Root-derived inputs are major contributors to soil carbon in temperate forests, but vary by mycorrhizal type

Adrienne B. Keller; Edward R. Brzostek; Matthew E. Craig; Joshua B. Fisher; Richard P. Phillips

doi:10.1111/ele.13651

Root-derived inputs are major contributors to soil carbon in temperate forests, but vary by mycorrhizal type

Adrienne B. Keller, Edward R. Brzostek, Matthew E. Craig, Joshua B. Fisher, Richard P. Phillips

Ecosystem Processes

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

94 Scopus citations

Abstract

Roots promote the formation of slow-cycling soil carbon (C), yet we have a limited understanding of the magnitude and controls on this flux. We hypothesised arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM)- and ectomycorrhizal (ECM)-associated trees would exhibit differences in root-derived C accumulation in the soil, and that much of this C would be transferred into mineral-associated pools. We installed δ¹³C-enriched ingrowth cores across mycorrhizal gradients in six Eastern U.S. forests (n = 54 plots). Overall, root-derived C was 54% greater in AM versus ECM-dominated plots. This resulted in nearly twice as much root-derived C in putatively slow-cycling mineral-associated pools in AM compared to ECM plots. Given that our estimates of root-derived inputs were often equal to or greater than leaf litter inputs, our results suggest that variation in root-derived soil C accumulation due to tree mycorrhizal dominance may be a key control of soil C dynamics in forests.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	626-635
Number of pages	10
Journal	Ecology Letters
Volume	24
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13651
State	Published - Apr 2021

Funding

We thank the ForestGeo network and the following individuals and their support teams for access to the sites: Dave Orwig (HF), Bill McShea (SCBI), Sean McMahon (SERC), Michael Chitwood (LDW), Jonathan Myers (TRC) and Amy Wolf (WLF). We acknowledge the IU Research and Teaching Preserve (RTP) which includes LDW. We acknowledge and honor the Indigenous communities native to this region, and recognize that IU RTP lands are part of Indigenous homelands and resources. We recognize the Miami, Delware, Potawatomi, and Shawnee people as past, present, and future caretakers of this land. We are grateful to members of the Phillips and Brzostek labs for assistance in the field, and are especially grateful to Elizabeth Huenupi for her efforts in both the field and the lab. Michael Masters enabled collection of corn soil, and Peter Sauer and Janine Sparks assisted with the isotope analyses. We are grateful to members of the Phillips and Brzostek labs for assistance in the field. Funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Program (Award # DESC0016188), Center for Tropical Forest Science – ForestGEO, and the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (no. 2019‐67011‐29507). JBF contributed to this research from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. MEC contributed to this research from Oak Ridge National Laboratory which is operated by UT‐Battelle, LLC, under contract DE‐AC05‐00O 2725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. R 2 We thank the ForestGeo network and the following individuals and their support teams for access to the sites: Dave Orwig (HF), Bill McShea (SCBI), Sean McMahon (SERC), Michael Chitwood (LDW), Jonathan Myers (TRC) and Amy Wolf (WLF). We acknowledge the IU Research and Teaching Preserve (RTP) which includes LDW. We acknowledge and honor the Indigenous communities native to this region, and recognize that IU RTP lands are part of Indigenous homelands and resources. We recognize the Miami, Delware, Potawatomi, and Shawnee people as past, present, and future caretakers of this land. We are grateful to members of the Phillips and Brzostek labs for assistance in the field, and are especially grateful to Elizabeth Huenupi for her efforts in both the field and the lab. Michael Masters enabled collection of corn soil, and Peter Sauer and Janine Sparks assisted with the isotope analyses. We are grateful to members of the Phillips and Brzostek labs for assistance in the field. Funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Program (Award # DESC0016188), Center for Tropical Forest Science – ForestGEO, and the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (no. 2019-67011-29507). JBF contributed to this research from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. MEC contributed to this research from Oak Ridge National Laboratory which is operated by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00O R22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy.

