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Cited by 796Soil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsLignin and Wood ChemistrySoil and Environmental Studies

Fate of lignins in soils: A review

Thevenot, Mathieu, Dignac, Marie-France, Rumpel, Cornelia·2010·Soil Biology and Biochemistry
DOI 10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.03.017
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Abstract

Lignins are amongst the most studied macromolecules in natural environments. During the last decades, lignins were considered as important components for the carbon cycle in soils, and particularly for the carbon storage. Thus, they are an important variable in many soil–plant models such as CENTURY and RothC, and appeared determinant for the estimation of the soil organic matter (SOM) pool-size and its stabilization. Recent studies challenged this point of view. The aim of this paper was to synthesise the current knowledge and recent progress about quantity, composition and turnover of lignins in soils and to identify variables determining lignin residence time. In soils, lignins evolve under the influence of various variables and processes such as their degradation or mineralization, as well as their incorporation into SOM. Lignin-derived products obtained after CuO oxidation can be used as environmental biomarkers, and also vary with the degree of degradation of the molecule. The lignin degradation is related to the nature of vegetation and land-use, but also to the climate and soil characteristics. Lignin content of SOM decreases with decreasing size of the granulometric fractions, whereas its level of degradation increases concomitantly. Many studies and our results suggest the accumulation and potential stabilization of a part of lignins in soils, by interaction with the clay minerals, although the mechanisms remain unclear. Lignin turnover in soils could be faster than that of the total SOM. Different kinetic pools of lignins were suggested, which sizes seem to be variable for different soil types. The mechanisms behind different degradation kinetics as well as their potential stabilization behaviour still need to be elucidated.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.03.017

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186 of 186 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Lignin as a biomass component together with polyphenols reduces decomposition rates.

    “Lignin as a biomass component together with polyphenols reduces decomposition rates [149].”

    From Carbon Sequestration by Perennial Energy Crops: Is the Jury Still Out? (2015) · cites this paper as [149]

  • Recalcitrant soil organic carbon components like lignin increase with depth and clay content due to chemical binding.

    “Recalcitrant SOC components, like lignin, increase with depth and clay content due to chemical binding [35, 149].”

    From Carbon Sequestration by Perennial Energy Crops: Is the Jury Still Out? (2015) · cites this paper as [149]

  • Lignin decomposition rates are highly variable depending on soils and land use and are not necessarily linked to the stability of the derived soil carbon pool.

    “However, lignin decomposition rates are highly variable depending on soils and land use and are not necessarily linked to the stability of the derived soil C pool [146, 149].”

    From Carbon Sequestration by Perennial Energy Crops: Is the Jury Still Out? (2015) · cites this paper as [149]

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Authors
Thevenot, M., Dignac, M.-F., & Rumpel, C.
Affiliations
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
ORCID
Dignac, Marie-France
Venue
Soil Biology and Biochemistry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2010-08
Volume
42
Issue
8
Pages
1200-1211
ISSN
0038-0717 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.03.017
OpenAlex
W2060411194
Cited by
796
References
191
Citations by year
2026: 95 · 2025: 100 · 2024: 84 · 2023: 61 · 2022: 56 · 2021: 56 · 2020: 43 · 2019: 48 · 2018: 41 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 40 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 28
FWCI
40.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Soil Biology and Biochemistry (publishedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Lignin and Wood Chemistry
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil and Environmental Studies
Keywords
lignin, soil organic matter, lignin degradation, lignin mineralization, soil carbon storage, soil carbon cycling, CuO oxidation, environmental biomarkers, soil organic matter stabilization, land use effects, climate effects, soil particle size fractions

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