs) are widely present in terrestrial ecosystems. However, how MPs impact carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling within plant-soil system is still poorly understood. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis utilizing 3338 paired observations from 180 publications to estimate the effects of MPs on plant growth (biomass, nitrogen content, nitrogen uptake and nitrogen use efficiency), change in soil C content (total carbon (TC), soil organic carbon (SOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC)), C losses (carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane), soil N content (total nitrogen, dissolved organic nitrogen, microbial biomass nitrogen, total dissolve nitrogen, ammonium, nitrate (NO3--N) and nitrite) and nitrogen losses (nitrous oxide, ammonia (NH3) volatilization and N leaching) comprehensively. Results showed that although MPs significantly increased CO2 emissions by 25.7 %, they also increased TC, SOC, MBC, DOC and CO2 by 53.3 %, 25.4 %, 19.6 % and 24.7 %, respectively, and thus increased soil carbon sink capacity. However, MPs significantly decreased NO3--N and NH3 volatilization by 14.7 % and 43.3 %, respectively. Meanwhile, MPs significantly decreased plant aboveground biomass, whereas no significant changes were detected in plant belowground biomass and plant N content. The impacts of MPs on soil C, N and plant growth varied depending on MP types, sizes, concentrations, and experimental durations, in part influenced by initial soil properties. Overall, although MPs enhanced soil carbon sink capacity, they may pose a significant threat to future agricultural productivity.

Global analysis of the adverse effects of micro- and nanoplastics on intestinal health and microbiota of fish

The wide occurrence of micro- and nanoplastics (MPs/NPs) within aquatic ecosystems has raised increasing concerns regarding their potential effects on aquatic organisms. However, the effects of MPs/NPs on intestinal health and microbiota of fish remain controversial, and there is a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding how the impact of MPs/NPs is influenced by MPs/NPs characteristics and experimental designs. Here, we conducted a global analysis to synthesize the effects of MPs/NPs on 47 variables associated with fish intestinal health and microbiota from 118 studies. We found that MPs/NPs generally exerted obvious adverse effects on intestinal histological structure, permeability, digestive function, immune and oxidative-antioxidative systems. By contrast, MPs/NPs showed slight effects on intestinal microbial variables. Further, we observed that the responses of intestinal variables to MPs/NPs were significantly regulated by MPs/NPs characteristics and experimental designs. For instance, polyvinyl chloride plastics showed higher toxicity to fish gut than polyethylene and polystyrene did. Additionally, larval fish appeared to be more sensitive to MPs/NPs than juvenile fish. Collectively, this study highlights the potential impacts of MPs/NPs on intestinal health and microbiota of fish, and underscores the determinant role of MPs/NPs characteristics and experimental designs in MPs/NPs toxicity.

Unveiling the impacts moso bamboo invasion on litter and soil properties: A meta-analysis

Moso bamboo invasion potentially alters litter, soil properties and soil microbial communities in forest ecosystems. However, the overall direction and magnitude of this alteration at a large spatial scale remain unclear. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis of 72 experimental studies on the impact of moso bamboo invasion on litter, soil physicochemical properties, and soil microbial communities. Overall, the moso bamboo invasion increased litter decomposition, soil pH, and NH4+-N, while concurrently leading to a decrease in soil bulk density, soil electrical conductivity, soil TN: TP ratio, soil NO3--N, and available potassium. Moreover, we observed that the invasion significantly enhanced soil microbial biomass nitrogen, fungal ACE diversity index, fungal biomass, and bacterial Shannon diversity index, while decreasing the ratio of Gram-positive to Gram-negative bacteria and the biomass of Gram-positive bacteria. Furthermore, we identified the primary factors influencing specific soil properties and microbial community responses to moso bamboo invasion. Specifically, the response of NH4+-N, NO3--N, soil bulk density, fungal diversity and pH were found to be primarily influenced by climatic factors (mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation), topographic factors (aspect), and invasion stage, respectively. In addition, we further revealed a close relationship between soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities during moso bamboo invasion. Specifically, the response of soil microbial biomass nitrogen was positively correlated with the responses of soil organic nitrogen and total nitrogen content, Gram-positive bacteria biomass was positively correlated with soil total nitrogen but negatively correlated with soil pH. Meanwhile, soil bacterial diversity showed a significant positive correlation with soil pH but exhibited a negative correlation with soil SOC. Our study suggests that macro-climatic conditions, local microenvironment, and invasion stage co-regulate the important effects of moso bamboo invasion on litter, soil physicochemical properties, and microbial communities.

Soil organic carbon stability and exogenous nitrogen fertilizer influence the priming effect of paddy soil under long-term exposure to elevated atmospheric CO2

Soil organic carbon (SOC) stability and dynamics are greatly influenced by long-term elevated atmospheric CO2 [CO2]. The priming effect (PE) is vital in SOC stability and dynamics, but its role in paddy soil under long-term elevated [CO2] remains unclear. To examine how SOC stability changed in paddy soil after long-term elevated atmospheric CO2 enrichment, the PE was quantified through a 13C-glucose-induced experiment with different N levels for topsoil (0-20 cm) from paddy free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) platform. Compared with the ambient CO2 concentration ([CO2]), 10 years of elevated [CO2] (500 µmol·mol-1) significantly increased SOC and TN content by 18.4% and 19.0%, respectively, while the C/N ratio was not changed. The labile C fractions including dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and readily oxidizable organic carbon (ROC), but excluding microbial biomass C (MBC), accumulated faster than SOC in paddy soil, which implied the reduced SOC stability for long-term elevated [CO2] enrichment. With the decline of SOC stability, the exogenously induced cumulative specific PE (PE per gram of SOC) remarkably increased by 41.1-72.7% for elevated [CO2] fumigation. The cumulative PE, especially the cumulative specific PE, was found significantly linearly correlated with the ROC content or ROC/SOC ratio (labile SOC pool). Furthermore, the application of nitrogen fertilizer slowed down the PE under elevated [CO2] condition. Our results showed that long-term elevated [CO2] enrichment reduced SOC stability and, together with exogenous nitrogen fertilizer, regulated the PE in paddy soil.

