2025-09-22 中国科学院(CAS)

Scenario analysis of microbial carbon pump efficacy and its application strategies for sustainable soil carbon management (Image by ZHU Xuefeng)
<関連情報>
- https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research_news/earth/202509/t20250923_1055199.shtml
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0038071725002445
持続可能な土壌炭素管理のための微生物壊死量と土壌有機炭素の非同期性の定量化 Quantifying asynchrony between microbial necromass and soil organic carbon for sustainable soil carbon management
Xuefeng Zhu, Joshua Schimel, Chao Liang
Soil Biology and Biochemistry Available online: 18 August 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109950
Highlights
- Introducing the ΔMCP efficacy as a forward-looking metric to dynamically evaluate SOC sequestration.
- Synthesizing predictable patterns of microbial necromass-SOC synchrony into a conceptual framework.
- Providing insights into SOC management relevant to sustainability and climate mitigation.
Abstract
Microbial products and residues are crucial for soil organic carbon (SOC) formation, ecosystem health, and global climate regulation. Central to this understanding is the concept of the soil Microbial Carbon Pump (MCP), which highlights the role of microbial-derived carbon in SOC transformation and sequestration. Despite the rapid growth in research recognizing the significance of the MCP in SOC storage, direct assessments grounded in the MCP concept have largely lagged behind. Here, we distill important aspects of soil MCP assessment by reviewing relevant literature, showcasing model scenarios, and exploring rational perspectives on sustainable soil carbon management. We introduce the △MCP efficacy metric – a measure representing the change in ratio of microbial necromass to SOC – which captures their varying responses (asynchrony or synchrony) and enables assessment of in-situ SOC storage driven by the soil MCP. Accordingly, we delineate a conceptual, unifying framework that catalogs predictable scenarios involving microbial necromass and SOC, demonstrating how the soil MCP operates and functions in SOC dynamics. We advocate for future studies to extend beyond quantifying the contributions of microbial necromass to SOC to also assess the asynchronous changes in magnitude and direction of them in a dynamic perspective.


