Plant roots modulate functional traits of the rhizosphere microbial community, which process and transform organic matter in soil. To address the question: how root morphology affects the process of carbon storage in soil, two maize genotypes - a wild-type, and mutant deficient in root-hairs, were grown 5 consecutive years in excavated plots filled with two homogenized soil substrates - loam...
Soil microorganisms utilize plant-derived organic compounds as their C source for growth. From their substrates, they produce biomass. After cell death, the microbial biomass residues contribute to soil organic matter (SOM) formation. We investigated the fate and the C balance of bacterial and fungal biomass residues in soil. 20-40% of the biomass residue-derived C remained in the soil until...