Trade-offs in carbon-degrading enzyme activities limit long-term soil carbon sequestration with biochar addition

Biochar amendment is one of the most promising agricultural approaches to tackle climate change by enhancing soil carbon (C) sequestration. Microbial-mediated decomposition processes are fundamental for the fate and persistence of sequestered C in soil, but the underlying mechanisms are uncertain. Here, we synthesise 923 observations regarding the effects of biochar addition (over periods ranging from several weeks to several years) on soil C-degrading enzyme activities from 130 articles across five continents worldwide. Our results showed that biochar addition increased soil ligninase activity targeting complex phenolic macromolecules by 7.1%, but suppressed cellulase activity degrading simpler polysaccharides by 8.3%. These shifts in enzyme activities explained the most variation of changes in soil C sequestration across a wide range of climatic, edaphic and experimental conditions, with biochar-induced shift in ligninase:cellulase ratio correlating negatively with soil C sequestration. Specifically, short-term (<1 year) biochar addition significantly reduced cellulase activity by 4.6% and enhanced soil organic C sequestration by 87.5%, whereas no significant responses were observed for ligninase activity and ligninase:cellulase ratio. However, long-term (≥1 year) biochar addition significantly enhanced ligninase activity by 5.2% and ligninase:cellulase ratio by 36.1%, leading to a smaller increase in soil organic C sequestration (25.1%). These results suggest that shifts in enzyme activities increased ligninase:cellulase ratio with time after biochar addition, limiting long-term soil C sequestration with biochar addition. Our work provides novel evidence to explain the diminished soil C sequestration with long-term biochar addition and suggests that earlier studies may have overestimated soil C sequestration with biochar addition by failing to consider the physiological acclimation of soil microorganisms over time.

Association mapping identifies loci and candidate genes for grain-related traits in spring wheat in response to heat stress

Heat stress is a limiting factor in wheat production along with global warming. Development of heat-tolerant wheat varieties and generation of suitable pre-breeding materials are the major goals in current wheat breeding programs. Our understanding on the genetic basis of thermotolerance remains sparse. In this study, we genotyped a collection of 211 core spring wheat accessions and conducted field trials to evaluate the grain-related traits under heat stress and non-stress conditions in two different locations for three consecutive years. Based on SNP datasets and grain-related traits, we performed genome-wide association study (GWAS) to detect stable loci related to thermotolerance. Thirty-three quantitative trait loci (QTL) were identified, nine of them are the same loci as previous studies, and 24 are potentially novel loci. Functional candidate genes at these QTL are predicted and proved to be relevant to heat stress and grain-related traits such as TaELF3-A1 (1A) for earliness per se (Eps), TaHSFA1-B1 (5B) influencing heat tolerance and TaVIN2-A1 (6A) for grain size. Functional markers of TaELF3-A1 were detected and converted to KASP markers, with their function and genetic diversity being analyzed in the natural populations. In addition, our results unveiled favor alleles controlling agronomic traits and/or heat stress tolerance. In summary, we provide insights into heritable correlation between yield and heat stress tolerance, which will accelerate the development of new cultivars with high and stable yield of wheat in the future.

Impacts of extreme weather events on terrestrial carbon and nitrogen cycling: A global meta-analysis

Some weather events like drought, increased precipitation, and warming exert substantial impact on the terrestrial C and N cycling. However, it remains largely unclear about the effect of extreme weather events (extreme drought, heavy rainfall, extreme heat, and extreme cold) on terrestrial C and N cycling. This study aims to analyze the responses of pools and fluxes of C and N in plants, soil, and microbes to extreme weather events by conducting a global meta-analysis of 656 pairwise observations. Results showed that extreme weather events (extreme drought, heavy rainfall, and extreme heat) decreased plant biomass and C flux, and extreme drought and heavy rainfall decreased the plant N pool and soil N flux. These results suggest that extreme weather events weaken the C and N cycling process in terrestrial ecosystems. However, this study did not determine the impact of extreme cold on ecosystem C and N cycling. Additional field experiments are needed to reveal the effects of extreme cold on global C and N cycling patterns.

Links across ecological scales: Plant biomass responses to elevated CO2

The degree to which elevated CO₂ concentrations (e[CO₂ ]) increase the amount of carbon (C) assimilated by vegetation plays a key role in climate change. However, due to the short-term nature of CO₂ enrichment experiments and the lack of reconciliation between different ecological scales, the effect of e[CO₂ ] on plant biomass stocks remains a major uncertainty in future climate projections. Here, we review the effect of e[CO₂ ] on plant biomass across multiple levels of ecological organization, scaling from physiological responses to changes in population-, community-, ecosystem-, and global-scale dynamics. We find that evidence for a sustained biomass response to e[CO₂ ] varies across ecological scales, leading to diverging conclusions about the responses of individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems. While the distinct focus of every scale reveals new mechanisms driving biomass accumulation under e[CO₂ ], none of them provides a full picture of all relevant processes. For example, while physiological evidence suggests a possible long-term basis for increased biomass accumulation under e[CO₂ ] through sustained photosynthetic stimulation, population-scale evidence indicates that a possible e[CO₂ ]-induced increase in mortality rates might potentially outweigh the effect of increases in plant growth rates on biomass levels. Evidence at the global scale may indicate that e[CO₂ ] has contributed to increased biomass cover over recent decades, but due to the difficulty to disentangle the effect of e[CO₂ ] from a variety of climatic and land-use-related drivers of plant biomass stocks, it remains unclear whether nutrient limitations or other ecological mechanisms operating at finer scales will dampen the e[CO₂ ] effect over time. By exploring these discrepancies, we identify key research gaps in our understanding of the effect of e[CO₂ ] on plant biomass and highlight the need to integrate knowledge across scales of ecological organization so that large-scale modeling can represent the finer-scale mechanisms needed to constrain our understanding of future terrestrial C storage.

A systematic increase in the slope of the concentration discharge relation for dissolved organic carbon in a forested catchment in Vermont, USA

The production, mobilization and fluvial transport of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in temperate forests are important components of the carbon cycle that are influenced by ongoing changes in climate. Numerous studies have reported temporal trends in stream water DOC concentrations and have attributed changes in concentrations to climatic and hydrologic variables. Fewer studies have reported trends in concentration-discharge (C-Q) relations for DOC. The goal of this study was to detect and quantify changes in DOC concentration and slope of the C-Q relation from 1991 to 2018 in an intensively sampled forested research watershed in northern Vermont. Stream water DOC concentration and slope of the C-Q relation increased over time as did precipitation, stream discharge, and air temperature. The increases in DOC concentration and slope of the C-Q were substantially greater in the summer and fall (autumn) than in winter and spring. The largest increases in the magnitude of C-Q slopes occurred in the December, October and September. The increases in slope of the C-Q relation in summer and fall were larger for baseflow than for storm flow. The increases in DOC concentration and slope of the C-Q relation over time may be related to increasing temperature, longer growing seasons, and associated increases in production and microbial decomposition of soil organic matter that supplies DOC for mobilization to streams. The results suggest that in a changing climate, C-Q relations may not necessarily be stationary and therefore analyses that attempt to estimate future DOC concentrations and loads should consider potentially changing C-Q relations over time.

