Model uncertainty obscures major driver of soil carbon

Understanding the formation and stabilization mechanisms of soil organic carbon (SOC) is important for managing land carbon (C) and mitigating climate change. Tao et al. reported that microbial C use efficiency (CUE) is the primary determinant of global SOC storage and that the relative impact of pl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Nature (London) Vol. 627; no. 8002; pp. E1 - E3
Main Authors:	He, Xianjin, Abramoff, Rose Z., Abs, Elsa, Georgiou, Katerina, Zhang, Haicheng, Goll, Daniel S.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London Nature Publishing Group UK 07-03-2024 Nature Publishing Group
Subjects:	631/45/47/4113 704/106/47/4113 704/47/4113 Continental interfaces, environment ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Humanities and Social Sciences Matters Arising multidisciplinary Ocean, Atmosphere Science Science (multidisciplinary) Sciences of the Universe Uncertainty
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Summary:	Understanding the formation and stabilization mechanisms of soil organic carbon (SOC) is important for managing land carbon (C) and mitigating climate change. Tao et al. reported that microbial C use efficiency (CUE) is the primary determinant of global SOC storage and that the relative impact of plant C inputs on SOC is minor. Although soil microbes undoubtedly play an important role in SOC cycling, we are concerned about the robustness of the approach taken by Tao et al. In conclusion, the potential biases in their analyses may lead to misleading, model-dependent results.
Bibliography:	SourceType-Other Sources-1 content type line 63 ObjectType-Correspondence-1 ObjectType-Commentary-2 AC52-07NA27344 LLNL-JRNL-860405 USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
ISSN:	0028-0836 1476-4687
DOI:	10.1038/s41586-023-06999-1