Funders	Funder number
Bill McShea
Center for Tropical Forest Science
ForestGeo network
IU Research and Teaching Preserve
Jonathan Myers
LDW
Michael Chitwood
RTP
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Biological and Environmental Research	DESC0016188
U.S. Department of Energy
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
U.S. Department of Agriculture
National Institute of Food and Agriculture	2019‐67011‐29507
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory	DE‐AC05‐00O 2725
California Institute of Technology
Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Turbomachinery Research Consortium

Keywords

Belowground carbon allocation
mycorrhizal association
rhizodeposition
root exudation

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10.1111/ele.13651

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title = "Root-derived inputs are major contributors to soil carbon in temperate forests, but vary by mycorrhizal type",

abstract = "Roots promote the formation of slow-cycling soil carbon (C), yet we have a limited understanding of the magnitude and controls on this flux. We hypothesised arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM)- and ectomycorrhizal (ECM)-associated trees would exhibit differences in root-derived C accumulation in the soil, and that much of this C would be transferred into mineral-associated pools. We installed δ13C-enriched ingrowth cores across mycorrhizal gradients in six Eastern U.S. forests (n = 54 plots). Overall, root-derived C was 54% greater in AM versus ECM-dominated plots. This resulted in nearly twice as much root-derived C in putatively slow-cycling mineral-associated pools in AM compared to ECM plots. Given that our estimates of root-derived inputs were often equal to or greater than leaf litter inputs, our results suggest that variation in root-derived soil C accumulation due to tree mycorrhizal dominance may be a key control of soil C dynamics in forests.",

keywords = "Belowground carbon allocation, mycorrhizal association, rhizodeposition, root exudation",

author = "Keller, {Adrienne B.} and Brzostek, {Edward R.} and Craig, {Matthew E.} and Fisher, {Joshua B.} and Phillips, {Richard P.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd",

year = "2021",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1111/ele.13651",

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pages = "626--635",

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AU - Keller, Adrienne B.

AU - Brzostek, Edward R.

AU - Craig, Matthew E.

AU - Fisher, Joshua B.

AU - Phillips, Richard P.

PY - 2021/4

Y1 - 2021/4

N2 - Roots promote the formation of slow-cycling soil carbon (C), yet we have a limited understanding of the magnitude and controls on this flux. We hypothesised arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM)- and ectomycorrhizal (ECM)-associated trees would exhibit differences in root-derived C accumulation in the soil, and that much of this C would be transferred into mineral-associated pools. We installed δ13C-enriched ingrowth cores across mycorrhizal gradients in six Eastern U.S. forests (n = 54 plots). Overall, root-derived C was 54% greater in AM versus ECM-dominated plots. This resulted in nearly twice as much root-derived C in putatively slow-cycling mineral-associated pools in AM compared to ECM plots. Given that our estimates of root-derived inputs were often equal to or greater than leaf litter inputs, our results suggest that variation in root-derived soil C accumulation due to tree mycorrhizal dominance may be a key control of soil C dynamics in forests.

AB - Roots promote the formation of slow-cycling soil carbon (C), yet we have a limited understanding of the magnitude and controls on this flux. We hypothesised arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM)- and ectomycorrhizal (ECM)-associated trees would exhibit differences in root-derived C accumulation in the soil, and that much of this C would be transferred into mineral-associated pools. We installed δ13C-enriched ingrowth cores across mycorrhizal gradients in six Eastern U.S. forests (n = 54 plots). Overall, root-derived C was 54% greater in AM versus ECM-dominated plots. This resulted in nearly twice as much root-derived C in putatively slow-cycling mineral-associated pools in AM compared to ECM plots. Given that our estimates of root-derived inputs were often equal to or greater than leaf litter inputs, our results suggest that variation in root-derived soil C accumulation due to tree mycorrhizal dominance may be a key control of soil C dynamics in forests.

KW - Belowground carbon allocation

KW - mycorrhizal association

KW - rhizodeposition

KW - root exudation

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JO - Ecology Letters

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IS - 4

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Root-derived inputs are major contributors to soil carbon in temperate forests, but vary by mycorrhizal type

Abstract

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Keywords

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