Unfolding the Potential of Soil Microbial Community Diversity for Accumulation of Necromass Carbon at Large Scale

Abstract

Microorganisms are the main drivers of soil organic carbon (SOC) formation, especially through the accumulation of microbial necromass C. It is unclear, however, how microorganisms mediate the accumulation of necromass in soil because microbial communities are prohibitively diverse. To bridge this knowledge gap, biomarkers of microbial cell walls (amino sugars) were combined with high‐throughput sequencing, spanning a 900 km climatic gradient through the Loess Plateau. The cropland and three restoration types (grassland, shrubland, and forestland) were included, and 291 samples were collected. Necromass C, microbial diversity, and enzyme activities showed the same trend after vegetation restoration (from cropland to forestland). Soil pH, clay, microbial biomass C, and α‐1,4‐glucosidase were the strong predictors for both bacterial and fungal necromass C. There was a strong positive linear relationship that existed between bacterial necromass C and diversity and also between fungal necromass C and diversity ( p

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