Aerobic respiration of mineral-bound organic carbon in a soil

Abstract

Associations with minerals can potentially augment soil organic carbon (SOC) stability by reducing the bioavailability and degradation of SOC. However, few studies have directly measured aerobic respiration of mineral-bound SOC. In this study, we investigated the microbial aerobic respiration and bioavailability of ferrihydrite-sorbed glucose (Fh-GLU) and ferrihydrite-sorbed formic acid (Fh-FA) by adding 13C-labeled compounds to a soil. During an 11-day incubation, 30.2% of free, non-Fh-sorbed glucose (GLU) and 61.8% of free formic acid (FA) were respired, whereas 4.2% and 27.9% of Fh-GLU and Fh-FA were respired, respectively. Our results demonstrated that Fh-bound GLU/FA had lower bioavailability compared to free organic compounds. Associations with Fh led to greater inhibition in the bioavailability of GLU than that for FA. The priming effects of added compounds on the respiration of native SOC were decreased by their association with Fh. Our results demonstrated that the bioavailability and priming effect of organic compounds depend on their interactions with minerals.