An augmented mechanistic framework of soil organic carbon persistence to support targeted land management

Project dates: 01/01/2023 - 20/12/2023

Soil carbon is currently thought to persist by means of physical and chemical constraints on decomposition. We recently expounded and modelled a third mechanism for soil carbon persistence based on eco-evolutionary constraints. This expanded framework makes a number of predictions that contrast with those of the existing framework and call for empirical testing. In particular, land management that results in microbial carbon starvation is predicted to destabilise a soil carbon pool previously thought to be largely stable. For example, our framework posits that frequent grazing coinciding with drought will not only slow formation of new soil carbon, but also has potential to catalyse rapid loss of old carbon.

This project will test key predictions of our framework in the field at QUT’s Samford Ecological Research Facility (SERF), focusing on manipulating the carbon status of microbial decomposers. These funds were awarded in 2023.

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Project funding