Changes in plant inputs alter soil carbon and microbial communities in forest ecosystems

Global changes can alter plant inputs from both above- and belowground, which, thus, may differently affect soil carbon and microbial communities. However, the general patterns of how plant input changes affect them in forests remain unclear. By conducting a meta-analysis of 3193 observations from 166 experiments worldwide, we found that alterations in aboveground litter and/or root inputs had profound effects on soil carbon and microbial communities in forest ecosystems. Litter addition stimulated soil organic carbon (SOC) pools and microbial biomass, whereas removal of litter, roots or both (no inputs) decreased them. The increased SOC under litter addition suggested that aboveground litter inputs benefit SOC sequestration despite accelerated decomposition. Unlike root removal, litter alterations and no inputs altered particulate organic carbon, whereas all detrital treatments did not significantly change mineral-associated organic carbon. In addition, detrital treatments contrastingly altered soil microbial community, with litter addition or removal shifting it toward fungi, whereas root removal shifting it toward bacteria. Furthermore, the responses of soil carbon and microbial biomass to litter alterations positively correlated with litter input rate and total litter input, suggesting that litter input quantity is a critical controller of belowground processes. Taken together, these findings provide critical insights into understanding how altered plant productivity and allocation affects soil carbon cycling, microbial communities and functioning of forest ecosystems under global changes. Future studies can take full advantage of the existing plant detritus experiments and should focus on the relative roles of litter and roots in forming SOC and its fractions.

Unexpected Parabolic Temperature Dependency of CH4 Emissions from Rice Paddies

Global warming is expected to affect methane (CH₄) emissions from rice paddies, one of the largest human-induced sources of this potent greenhouse gas. However, the large variability in warming impacts on CH₄ emissions makes it difficult to extrapolate the experimental results over large regions. Here, we show, through meta-analysis and multi-site warming experiments using the free air temperature increase facility, that warming stimulates CH₄ emissions most strongly at background air temperatures during the flooded stage of ∼26 °C, with smaller responses of CH₄ emissions to warming at lower and higher temperatures. This pattern can be explained by divergent warming responses of plant growth, methanogens, and methanotrophs. The effects of warming on rice biomass decreased with the background air temperature. Warming increased the abundance of methanogens more strongly at the medium air temperature site than the low and high air temperature sites. In contrast, the effects of warming on the abundance of methanotrophs were similar across the three temperature sites. We estimate that 1 °C warming will increase CH₄ emissions from paddies in China by 12.6%─substantially higher than the estimates obtained from leading ecosystem models. Our findings challenge model assumptions and suggest that the estimates of future paddy CH₄ emissions need to consider both plant and microbial responses to warming.

Enzymic moderations of bacterial and fungal communities on short- and long-term warming impacts on soil organic carbon

Microbial communities play critical roles in soil carbon-warming feedback, but our understanding of their linkages to soil carbon (C) pools in response to short- and long-term warming is deficient. Here, by conducting a meta-analysis of 150 studies, we show that short-term (<5 years) warming mainly affects soil labile carbon (LC) pools by changing bacterial community structure, while long-term (≥5 years) warming promotes the decomposition of recalcitrant C (RC) pools by increasing fungal biomass and decreasing actinobacterial biomass. Specifically, under short-term warming, significant increases in actinobacterial biomass (+15.9%) and the G+/G- ratio (+8.0%) were accompanied by an increase in carbon-degrading enzyme activities and a decrease in LC (-5.9%). Under long-term warming, the fungal biomass (+20.4%) and related POX (phenol oxidase) activity (+34.9%) increased significantly, while actinobacterial biomass (-20.1%), RC (-18.8%) and SOC (-6.7%) decreased. Meanwhile, we observed that warming impacts on soil microbial communities can be predicted by ecosystem type, the magnitude of warming, pH and elevation. Latitude and warming duration contributed the most to explaining the responses of LC and RC, respectively, across studies. Given that RC accounts for a substantial fraction of global soil C pools, the decline in RC pools greatly contributes to soil C degradation. Our findings suggest that different microbial groups may mediate the temporal dynamics of the decomposition of different soil C components and highlight that incorporating the temporal responses of soil microorganisms will improve predictions of the long-term dynamics of soil C pools in a warmer world.

Responses of soil pH to no-till and the factors affecting it: A global meta-analysis

No-till (NT) is a sustainable option because of its benefits in controlling erosion, saving labor, and mitigating climate change. However, a comprehensive assessment of soil pH response to NT is still lacking. Thus, a global meta-analysis was conducted to determine the effects of NT on soil pH and to identify the influential factors and possible consequences based on the analysis of 114 publications. When comparing tillage practices, the results indicated an overall significant decrease by 1.33 ± 0.28% in soil pH under NT than that under conventional tillage (p < .05). Soil texture, NT duration, mean annual temperature (MAT), and initial soil pH are the critical factors affecting soil pH under NT. Specifically, with significant variations among subgroups, when compared to conventional tillage, the soil under NT had lower relative changes in soil pH observed on clay loam soil (-2.44%), long-term implementation (-2.11% for more than 15 years), medium MAT (-1.87% in the range of 8-16℃), neutral soil pH (-2.28% for 6.5 < initial soil pH < 7.5), mean annual precipitation (-1.95% in the range of 600-1200 mm), in topsoil layers (-2.03% for 0-20 cm), with crop rotation (-1.98%), N fertilizer input (the same for NT and conventional tillage) of 100-200 kg N ha^-1 (-1.83%), or crop residue retention (-1.52%). Changes in organic matter decomposition under undisturbed soil and with crop residue retention might lead to a higher concentration of H⁺ and lower of basic cations (i.e., calcium, magnesium, and potassium), which decrease the soil pH, and consequently, impact nutrient dynamics (i.e., soil phosphorus) in the surface layer under NT. Furthermore, soil acidification may be aggravated by NT within site-specific conditions and improper fertilizer and crop residue management and consequently leading to adverse effects on soil nutrient availability. Thus, there is a need to identify strategies to ameliorate soil acidification under NT to minimize the adverse consequences.

