Contrasting contribution of fungal and bacterial residues to organic carbon accumulation in paddy soils across eastern China

authored by

Yinhang Xia, Xiangbi Chen, Yajun Hu, Shengmeng Zheng, Zhao Ning, Georg Guggenberger, Hongbo He, Jinshui Wu, Yirong Su

Abstract

Microbial residues are key components of stable soil organic C (SOC). However, the accumulation patterns of fungal and bacterial residues across climate regions are largely unknown, especially in paddy soils. In this study, the amounts of microbial-derived amino sugars (AS) with their constituents, glucosamine (GlcN), galactosamine (GalN), and muramic acid (MurN, a biomarker of bacterial residues) were quantified in paddy soils, which were collected from mid-temperate, warm-temperate, subtropical, and tropical climate regions across eastern China. The contents of total AS and fungal-derived GlcN (F-GlcN, a biomarker of fungal residues) were lowest in the warm-temperate region, but not significantly different among the other three climate regions. The MurN content and its contribution to SOC accumulation were higher in the warmer and wetter regions (subtropic and tropic) than in the cooler and drier ones (mid-temperate and warm-temperate). Consequently, the ratio of F-GlcN to MurN was lower in the warmer and wetter regions (8.5–15.4) than in the cooler and drier ones (12.8–28.8). These results illustrate that the bacteria participating in SOC transformation and stabilization in paddy soils exerted more prominent activities in the warmer and wetter regions than in the cooler and drier regions. Structure equation models emphasize that the contrasting patterns of fungal and bacterial residues’ contribution to SOC accumulation in paddy ecosystems along the latitudinal gradient were mainly attributed to their different responses to the climate factors of temperature and precipitation.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Soil Science
Section Soil Chemistry

External Organisation(s)

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Jiangxi University of Science and Technology

Type

Article

Journal

Biology and fertility of soils

Volume

55

Pages

767-776

No. of pages

10

ISSN

0178-2762

Publication date

11.2019

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Microbiology, Agronomy and Crop Science, Soil Science

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 13 - Climate Action

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-019-01390-7 (Access: Closed)