Grassland restoration across the world increases soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration which is critical for global C cycling and CO2 removal from the atmosphere. However, the relative importance of plant- and microbially-derived C for SOC is still an open question for temperate grasslands. Here, amino sugars and lignin phenols were used as biomarkers to investigate the relative microbial and plant residue contribution to SOC in a 30-year (1-, 5-, 10-, 15-, 25-, 30-year) restoration chronosequence of temperate grassland. The contribution of microbially-derived C (from 4.9 to 13 g kg−1) to SOC was much greater than that of plant-derived C (from 1.3 to 2.3 g kg−1). At the early stage of restoration (<15 years), grassland soils accumulated more C in the form of plant-derived C. In contrast, grassland soils at the late stage of restoration (>15 years) accumulated more microbially-derived C, and less from plant residues. These findings highlight the dominance of microbial contribution to SOC stabilization compared with plant residues. The contribution of bacteria-derived C to SOC gradually increased from 29% to 50% with progress of grassland restoration, while the contribution of fungal C to SOC decreased from 30% to 21%. Consequently, microbial residue contribution to SOC shifts from fungal and bacterial to mainly bacterial residues during grassland restoration. This shift may be due to the faster bacterial growth and a increasing living biomass during grassland restoration, leading to higher accumulation of bacterial residues. Correlation analysis and random forest models showed that belowground plant biomass, soil pH, and living microbial biomass were the main factors regulating plant-derived C. The microbially-derived C in SOC, however, was dependent on living microbial biomass, soil pH and dissolved organic C. Concluding, grassland restoration increased soil C sequestration primarily by microbial necromass (mainly bacterial necromass), and is affected by abiotic and biotic factors, as well as plant C input. 

Increasing contribution of microbial residues to soil organic carbon in grassland restoration chronosequence

Microbial diversity and functions in saline soils: A review from a biogeochemical perspective.

Litter chemical traits, microbial and soil stoichiometry regulate organic carbon accrual of particulate and mineral-associated organic matter

A critical review of the central role of microbial regulation in the nitrogen biogeochemical process: New insights for controlling groundwater nitrogen contamination.

Effects of salinity on microbial utilization of straw carbon and microbial residues retention in newly reclaimed coastal soil

Microbial residues may make a more significant contribution to soil organic carbon (SOC) than traditionally believed. However, little is known about the accumulation characteristics of fungal and bacterial residues and their contribution to SOC in salt-affected soils. We investigated changes in fungal and bacterial residues using amino sugar biomarkers along a salinity gradient in coastal salt-affected soils. As salinity increased, the content of fungal residue decreased from 337.6 to 111.6 mg kg−1, while the bacterial counterpart increased from 62.5 to 142.4 mg kg−1. The contribution of microbial residues to SOC was salinity-dependent. There was an increase for microbial residue contribution to SOC and a shift from fungal to bacterial residue dominated contribution to SOC with increasing salinity. Hence, salinization had a significant impact on microbial-mediated SOC accumulation.

Distinct accumulation of bacterial and fungal residues along a salinity gradient in coastal salt-affected soils

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Distinct accumulation of bacterial and fungal residues along a salinity gradient in coastal salt-affected soils