DOE OSTI · 2574500
Fine root and soil carbon stocks are positively related in grasslands but not in forests
Abstract
Increasing fine root carbon (FRC) inputs into soils has been proposed as a solution to increasing soil organic carbon (SOC). However, FRC inputs can also enhance SOC loss through priming. Here, we tested the broad-scale relationships between SOC and FRC at 43 sites across the US National Ecological Observatory Network. We found that SOC and FRC stocks were positively related with an across-ecosystem slope of 7 ± 3 kg SOC m −2 per kg FRC m −2 , but this relationship was driven by grasslands. Grasslands had double the across-ecosystem slope while forest FRC and SOC were unrelated. Furthermore, deep grassland soils primarily showed net SOC accrual relative to FRC input. Conversely, forests had high variability in whether FRC inputs were related to net SOC priming or accrual. We conclude that while FRC increases could lead to increased SOC in grasslands, especially at depth, the FRC-SOC relationship remains difficult to characterize in forests.
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Malhotra, Avni [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Univ. of Zurich (Switzerland)] (ORCID:0000000278506402), Moore, Jessica A. M. [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)], Weintraub-Leff, Samantha [National Ecological Observatory Network, Boulder, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000347895086), Georgiou, Katerina [Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)], Berhe, Asmeret Asefaw [Univ. of California, Merced, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000269867943), Billings, Sharon A. [Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (United States)], de Graaff, Marie-Anne [Boise State Univ., ID (United States)] (ORCID:0000000156687647), Fraterrigo, Jennifer M. [Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)] (ORCID:0000000203571007), Grandy, A. Stuart [Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States)], Kyker-Snowman, Emily [Carbon Direct, New York, NY (United States)], Lu, Mingzhen [New York Univ. (NYU), NY (United States)], Meier, Courtney [National Ecological Observatory Network, Boulder, CO (United States)] (ORCID:000000033576883X), Pierson, Derek [USDA Forest Service, Boise, ID (United States). Rocky Mountain Research Station] (ORCID:0000000334131693), Tumber-Dávila, Shersingh Joseph [Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000173363943), Lajtha, Kate [Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)] (ORCID:0000000264304818), Wieder, William R. [National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, CO (United States); Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research] (ORCID:0000000171161985), Jackson, Robert B. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000188467147). 2025-07-01. Fine root and soil carbon stocks are positively related in grasslands but not in forests. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02486-9
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