Effect of fertilization on nitrogen losses through surface runoffs in Chinese farmlands: A meta-analysis

Surface runoff is the main cause of farmland nitrogen (N) losses in plain areas, which adversely affect water quality. The impact of fertilization on N runoff loss often varies. A meta-analysis was performed using 245 observations from 31 studies in China, to estimate the response of N loss in both paddy and upland fields subjected to different fertilization strategies, and investigate the link between N runoffs, soil properties, as well as precipitation in the planting season. The results showed that compared to the control (without fertilization), N losses subjected to fertilization increased from 3.31 kg/ha to 10.03 kg/ha and from 3.00 kg/ha to 11.24 kg/ha in paddy and upland fields respectively. Importantly, paddy N loss was significantly correlated with fertilizer type and N application rate (predictors); in upland fields N application rate and seasonal precipitation were the main driving factors. For the N application rate, N loss increased with increase in rates for both paddies and upland fields. Moreover, the N loss from upland fields increased with the precipitation during planting season. Between the three fertilizers used in paddies, the increase in loss of CRF (controlled release fertilizer) or OF (organic fertilizer) was lower than that of CF (inorganic chemical fertilizer) with the lowest value in CRF. Subset analysis showed that the effect of CRF and OF in paddies was not affected by the predictors, revealing the steadily controlling property of CRF and OF in paddies. Also, all the predictors had an insignificant impact to N loss risk in paddies during the high application rate. Overall, the results confirm the importance of N dosage in N runoff loss from farmland. Fertilizer type is a key consideration for N loss control in paddies, while the seasonal precipitation should not be ignored in upland fields.

An increase in the slope of the concentration-discharge relation for total organic carbon in major rivers in New England, 1973 to 2019

The mobilization and transport of organic carbon (OC) in rivers and delivery to the near-coastal ocean are important processes in the carbon cycle that are affected by both climate and anthropogenic activities. Riverine OC transport can affect carbon sequestration, contaminant transport, ocean acidification, the formation of toxic disinfection by-products, ocean temperature and phytoplankton productivity. There have been many studies reporting temporal trends in OC concentrations in comparatively small streams with minimal anthropogenic influences but there have been fewer studies on larger rivers and fewer still that have investigated changes in OC concentration-discharge (C-Q) relations. This study examined changes in C-Q relations for total organic carbon (TOC) from 1973 to 2019 in 8 rivers in New England, USA. TOC concentrations declined in all rivers, and in most rivers, and in most seasons, the slope of the C-Q relation increased between 1973 to 1995 and 1996 to 2019. The increase in C-Q slope between periods may be related to changes in the magnitude of TOC sources. The most likely sources to have changed are wastewater inputs, urban runoff, production through photosynthesis in aquatic systems, and runoff from agricultural and forestry practices. Changes in wetland abundance and changes in sulfate concentrations can be ruled out as drivers of the observed changes in C-Q.

Warming and elevated CO2 intensify drought and recovery responses of grassland carbon allocation to soil respiration

Photosynthesis and soil respiration represent the two largest fluxes of CO₂ in terrestrial ecosystems and are tightly linked through belowground carbon (C) allocation. Drought has been suggested to impact the allocation of recently assimilated C to soil respiration; however, it is largely unknown how drought effects are altered by a future warmer climate under elevated atmospheric CO₂ (eT_eCO₂ ). In a multifactor experiment on managed C3 grassland, we studied the individual and interactive effects of drought and eT_eCO₂ (drought, eT_eCO₂ , drought × eT_eCO₂ ) on ecosystem C dynamics. We performed two in situ ¹³ CO₂ pulse-labeling campaigns to trace the fate of recent C during peak drought and recovery. eT_eCO₂ increased soil respiration and the fraction of recently assimilated C in soil respiration. During drought, plant C uptake was reduced by c. 50% in both ambient and eT_eCO₂ conditions. Soil respiration and the amount and proportion of ¹³ C respired from soil were reduced (by 32%, 70% and 30%, respectively), the effect being more pronounced under eT_eCO₂ (50%, 84%, 70%). Under drought, the diel coupling of photosynthesis and SR persisted only in the eT_eCO₂ scenario, likely caused by dynamic shifts in the use of freshly assimilated C between storage and respiration. Drought did not affect the fraction of recent C remaining in plant biomass under ambient and eT_eCO₂ , but reduced the small fraction remaining in soil under eT_eCO₂ . After rewetting, C uptake and the proportion of recent C in soil respiration recovered more rapidly under eT_eCO₂ compared to ambient conditions. Overall, our findings suggest that in a warmer climate under elevated CO₂ drought effects on the fate of recent C will be amplified and the coupling of photosynthesis and soil respiration will be sustained. To predict the future dynamics of terrestrial C cycling, such interactive effects of multiple global change factors should be considered.

Temperature adaptation of soil microbial respiration in alpine, boreal and tropical soils: An application of the square root (Ratkowsky) model

Warming is expected to stimulate soil microbial respiration triggering a positive soil carbon-climate feedback loop while a consensus remains elusive regarding the magnitude of this feedback. This is partly due to our limited understanding of the temperature-adaptive response of soil microbial respiration, especially over broad climatic scales. We used the square root (Ratkowsky) model to calculate the minimum temperature for soil microbial respiration (T_min , which describes the temperature adaptation of soil microbial respiration) of 298 soil samples from alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau and forest ecosystems across China with a mean annual temperature (MAT) range from -6°C to +25°C. The instantaneous soil microbial respiration was determined between 4°C and 28°C. The square root model could well fit the temperature effect on soil microbial respiration for each individual soil, with R² higher than 0.98 for all soils. T_min ranged from -8.1°C to -0.1°C and increased linearly with increasing MAT (R²  = 0.68). MAT dominantly regulated T_min variation when accounting simultaneously for multiple other drivers (mean annual precipitation, soil pH and carbon quality); an independent experiment showed that carbon availability had no significant effect on T_min . Using the relationship between T_min and MAT, soil microbial respiration after an increased MAT could be estimated, resulting in a relative increase in respiration with decreasing MAT. Thus, soil microbial respiration responses are adapted to long-term temperature differences in MAT. We suggest that T_min  = -5 + 0.2 × MAT, that is, every 1°C rise in MAT is estimated to increase T_min of respiration by approximately 0.2°C, could be used as a first approximation to incorporate temperature adaptation of soil microbial respiration in model predictions. Our results can be used to predict future changes in the response of soil microbial respiration to temperature over different levels of warming and across broad geographic scales with different MAT.

