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Cited by 1,843

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 9 of the 9 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Quantitative assessment of microbial necromass contribution to soil organic matter

Open access
Liang, Chao, Amelung, Wulf, Lehmann, Johannes, Kästner, Matthias·2019·Global Change Biology

Abstract

Soil carbon transformation and sequestration have received significant interest in recent years due to a growing need for quantitating its role in mitigating climate change. Even though our understanding of the nature of soil organic matter has recently been substantially revised, fundamental uncertainty remains about the quantitative importance of microbial necromass as part of persistent organic matter. Addressing this uncertainty has been hampered by the absence of quantitative assessments whether microbial matter makes up the majority of the persistent carbon in soil. Direct quantitation of microbial necromass in soil is very challenging because of an overlapping molecular signature with nonmicrobial organic carbon. Here, we use a comprehensive analysis of existing biomarker amino sugar data published between 1996 and 2018, combined with novel appropriation using an ecological systems approach, elemental carbon–nitrogen stoichiometry, and biomarker scaling, to demonstrate a suit of strategies for quantitating the contribution of microbe‐derived carbon to the topsoil organic carbon reservoir in global temperate agricultural, grassland, and forest ecosystems. We show that microbial necromass can make up more than half of soil organic carbon. Hence, we suggest that next‐generation field management requires promoting microbial biomass formation and necromass preservation to maintain healthy soils, ecosystems, and climate. Our analyses have important implications for improving current climate and carbon models, and helping develop management practices and policies.

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Metadata

Authors
Liang, C., Amelung, W., Lehmann, J., & Kästner, M.
Venue
Global Change Biology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2019-09-18
Volume
25
Issue
11
Pages
3578-3590
ISSN
  • 1354-1013 (ISSN-L)
  • 1365-2486
OpenAlex
W2965444903
Cited by
1,843
References
9
FWCI
77.05
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
hybrid

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Quantitative assessment of microbial necromass contribution to soil organic matter. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1111/gcb.14781
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Liang, C., Amelung, W., Lehmann, J., & Kästner, M. (2019). Quantitative assessment of microbial necromass contribution to soil organic matter. Global Change Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14781

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