Plant–microbial linkages regulate soil organic carbon dynamics under phosphorus application in a typical temperate grassland in northern China

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities have increased ecosystem phosphorus (P) inputs and have affected terrestrial ecosystem carbon (C) cycles. However, the fate of soil organic C (SOC) under P addition remains elusive, and the potential mechanisms underlying plant-microbial linkages mediated SOC formation and decomposition are poorly understood. Here, we conducted a field P fertilization experiment to explore the effects on SOC dynamics in a typical temperate grassland in northern China. P addition increased soil P availability and pH, thereby stimulating plant nutrient uptake and growth, leading to higher C inputs to soils via plant biomass (shoots, litter and roots). However, P addition exacerbated microbial N limitation, altered microbial community composition (with a lower fungal to bacterial ratio), shifted microbial life-history strategies, which transitioned from the K-strategy (Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Verrucomicrobia dominant) to the r- strategy (Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes dominant), and modulated their functional characteristics. All of these factors regulated microbial substrate preferences and changed the C components that undergo decomposition. These changes ultimately accelerated the utilization of active C, hampered passive C decomposition, and helped to create a longer-term stable C sink in the grassland.