Impacts of elevated CO2 on plant resistance to nutrient deficiency and toxic ions via root exudates: A review

Elevated atmospheric CO₂ (eCO₂) concentration can increase root exudation into soils, which improves plant tolerance to abiotic stresses. This review used a meta-analysis to assess effect sizes of eCO₂ on both efflux rates and total amounts of some specific root exudates, and dissected whether eCO₂ enhances plant's resistance to nutrient deficiency and ion toxicity via root exudates. Elevated CO₂ did not affect efflux rates of total dissolved organic carbon, a measure of combined root exudates per unit of root biomass or length, but increased the efflux amount of root systems per plant by 31% which is likely attributed to increased root biomass (29%). Elevated CO₂ increased efflux rates of soluble-sugars, carboxylates, and citrate by 47%, 111%, and 16%, respectively, but did not affect those of amino acids and malate. The increased carbon allocation to roots, increased plant requirements of mineral nutrients, and heightened detoxification responses to toxic ions under eCO₂ collectively contribute to the increased efflux rates despite lacking molecular evidence. The increased efflux rates of root exudates under eCO₂ were closely associated with improved nutrient uptake whilst less studies have validated the associations between root exudates and resistance to toxic ions of plants when grown under eCO₂. Future studies are required to reveal how climate change (eCO₂) affect the efflux of specific root exudates, particularly organic anions, the corresponding nutrient uptake and toxic ion resistance from plant molecular biology and soil microbial ecology perspectives.

Responses of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to nitrogen addition: A meta-analysis

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi play important roles in carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycling of terrestrial ecosystems. The impact of increasing N deposition on AM fungi will inevitably affect ecosystem processes. However, generalizable patterns of how N deposition affects AM fungi remains poorly understood. Here we conducted a global-scale meta-analysis from 94 publications and 101 sites to investigate the responses of AM fungi to N addition, including abundance in both intra-radical (host roots) and extra-radical portion (soil), richness and diversity. We also explored the mechanisms of N addition affecting AM fungi by the trait-based guilds method. Results showed that N addition significantly decreased AM fungal overall abundance (-8.0%). However, the response of abundance in intra-radical portion was not consistent with that in extra-radical portion: root colonization decreased (-11.6%) significantly, whereas extra-radical hyphae length density did not change significantly. Different AM fungal guilds showed different responses to N addition: both the abundance (spore density) and relative abundance of the rhizophilic guild decreased significantly under N addition (-29.8% and -12.0%, respectively), while the abundance and relative abundance of the edaphophilic guild had insignificant response to N addition. Such inconsistent responses of rhizophilic and edaphophilic guilds were mainly moderated by the change of soil pH and the response of root biomass, respectively. Moreover, N addition had an insignificant negative effect on AM fungal richness and diversity, which was strongly related with the relative availability of soil P (i.e. soil available N/P ratio). Collectively, this meta-analysis highlights that considering trait-based AM fungal guilds, soil P availability and host plant C allocation can greatly improve our understanding of the nuanced dynamics of AM fungal communities under increasing N deposition.

Land transformation in tropical savannas preferentially decomposes newly added biomass, whether C3 or C4 derived

As tropical savannas are undergoing rapid conversion to other land uses, native C₃ -C₄ vegetation mixtures are often transformed to C₃ - or C₄ -dominant systems, resulting in poorly understood changes to the soil carbon (C) cycle. Conventional models of the soil C cycle are based on assumptions that more labile components of the heterogenous soil organic C (SOC) pool decompose at faster rates. Meanwhile, previous work has suggested that the C₄ -derived component of SOC is more labile than C₃ -derived SOC. Here we report on long-term (18 months) soil incubations from native and transformed tropical savannas of northern Australia. We test the hypothesis that, regardless of the type of land conversion, the C₄ component of SOC will be preferentially decomposed. We measured changes in the SOC and pyrogenic carbon (PyC) pools, as well as the carbon isotope composition of SOC, PyC and respired CO₂ , from 63 soil cores collected intact from different land use change scenarios. Our results show that land use change had no consistent effect on the size of the SOC pool, but strong effects on SOC decomposition rates, with slower decomposition rates at C₄ -invaded sites. While we confirm that native savanna soils preferentially decomposed C₄ -derived SOC, we also show that transformed savanna soils preferentially decomposed the newly added pool of labile SOC, regardless of whether it was C₄ -derived (grass) or C₃ -derived (forestry) biomass. Furthermore, we provide evidence that in these fire-prone landscapes, the nature of the PyC pool can shed light on past vegetation composition: while the PyC pool in C₄ -dominant sites was mainly derived from C₃ biomass, PyC in C3-dominant sites and native savannas was mainly derived from C₄ biomass. We develop a framework to systematically assess the effects of recent land use change vs. prior vegetation composition.

Higher carbon sequestration potential and stability for deep soil compared to surface soil regardless of nitrogen addition in a subtropical forest

Background

Labile carbon input could stimulate soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization through priming effect, resulting in soil carbon (C) loss. Meanwhile, labile C could also be transformed by microorganisms in soil as the processes of new C sequestration and stabilization. Previous studies showed the magnitude of priming effect could be affected by soil depth and nitrogen (N). However, it remains unknown how the soil depth and N availability affect the amount and stability of the new sequestrated C, which complicates the prediction of C dynamics.

Methods

A 20-day incubation experiment was conducted by adding ¹³C labeled glucose and NH₄NO₃ to study the effects of soil depth and nitrogen addition on the net C sequestration. SOC was fractioned into seven fractions and grouped into three functional C pools to assess the stabilization of the new sequestrated C.

Results

Our results showed that glucose addition caused positive priming in both soil depths, and N addition significantly reduced the priming effect. After 20 days of incubation, deep soil had a higher C sequestration potential (48% glucose-C) than surface soil (43% glucose-C). The C sequestration potential was not affected by N addition in both soil depths. Positive net C sequestration was observed with higher amount of retained glucose-C than that of stimulated mineralized SOC for both soil depths. The distribution of new sequestrated C in the seven fractions was significantly affected by soil depth, but not N addition. Compared to deep soil, the new C in surface soil was more distributed in the non-protected C pool (including water extracted organic C, light fraction and sand fraction) and less distributed in the clay fraction. These results suggested that the new C in deep soil was more stable than that in surface soil. Compared to the native SOC for both soil depths, the new sequestrated C was more distributed in non-protected C pool and less distributed in biochemically protected C pool (non-hydrolyzable silt and clay fractions). The higher carbon sequestration potential and stability in deep soil suggested that deep soil has a greater role on C sequestration in forest ecosystems.

