Modelling the impact of microbial grazers on soluble rhizodeposit turnover

Abstract

Rhizodeposition represents a relatively large carbon flow from a plant’s root into the surrounding soil. This carbon flow may have important implications for nitrogen mineralisation and carbon sequestration, but is still poorly understood. In this paper we use a simple compartment model of carbon flow in the rhizosphere to investigate the proposed benefits of rhizodeposition and the effect of microbial grazers. Model parameters were fitted to published, experimental data. Analysis of the model showed that dead organic matter (necromass) had a much longer time-scale than the other carbon pools (soluble, microbial and grazer carbon), which allowed an approximate, mathematical solution of the model to be derived. This solution shows that the level of necromass in the soil is an important factor in many processes of interest. The short-term carbon and nitrogen turnover increases with the level of necromass. Microbial grazers decrease carbon turnover at high levels of necromass, whilst at lower, and possibly more realistic, levels of necromass grazers increase turnover. However, the largest effect of grazers was to increase carbon turnover by 10%, suggesting that grazers are relatively unimportant in larger scale models of soil organic matter turnover. The marginal benefits of rhizodeposition increase with the level of necromass. The model suggests that the short-term benefits of rhizodeposition to a plant are marginal, but long-term benefits may still occur.