TY - JOUR
T1 - A keystone microbial enzyme for nitrogen control of soil carbon storage
AU - Chen, Ji
AU - Luo, Yiqi
AU - Van Groenigen, Kees Jan
AU - Hungate, Bruce A.
AU - Cao, Junji
AU - Zhou, Xuhui
AU - Wang, Rui wu
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (3102016QD078), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (41701292), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2017M610647 and 2018T111091), the Natural Science Basic Research Plan in Shaanxi Province (2017JQ3041), the State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology (SKLLQG1602), the Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics (KLACP-17-02), and the Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Contributions from Y.L.’s Ecolab to this study were financially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (grant DE-SC00114085) and NSF (grants EF 1137293 and OIA-1301789). This work was also supported by NSFC-Yunnan United fund (U1302267) and the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (31325005). The authors also acknowledge the financial support from the China Scholarship Council.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2018 The Authors,
PY - 2018/8/22
Y1 - 2018/8/22
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
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U2 - 10.1126/sciadv.aaq1689
DO - 10.1126/sciadv.aaq1689
M3 - Article
C2 - 30140736
AN - SCOPUS:85052246155
SN - 2375-2548
VL - 4
JO - Science advances
JF - Science advances
IS - 8
M1 - eaaq1689
ER -