A meta-analysis of the effects of crop residue return on crop yields and water use efficiency

After harvesting agricultural crops, the residue can be returned to the soil as mulch. This study performed a meta-analysis of previous research to investigate the effects of crop residue return and other factors on crop yields and water use efficiency (WUE). Overall, the results show that crop residue return increases crop yields by 5.0% relative to crops grown without it. The greatest increases in yield for crops grown with returned residue were associated with average annual temperatures < 10 °C (yield increase = 7.6%), rainfall ≥ 800 mm (9.5%), plowing depth ≥ 20 cm (6.5%), corn crops (8.0%), growth of a single crop per year (10.1%), no irrigation (11.9%), nitrogen (N), and potassium (K) fertilization (20.0%), and low nitrogen application rates of 0–100 kg N ha^-1 (10.8%). The effects of crop residue return on crop yields were found to vary according to the following soil properties: organic matter content ≥ 15 g kg^-1 (yield increase = 9.4%), available nitrogen content ≥ 100 mg kg^-1 (10.3%), and pH ≤ 6.5 (11.2%). The greatest magnitudes of increase in WUE associated with crop residue return were associated with corn (yield increase = 13.7%), medium nitrogen content (100–150 kg ha^-1; 23.3%), high soil organic matter (≥ 15 g kg^-1; 25.5%) and low air temperatures (< 10 °C; 19.9%). In addition, our results suggest that crop residue return might be most effective in increasing crop yields and WUE in corn crops, crops with a tillage depth ≥ 20 cm, crops grown with moderate nitrogen fertilization (0–150 kg ha^-1), growth of a single crop per year, high soil organic matter content (≥ 15 g kg^-1), and cold conditions (< 10 °C). Overall, the results of this meta-analysis suggest that crop residue return can increase crop yields and WUE, with the relationship being mainly affected by climatic conditions, plowing depth, fertilization management, crop types, and soil properties.

Soil carbon loss with warming: New evidence from carbon-degrading enzymes

Climate warming affects soil carbon (C) dynamics, with possible serious consequences for soil C stocks and atmospheric CO2 concentrations. However, the mechanisms underlying changes in soil C storage are not well understood, hampering long-term predictions of climate C-feedbacks. The activity of the extracellular enzymes ligninase and cellulase can be used to track changes in the predominant C sources of soil microbes and can thus provide mechanistic insights into soil C loss pathways. Here we show, using meta-analysis, that reductions in soil C stocks with warming are associated with increased ratios of ligninase to cellulase activity. Furthermore, whereas long-term (≥5 years) warming reduced the soil recalcitrant C pool by 14%, short-term warming had no significant effect. Together, these results suggest that warming stimulates microbial utilization of recalcitrant C pools, possibly exacerbating long-term climate-C feedbacks.

Changes in soil greenhouse gas fluxes by land use change from primary forest

Primary forest conversion is a worldwide serious problem associated with human disturbance and climate change. Land use change from primary forest to plantation, grassland or agricultural land may lead to profound alteration in the emission of soil greenhouse gases (GHG). Here, we conducted a global meta-analysis concerning the effects of primary forest conversion on soil GHG emissions and explored the potential mechanisms from 101 studies. Our results showed that conversion of primary forest significantly decreased soil CO2 efflux and increased soil CH4 efflux, but had no effect on soil N2 O efflux. However, the effect of primary forest conversion on soil GHG emissions was not consistent across different types of land use change. For example, soil CO2 efflux did not respond to the conversion from primary forest to grassland. Soil N2 O efflux showed a prominent increase within the initial stage after conversion of primary forest and then decreased over time while the responses of soil CO2 and CH4 effluxes were consistently negative or positive across different elapsed time intervals. Moreover, either within or across all types of primary forest conversion, the response of soil CO2 efflux was mainly moderated by changes in soil microbial biomass carbon and root biomass while the responses of soil N2 O and CH4 effluxes were related to the changes in soil nitrate and soil aeration-related factors (soil water content and bulk density), respectively. Collectively, our findings highlight the significant effects of primary forest conversion on soil GHG emissions, enhance our knowledge on the potential mechanisms driving these effects and improve future models of soil GHG emissions after land use change from primary forest.

Lower-than-expected CH4 emissions from rice paddies with rising CO2 concentrations

Elevated atmospheric CO2 (eCO2 ) generally increases carbon input in rice paddy soils and stimulates the growth of methane-producing microorganisms. Therefore, eCO2 is widely expected to increase methane (CH4 ) emissions from rice agriculture, a major source of anthropogenic CH4 . Agricultural practices strongly affect CH4 emissions from rice paddies as well, but whether these practices modulate effects of eCO2 is unclear. Here we show, by combining a series of experiments and meta-analyses, that whereas eCO2 strongly increased CH4 emissions from paddies without straw incorporation, it tended to reduce CH4 emissions from paddy soils with straw incorporation. Our experiments also identified the microbial processes underlying these results: eCO2 increased methane-consuming microorganisms more strongly in soils with straw incorporation than in soils without straw, with the opposite pattern for methane-producing microorganisms. Accounting for the interaction between CO2 and straw management, we estimate that eCO2 increases global CH4 emissions from rice paddies by 3.7%, an order of magnitude lower than previous estimates. Our results suggest that the effect of eCO2 on CH4 emissions from rice paddies is smaller than previously thought and underline the need for judicious agricultural management to curb future CH4 emissions.

Plant-mediated effects of elevated CO2 and rice cultivars on soil carbon dynamics in a paddy soil

Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration under elevated CO₂ concentration (eCO₂ ) is a function of carbon (C) input and C retention. Nitrogen (N) limitation in natural ecosystems can constrain plant responses to eCO₂ and their subsequent effects on SOC, but the effect of eCO₂ on SOC in N-enriched agroecosystems with cultivars highly responsive to eCO₂ is largely unknown. We reported results of SOC dynamics from a field free-air CO₂ enrichment experiment with two rice cultivars having distinct photosynthetic capacities under eCO₂ . A reciprocal incubation experiment was further conducted to disentangle the effect of changes in litter quality and soil microbial community on litter-derived C dynamics. eCO₂ significantly increased total SOC content, dissolved organic C and particulate organic C under the strongly responsive cultivar, likely due to enhanced organic C inputs originated from CO₂ stimulation of shoot and root biomass. Increases in the residue C : N ratio and fungal abundance induced by eCO₂ under the strongly responsive cultivar reduced C losses from decomposition, possibly through increasing microbial C use efficiency. Our findings suggest that applications of high-yielding cultivars may substantially enhance soil C sequestration in rice paddies under future CO₂ scenarios.

