Vulnerability of mineral-organic associations in the rhizosphere

2025/07/01 by Tobias Bölscher, Zoë G. Cardon, