MSGID: 1:317/3 647eb67b   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Microbes key to sequestering carbon in soil    
      
     Date:   
         June 5, 2023   
     Source:   
         Cornell University   
     Summary:   
         Microbes are by far the most important factor in determining how   
         much carbon is stored in the soil, according to a new study with   
         implications for mitigating climate change and improving soil   
         health for agriculture and food production.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Microbes are by far the most important factor in determining how much   
   carbon is stored in the soil, according to a new study with implications   
   for mitigating climate change and improving soil health for agriculture   
   and food production.   
      
   The research is the first to measure the relative importance of microbial   
   processes in the soil carbon cycle. The study's authors found that   
   the role microbes play in storing carbon in the soil is at least four   
   times more important than any other process, including decomposition   
   of biomatter.   
      
   That's important information: Earth's soils hold three times more carbon   
   than the atmosphere, creating a vital carbon sink in the fight against   
   climate change.   
      
   The study, "Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency Promotes Global Soil Carbon   
   Storage," published May 24 in Nature, describes a novel approach to   
   better understanding soil carbon dynamics by combining a microbial   
   computer model with data assimilation and machine learning, to analyze   
   big data related to the carbon cycle.   
      
   The method measured microbial carbon use efficiency, which tells how   
   much carbon was used by microbes for growth versus how much was used   
   for metabolism.   
      
   When used for growth, carbon becomes sequestered by microbes in cells   
   and ultimately in the soil, and when used for metabolism, carbon is   
   released as a side product in the air as carbon dioxide, where it acts   
   as a greenhouse gas.   
      
   Ultimately, growth of microbes is more important than metabolism in   
   determining how much carbon is stored in the soil.   
      
   "This work reveals that microbial carbon use efficiency is more important   
   than any other factor in determining soil carbon storage," said Yiqi   
   Luo, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the School of Integrative   
   Plant Science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the   
   paper's senior author.   
      
   The new insights point agricultural researchers toward studying   
   farm management practices that may influence microbial carbon use   
   efficiency to improve soil health, which also helps ensure greater food   
   security. Future studies may investigate steps to increase overall soil   
   carbon sequestration by microbes.   
      
   Researchers may also study how different types of microbes and substrates   
   (such as those high in sugars) may influence soil carbon storage.   
      
   Soil carbon dynamics have been studied for the last two centuries, but   
   those studies were mainly concerned with how much carbon gets into the   
   soil from leaf litter and roots, and how much is lost to the air in the   
   form of CO2 when organic matter decomposes.   
      
   "But we are the first group that can evaluate the relative importance   
   of microbial processes versus other processes," Luo said.   
      
   In an example of cutting-edge digital agriculture, Luo and colleagues made   
   a breakthrough and developed a method to integrate big data into an earth   
   system computer model by using data assimilation and machine learning.   
      
   The model revealed that overall carbon use efficiency of microbe colonies   
   was at least four times as important as any of the other components that   
   were evaluated, including decomposition and carbon inputs.   
      
   The new process-based model, machine learning approach, which made this   
   result possible for the first time, opens the possibility for applying   
   the method to analyze other types of big data sets.   
      
   Feng Tao, a researcher at Tsinghua University, Beijing, is the paper's   
   first author. Xiaomeng Huang, a professor at Tsinghua University, is   
   a corresponding author, along with Luo. Benjamin Houlton, the Ronald   
   P. Lynch Dean of CALS and professor in the departments of Ecology and   
   Evolutionary Biology and of Global Development; and Johannes Lehmann,   
   the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the Soil and Crop Sciences Section   
   of the School of Integrative Plant Science in CALS, are both co-authors.   
      
   The study was funded by the National Science Foundation, the National   
   Key Research and Development Program of China and the National Natural   
   Science Foundation of China, among others.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Soil_Types # Organic # Nature # Fungus   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Global_Warming # Forest # Air_Quality # Climate   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Agronomy o Soil_life o Vegetation o Mulch o Organic_farming   
             o Soil_science o Agriculture o Climate_change_mitigation   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by Cornell_University. Original written   
   by Krishna Ramanujan, courtesy of the Cornell Chronicle. Note: Content   
   may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Feng Tao, Yuanyuan Huang, Bruce A. Hungate, Stefano Manzoni,   
      Serita D.   
      
         Frey, Michael W. I. Schmidt, Markus Reichstein, Nuno Carvalhais,   
         Philippe Ciais, Lifen Jiang, Johannes Lehmann, Ying-Ping Wang,   
         Benjamin Z.   
      
         Houlton, Bernhard Ahrens, Umakant Mishra, Gustaf Hugelius, Toby D.   
      
         Hocking, Xingjie Lu, Zheng Shi, Kostiantyn Viatkin, Ronald Vargas,   
         Yusuf Yigini, Christian Omuto, Ashish A. Malik, Guillermo Peralta,   
         Rosa Cuevas- Corona, Luciano E. Di Paolo, Isabel Luotto, Cuijuan   
         Liao, Yi-Shuang Liang, Vinisa S. Saynes, Xiaomeng Huang, Yiqi   
         Luo. Microbial carbon use efficiency promotes global soil carbon   
         storage. Nature, 2023; DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06042-3   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230605181258.htm   
      
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