Dissolved carbon flow to particulate organic carbon enhances soil carbon sequestration

Particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC), which are two primary components of the soil carbon (C) reservoir, have different physical and chemical properties as well as biochemical turnover rates. Microbial necromass entombment is a primary mechanism for MAOC formation from fast-decaying plant substrates, whereas POC is typically considered the product of structural litter via physical fragmentation. However, emerging evidence shows that microbial by-products derived from labile C substrates can enter the POC pool. To date, it is still unclear to what extent dissolved C can enter the POC pool and how it affects the subsequent long-term soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. Our study here, through a 13 C-labeling experiment in 10 soils from 5 grassland sites as well as a modeling analysis, showed that up to 12.29 % of isotope-labeled glucose C (i.e., dissolved C) was detected in the POC pool. In addition, the glucose-derived POC was correlated with 13 C-MBC (microbial biomass carbon) and the fraction of clay and silt, suggesting that the flow of dissolved C to POC is dependent on interactions between soil physical and microbial processes. The modeling analysis showed that ignoring the C flow from MBC to POC significantly underestimated soil C sequestration by up to 53.52 % across the 10 soils. The results emphasize that the soil mineral-regulated microbial process, besides the plant structural residues, is a significant contributor to POC, acting as a vital component in SOC dynamics.