Global meta-analysis on the responses of soil extracellular enzyme activities to warming

Soil enzymes play critical roles in the decomposition of organic matter and determine the availability of soil nutrients, however, there are significant uncertainties in regard to how enzymatic responses to global warming. To reveal the general response patterns and controlling factors of various extracellular enzyme activities (EEA), we collected data from 78 peer-reviewed papers to investigate the responses of extracellular enzyme activities (EEA), including β-1,4-glucosidase (BG), β-d-cellobiosidase (CBH), β-1,4-xylosidase (XYL), leucine amino peptidase (LAP), N-acetyl-glucosaminidase (NAG), urease (URE), phosphatase (PHO), peroxidase (PER), phenol oxidase (POX), and polyphenol oxidase (PPO), to experimental warming. Our results showed that warming treatments increased soil temperature by 1.9 °C on average. The oxidative EEA, calculated as the sum of PER, POX and PPO, was on average stimulated by 9.4% under warming. However, the responses of C acquisition EEA (the sum of BG, CBH and XYL), N acquisition EEA (the sum of LAP, NAG and URE), and P acquisition EEA to warming had large variations across studies. The warming effects on C, N, P acquisition EEA and oxidative EEA tended to increase with soil warming magnitude and duration as well as the mean annual temperature. The response of C acquisition EEA to warming was positively correlated with fungal biomass, while that of P acquisition EEA had positive relationships with fungi: bacteria ratios. The response of oxidative EEA was negatively correlated with the abundance of gram-positive bacterial biomass. Our results suggested that warming consistently stimulated oxidative EEA, but had diverse effects on hydrolytic EEA, which were dependent on the warming magnitude or duration, or environmental factors. The observed relationships between changes in microbial traits and extracellular enzymes suggested that microbial compositions drive changes in enzyme decomposition under warming. Thus, incorporation of microbial modification in biogeochemistry models is essential to better predict ecosystem carbon and nutrient dynamics.

Changing soil carbon: influencing factors, sequestration strategy and research direction

Soil carbon (C) plays a critical role in the global C cycle and has a profound effect on climate change. To obtain an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of global soil C changes and better manage soil C, all meta-analysis results published during 2001-2019 relative to soil C were collected and synthesized. The effects of 33 influencing factors on soil C were analyzed, compared and classified into 5 grades according to their effects on soil C. The effects of different categories of influencing factors, including land use change (LUC), management and climate change, on soil C and the underlying mechanism were compared and discussed. We propose that natural ecosystems have the capacity to buffer soil C changes and that increasing C inputs is one of the best measures to sequester C. Furthermore, a comparison between the meta-analyses and previous studies related to soil C based on bibliometric analysis suggested that studies on wetland soil C, soil C budgets and the effects of pollution and pesticides on soil C should be strengthened in future research.

Improving carbon sequestration estimation through accounting carbon stored in grassland soil

Based on international guidelines, the elaboration of national carbon (C) budgets in many countries has tended to set aside the capacity of grazing lands to sequester C as soil organic carbon (SOC). A widely applied simple method assumes a steady state for SOC stocks in grasslands and a long-term equilibrium between annual C gains and losses. This article presents a theoretical method based on the annual conversion of belowground biomass into SOC to include the capacity of grazing-land soils to sequester C in greenhouse gases (GHG) calculations. Average figures from both methods can be combined with land-use/land-cover data to reassess the net C sequestration of the rural sector from a country. The results of said method were validated with empirical values based on peer-reviewed literature that provided annual data on SOC sequestration. This methodology offers important differences over pre-existing GHG landscape approach calculation methods: •improves the estimation about the capacity of grazing-land soils to sequester C assuming these lands are not in a steady state and•counts C gains when considering that grazing lands are managed at low livestock densities.

Reassessing the role of grazing lands in carbon-balance estimations: Meta-analysis and review

Assuming a steady state between carbon (C) gains and losses, greenhouse gases (GHG) inventories that follow a widely used simplified procedure (IPCC Tier 1) tend to underestimate the capacity of soils in grazing-land to sequester C. In this study we compared the C balance reported by (i) national inventories that followed the simplified method (Tier 1) of IPCC (1996/2006), with (ii) an alternative estimation derived from the meta-analysis of science-based, peer-reviewed data. We used the global databases (i) EDGAR 4.2 to get data on GHG emissions due to land conversion and livestock/crop production, and (ii) HYDE 3.1 to obtain historical series on land-use/land cover (LULC). In terms of sequestration, our study was focused on C storage as soil organic carbon (SOC) in rural lands of four countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) within the so-called MERCOSUR region. Supported by a large body of scientific evidence, we hypothesized that C gains and losses in grazing lands are not in balance and that C gains tend to be higher than C losses at low livestock densities. We applied a two-way procedure to test our hypothesis: i) a theoretical one based on the annual conversion of belowground biomass into SOC; and ii) an empirical one supported by peer-reviewed data on SOC sequestration. Average figures from both methods were combined with LULC data to reassess the net C balance in the study countries. Our results show that grazing lands generate C surpluses that could not only offset rural emissions, but could also partially or totally offset the emissions of non-rural sectors. The potential of grazing lands to sequester and store soil C should be reconsidered in order to improve assessments in future GHG inventory reports.

Susceptibility of soil organic carbon to priming after long-term CO2 fumigation is mediated by soil texture

Elevated CO₂ (eCO₂) may enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration via greater input of photosynthetic carbon (C). However, greater rhizodeposits under eCO₂ may stimulate microbial decomposition of native SOC. This study aimed to examine the status and stability of SOC in three Australian cropping soils after long-term CO₂ enrichment. Samples (0-5 cm) of Chromosol, Vertosol and Calcarosol soils were collected from an 8-year Free-air CO₂ Enrichment (SoilFACE) experiment and were used to examine SOC dynamics by physical fractionation and incubation with ¹³C-glucose. Compared to the ambient CO₂ (aCO₂) (390-400 μmol mol^-1), 8 years of elevated CO₂ (eCO₂) (550 μmol mol^-1) did not increase SOC concentration of all soils, but changed SOC distribution with 12% more C in coarse soil fractions and 5% less C in fine fractions. Elevated CO₂ also enhanced the susceptibility of SOC to ¹³C-glucose-induced priming, but this effect was only significant in the coarse-textured Calcarosol topsoil. The eCO₂ history increased labile C (coarse C fraction, +13%) and soil pH (+0.25 units), and decreased available N (-30%) in the Calcarosol, which stimulated microbial biomass C by 28%, leading to an enhanced priming effect. Despite with greater total primed C, the Chromosol that had the highest amount of native C, had lower primed C per unit of SOC when compared to the low-C Calcarosol. In conclusion, the effect of long-term eCO₂ enrichment on soil C and N availability in cropping soils depended on soil type with the coarse-textured Calcarosol soil being more susceptible to substrate-induced decomposition of its SOC.

