Variations in Microbial Residue and Its Contribution to SOC between Organic and Mineral Soil Layers along an Altitude Gradient in the Wuyi Mountains

A key finding from this study is that soil layer type significantly influences microbial residue carbon content and its contribution to soil organic carbon (SOC). Specifically, while microbial residue carbon increases with depth from the organic layer (0–10 cm) to the mineral layer (30–40 cm), its proportion of SOC decreases. Fungal residue carbon dominates in both layers but declines relative to bacterial residue carbon as depth increases. Elevation emerged as a critical factor, explaining 85.8% and 67.9% of variations in microbial residue carbon in the organic and mineral layers, respectively. The study used amino sugars as biomarkers for microbial residues and redundancy analysis (RDA) to explore these patterns along an altitude gradient in Mount Wuyi's soils. These insights advance understanding of soil carbon cycling, offering potential strategies for enhancing carbon sequestration through microbial manipulation.

Sun, Y., Chen, X., Zhong, A., Guo, S., & Zhang, H. (2023). Variations in Microbial Residue and Its Contribution to SOC between Organic and Mineral Soil Layers along an Altitude Gradient in the Wuyi Mountains. Forests, 14(8), 1678. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14081678