Cited by 6,057Soil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsSoil Geostatistics and MappingSoil erosion and sediment transport

Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property

Open access
Schmidt, Michael W. I., Torn, Margaret S., Abiven, Samuel, Dittmar, Thorsten, Guggenberger, Georg, Janssens, Ivan A., Kleber, Markus, Kögel-Knabner, Ingrid +6 more·2011·Nature

Abstract

Globally, soil organic matter (SOM) contains more than three times as much carbon as either the atmosphere or terrestrial vegetation. Yet it remains largely unknown why some SOM persists for millennia whereas other SOM decomposes readily--and this limits our ability to predict how soils will respond to climate change. Recent analytical and experimental advances have demonstrated that molecular structure alone does not control SOM stability: in fact, environmental and biological controls predominate. Here we propose ways to include this understanding in a new generation of experiments and soil carbon models, thereby improving predictions of the SOM response to global warming.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nature10386

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  • The persistence of OC in the soil is mainly governed by ecosystem properties rather than by the molecular composition of organic matter.

    “Schmidt et al. (2011) proposed that the persistence of OC in the soil is mainly governed by the ecosystem properties (i.e., chemical composition of the parental material, microenvironmental conditions, management practices, etc.) rather than by the molecular composition of organic matter.”
  • Microbial products associated with increased microbial respiration such as microbial necromass end up in slow-cycling SOM pools in the form of reduced organic material.

    “Thus, microbial products associated with increased microbial respiration such as microbial necromass end up in slow-cycling SOM pools in the form of reduced organic material 10,14 .”
  • Key knowledge gaps affecting understanding of soil C sequestration include differential temperature sensitivity of C turnover among SOM fractions, interactions among organic matter chemistry, mineral surface interactions and C saturation, and subsoil (>30 cm) SOM accretion, turnover and stabilization.

    “Key knowledge gaps that affect our understanding of soil C sequestration processes and management options to implement them include questions about the differential temperature sensitivity of C turnover among SOM fractions 33 , interactions among organic matter chemistry, mineral surface interactions and C saturation [34][35][36] , and subsoil (> 30 cm) SOM accretion, turnover and stabilization 37”

    From Climate-smart soils (2016) · cites this paper as [36]

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Parry, M. L., Canziani, O. F., Palutikof, J. P., van der Linden, P. J. & Hanson, C. E.) 211-272 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007).
  2. A review and outline of research needs about the response of soil organic matter to rising temperatures 4.
  3. A review including a compilation of the surprisingly rapid and overlapping turnover times of individual molecular compounds previously suspected to have 'slow' turnover.
  4. Stevenson, F. J. Humus Chemistry (Wiley, 1994).

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Authors
Schmidt, M. W. I., Torn, M. S., Abiven, S., Dittmar, T., Guggenberger, G., Janssens, I. A., Kleber, M., Kögel-Knabner, I., Lehmann, J., Manning, D. A. C., Nannipieri, P., Rasse, D. P., Weiner, S., & Trumbore, S. E.
Affiliations
  • University of Zurich (CH)
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US)
  • Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg (DE)
  • Leibniz University Hannover (DE)
  • University of Antwerp (BE)
  • Oregon State University (US)
  • Cornell University (US)
  • Newcastle University (GB)
  • University of Florence (IT)
  • Weizmann Institute of Science (IL)
  • Max Planck Society (DE)
Corresponding author
  • Schmidt, Michael W. I.
  • Torn, Margaret S.
Venue
Nature
Published
2011-10
Volume
478
Issue
7367
Pages
49-56
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2132484323
Cited by
6,057
References
101
Citations by year
2026: 565 · 2025: 556 · 2024: 498 · 2023: 456 · 2022: 493 · 2021: 568 · 2020: 446 · 2019: 419 · 2018: 396 · 2017: 371 · 2016: 348 · 2015: 305 · 2014: 271 · 2013: 226 · 2012: 132
FWCI
314.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion)
  • OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
  • University of North Texas Digital Library (University of North Texas) (submittedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • Max Planck Digital Library (submittedVersion)
  • Florence Research (University of Florence) (submittedVersion)
  • MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion)
  • Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
Funders
European Science Foundation
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Soil Geostatistics and Mapping
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil erosion and sediment transport
Keywords
soil organic matter, soil carbon stability, soil organic carbon dynamics, ecosystem properties, climate change response, soil carbon models, decomposition
MeSH terms
Carbon, Charcoal, Freezing, Organic Chemicals, Plants, Soil, Soil Microbiology, Ecosystem, Plant Roots, Bioengineering, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle

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