Cited by 817Soil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsSoil erosion and sediment transportMycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions

Carbon input to soil may decrease soil carbon content.

Fontaine, Sébastien, Bardoux, Gérard, Abbadie, Luc, Mariotti, André·2004·Ecology Letters

Abstract

Abstract It is commonly predicted that the intensity of primary production and soil carbon (C) content are positively linked. Paradoxically, many long‐term field observations show that although plant litter is incorporated to soil in large quantities, soil C content does not necessarily increase. These results suggest that a negative relationship between C input and soil C conservation exists. Here, we demonstrate in controlled conditions that the supply of fresh C may accelerate the decomposition of soil C and induce a negative C balance. We show that soil C losses increase when soil microbes are nutrient limited. Results highlight the need for a better understanding of microbial mechanisms involved in the complex relationship between C input and soil C sequestration. We conclude that energy available to soil microbes and microbial competition are important determinants of soil C decomposition.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2004.00579.x

Cites

30 of 30 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • To immobilize N, two major requirements have to be fulfilled to stimulate growth of microbial decomposers: sufficient available C as energy source, and sufficient available N and P to fulfill stoichiometric requirements and avoid nutrient mining of original soil organic matter.

    “Thus, in order to immobilize N, two major requirements have to be fulfilled to stimulate growth of microbial decomposers: (1) sufficient available C as energy source; (2) sufficient available N and P to fulfill stoichiometric requirements and to avoid nutrient mining of original soil organic matter (Fontaine et al., 2004).”

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Fontaine, S., Bardoux, G., Abbadie, L., & Mariotti, A.
Affiliations
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
  • Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie (FR)
Corresponding author
Fontaine, Sébastien
Venue
Ecology Letters
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2004-03
Volume
7
Issue
4
Pages
314-320
ISSN
  • 1461-023X (ISSN-L)
  • 1461-0248
OpenAlex
W2105961364
Cited by
814
References
30
Citations by year
2026: 27 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 52 · 2021: 38 · 2020: 53 · 2019: 50 · 2018: 55 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 57 · 2015: 44 · 2014: 56 · 2013: 40 · 2012: 42
FWCI
14.13
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Ecology Letters (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil erosion and sediment transport
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
Keywords
soil carbon, carbon input, soil carbon sequestration, soil carbon decomposition, microbial nutrient limitation, microbial competition, plant litter, primary production, carbon balance

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review