Effects of livestock grazing on grassland carbon storage and release override impacts associated with global climate change

Predicting future carbon (C) dynamics in grassland ecosystems requires knowledge of how grazing and global climate change (e.g., warming, elevated CO₂ , increased precipitation, drought, and N fertilization) interact to influence C storage and release. Here, we synthesized data from 223 grassland studies to quantify the individual and interactive effects of herbivores and climate change on ecosystem C pools and soil respiration (Rs). Our results showed that grazing overrode global climate change factors in regulating grassland C storage and release (i.e., Rs). Specifically, grazing significantly decreased aboveground plant C pool (APCP), belowground plant C pool (BPCP), soil C pool (SCP), and Rs by 19.1%, 6.4%, 3.1%, and 4.6%, respectively, while overall effects of all global climate change factors increased APCP, BPCP, and Rs by 6.5%, 15.3%, and 3.4% but had no significant effect on SCP. However, the combined effects of grazing with global climate change factors also significantly decreased APCP, SCP, and Rs by 4.0%, 4.7%, and 2.7%, respectively but had no effect on BPCP. Most of the interactions between grazing and global climate change factors on APCP, BPCP, SCP, and Rs were additive instead of synergistic or antagonistic. Our findings highlight the dominant effects of grazing on C storage and Rs when compared with the suite of global climate change factors. Therefore, incorporating the dominant effect of herbivore grazing into Earth System Models is necessary to accurately predict climate-grassland feedbacks in the Anthropocene.

Limited potential of harvest index improvement to reduce methane emissions from rice paddies

Rice is a staple food for nearly half of the world's population, but rice paddies constitute a major source of anthropogenic CH₄ emissions. Root exudates from growing rice plants are an important substrate for methane-producing microorganisms. Therefore, breeding efforts optimizing rice plant photosynthate allocation to grains, i.e., increasing harvest index (HI), are widely expected to reduce CH₄ emissions with higher yield. Here we show, by combining a series of experiments, meta-analyses and an expert survey, that the potential of CH₄ mitigation from rice paddies through HI improvement is in fact small. Whereas HI improvement reduced CH₄ emissions under continuously flooded (CF) irrigation, it did not affect CH₄ emissions in systems with intermittent irrigation (II). We estimate that future plant breeding efforts aimed at HI improvement to the theoretical maximum value will reduce CH₄ emissions in CF systems by 4.4%. However, CF systems currently make up only a small fraction of the total rice growing area (i.e., 27% of the Chinese rice paddy area). Thus, to achieve substantial CH₄ mitigation from rice agriculture, alternative plant breeding strategies may be needed, along with alternative management.

Acclimation of methane emissions from rice paddy fields to straw addition

Straw incorporation is a common long-term practice to improve soil fertility in croplands worldwide. However, straw amendments often increase methane (CH₄) emissions from rice paddies, one of the main sources of anthropogenic CH₄. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodologies to estimate CH₄ emissions from rice agriculture assume that the effect of straw addition remains constant over time. Here, we show through a series of experiments and meta-analysis that these CH₄ emissions acclimate. Effects of long-term (>5 years) straw application on CH₄ emissions were, on average, 48% lower than IPCC estimates. Long-term straw incorporation increased soil methanotrophic abundance and rice root size, suggesting an increase in CH₄ oxidation rates through improved O₂ transport into the rhizosphere. Our results suggest that recent model projections may have overestimated CH₄ emissions from rice agriculture and that CH₄ emission estimates can be improved by considering the duration of straw incorporation and other management practices.

Differential responses of carbon-degrading enzyme activities to warming: Implications for soil respiration

Extracellular enzymes catalyze rate-limiting steps in soil organic matter decomposition, and their activities (EEAs) play a key role in determining soil respiration (SR). Both EEAs and SR are highly sensitive to temperature, but their responses to climate warming remain poorly understood. Here, we present a meta-analysis on the response of soil cellulase and ligninase activities and SR to warming, synthesizing data from 56 studies. We found that warming significantly enhanced ligninase activity by 21.4% but had no effect on cellulase activity. Increases in ligninase activity were positively correlated with changes in SR, while no such relationship was found for cellulase. The warming response of ligninase activity was more closely related to the responses of SR than a wide range of environmental and experimental methodological factors. Furthermore, warming effects on ligninase activity increased with experiment duration. These results suggest that soil microorganisms sustain long-term increases in SR with warming by gradually increasing the degradation of the recalcitrant carbon pool.

The potential of agricultural land management to contribute to lower global surface temperatures

Removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) combined with emission reduction is necessary to keep climate warming below the internationally agreed upon 2°C target. Soil organic carbon sequestration through agricultural management has been proposed as a means to lower atmospheric CO₂ concentration, but the magnitude needed to meaningfully lower temperature is unknown. We show that sequestration of 0.68 Pg C year^-1 for 85 years could lower global temperature by 0.1°C in 2100 when combined with a low emission trajectory [Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 2.6]. This value is potentially achievable using existing agricultural management approaches, without decreasing land area for food production. Existing agricultural mitigation approaches could lower global temperature by up to 0.26°C under RCP 2.6 or as much as 25% of remaining warming to 2°C. This declines to 0.14°C under RCP 8.5. Results were sensitive to assumptions regarding the duration of carbon sequestration rates, which is poorly constrained by data. Results provide a framework for the potential role of agricultural soil organic carbon sequestration in climate change mitigation.

A keystone microbial enzyme for nitrogen control of soil carbon storage

Agricultural and industrial activities have increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition to ecosystems worldwide. N deposition can stimulate plant growth and soil carbon (C) input, enhancing soil C storage. Changes in microbial decomposition could also influence soil C storage, yet this influence has been difficult to discern, partly because of the variable effects of added N on the microbial enzymes involved. We show, using meta-analysis, that added N reduced the activity of lignin-modifying enzymes (LMEs), and that this N-induced enzyme suppression was associated with increases in soil C. In contrast, N-induced changes in cellulase activity were unrelated to changes in soil C. Moreover, the effects of added soil N on LME activity accounted for more of the variation in responses of soil C than a wide range of other environmental and experimental factors. Our results suggest that, through responses of a single enzyme system to added N, soil microorganisms drive long-term changes in soil C accumulation. Incorporating this microbial influence on ecosystem biogeochemistry into Earth system models could improve predictions of ecosystem C dynamics.

Engineering isoprene synthesis in cyanobacteria

The renewable production of isoprene (Isp) hydrocarbons, to serve as fuel and synthetic chemistry feedstock, has attracted interest in the field recently. Isp (C₅ H₈ ) is naturally produced from sunlight, CO₂ and H₂ O photosynthetically in terrestrial plant chloroplasts via the terpenoid biosynthetic pathway and emitted in the atmosphere as a response to heat stress. Efforts to institute a high capacity continuous and renewable process have included heterologous expression of the Isp synthesis pathway in photosynthetic microorganisms. This review examines the premise and promise emanating from this relatively new research effort. Also examined are the metabolic engineering approaches applied in the quest of renewable Isp hydrocarbons production, the progress achieved so far, and barriers encountered along the way.