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Rhizosphere influence on microbial functions: consequence for temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter decomposition at early stage of plant growth

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Abstract

Aims

Accurate predictions of soil carbon (C) feedbacks to climate change depend on an improved understanding of temperature sensitivity (Q10) of soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition. Although rhizosphere processes play a critical role in SOM decomposition, the rhizosphere effects on Q10 and their underlying microbial mechanisms remain unclear.

Methods

Natural abundance approach was used to measure the rhizosphere priming effect (RPE) of maize under two temperature regimes in a 50-day pot experiment. We further determined the impact of rhizosphere process on the Q10 of SOM decomposition. Enzymatic kinetics, microbial growth rate, as well as 13C-phospholipid fatty acid (13C-PLFA) biomarkers were identified to evaluate the responses of microbial activity.

Results

Warming relative to ambient increased the plant-derived C input, stimulated microbial growth rate, and enzyme activities by 87%, 23%, and 7–18%, respectively. Consequently, warming increased the RPE of maize up to 1-folds, and further caused a larger net C loss as compared to ambient after 50 days of transplanting. Gram negative bacteria and actinobacteria were important groups controlling the RPE, which was supported by the positive correlations between RPE and the abundance of gram negative and actinobacteria. Furthermore, we concluded a literature review and the results were consistent with our case study, where the presence of roots increased the temperature sensitivity of SOM decomposition by 0.17–0.56. This was because rhizodeposition activated microorganisms which produce more enzymes and increase SOM-derived substrate availability. This indicates that planted soils face higher risks of C emissions under future climate warming.

Conclusions

Overall, root-soil interactions via RPE play a pivotal role in determining the temperature sensitivity of SOM decomposition.

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Data Availability

All data used for this study are freely available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42207388). The authors would like to thank Karin Schmidt for laboratory assistance and Gabriele Lehmann and Rainer Schulz from the Laboratory for Radioisotopes (LARI), University of Goettingen.

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Author notes

  1. Jie Zhou and Chunyan Liu contributed equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Jie Zhou

  2. College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China

    Chunyan Liu

  3. Geo-Biosphere Interactions, Department of Geosciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany

    Lingling Shi

  4. Center for Mountain Futures, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, Yunnan, China

    Lingling Shi

  5. Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China

    Lingling Shi

  6. Institute of Soil Science, Leibniz University of Hanover, 30419, Hanover, Germany

    Kazem Zamanian

  7. School of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Kazem Zamanian

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  1. Jie Zhou
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Zhou, J., Liu, C., Shi, L. et al. Rhizosphere influence on microbial functions: consequence for temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter decomposition at early stage of plant growth. Plant Soil 494, 95–109 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06258-2

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