Photodegradation alleviates the lignin bottleneck for carbon turnover in terrestrial ecosystems
Open accessAbstract
Significance: Understanding controls on carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems is essential to predict and mitigate human impacts on the global carbon cycle. This study identifies a general unifying mechanism to explain how photochemical mineralization of plant litter, photodegradation, affects subsequent biotic decomposition. Previous work has shown that photodegradation can be a major direct control of carbon loss in arid lands. We now demonstrate that, across a wide range of species, exposure to sunlight has large “photopriming” effects, enhancing microbial decomposition, especially due to blue–green light. Photodegradation increased availability of carbohydrates to hydrolytic enzymes, likely through reducing the bottleneck imposed by lignin in secondary cell walls. This mechanistic insight suggests that photodegradation is globally important for carbon turnover in terrestrial ecosystems.
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The direct effect of climate on litter decomposition rate is primarily attributed to photodegradation by solar radiation and leaching from rainfall.
“The direct effect of climate on litter decomposition rate is primarily attributed to photodegradation by solar radiation and leaching from rainfall, which either dissolves low-molecular-weight organic matter or breaks lignin compounds down (17, 34).”
From Substrate and climate determine terrestrial litter decomposition (2025) · cites this paper as [34]
Cites
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Ozone depletion, ultraviolet radiation, climate change and prospects for a sustainable future
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Self-citationBarnes, P. W., Robson, T. M., Zepp, R. G., Bornman, J. F., Jansen, M. A. K., Ossola, R., Wang, Q.-W., Robinson, S. A., Foereid, B., Klekociuk, A. R., et al. (2023) · Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences · doi:10.1007/s43630-023-00376-7 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Plastic formulation is an emerging control of its photochemical fate in the ocean
Walsh, A. N., Reddy, C. M., Niles, S. F., McKenna, A. M., Hansel, C. M., & Ward, C. P. (2021) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.1c02272 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
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Self-citationSubstrate and climate determine terrestrial litter decomposition
Wu, Q., Ni, X., Sun, X., Chen, Z., Hong, S., Berg, B., Zheng, M., Chen, J., Zhu, J., Ai, L., et al. (2025) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2420664122 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
“The direct effect of climate on litter decomposition rate is primarily attributed to photodegradation by solar radiation and leaching from rainfall, which either dissolves low - molecular - weight organic matter or breaks lignin compounds down (17, 34).”
Kommedal, E. G., Angeltveit, C. F., Klau, L. J., Ayuso-Fernández, I., Arstad, B., Antonsen, S. G., Stenstrøm, Y., Ekeberg, D., Gírio, F., Carvalheiro, F., et al. (2023) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-023-36660-4 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Méndez, M. S., Ballaré, C. L., & Austin, A. T. (2022) · New Phytologist · doi:10.1111/nph.18253 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Self-citationPhotodegradation in terrestrial ecosystems
Austin, A. T., & Ballaré, C. L. (2024) · New Phytologist · doi:10.1111/nph.20105 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Self-citationWang, Z., Tan, B., Yang, W., Wang, Q., Chang, C., Wang, L., Li, H., You, C., Cao, R., Jiang, Y., et al. (2023) · European Journal of Forest Research · doi:10.1007/s10342-022-01503-2 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
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Liu, Y., Li, L., Wang, S., & Li, X. (2023) · Frontiers in Plant Science · doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1200155 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Autumn sunlight promotes aboveground carbon loss in a temperate mixed forest
Li, X., Wang, Y., Zhang, J., Robson, T. M., Kurokawa, H., Peng, H., Zhou, L., Yu, D., Deng, J., & Wang, Q.-W. (2024) · Ecological Processes · doi:10.1186/s13717-024-00528-2 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
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- Authors
- Austin, A. T., Méndez, M. S., & Ballaré, C. L.
- Affiliations
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR)
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2016-04-04
- Volume
- 113
- Issue
- 16
- Pages
- 4392-4397
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC4843460
- OpenAlex
- W2338162586
- Cited by
- 231
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 39 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 5
- FWCI
- 24.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Americanae (AECID Library) (submittedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, Argentina | Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (2008-108, 2010-147, 2011-041, 2011-558, 2013-1448)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Environmental and biological studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
- Keywords
- photodegradation, lignin, leaf litter decomposition, carbon turnover, soil organic matter, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, microbial enzyme activity, cellulose accessibility, secondary cell wall, arid regions, terrestrial carbon cycle, nutrient release
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Lignin, Photochemical Processes
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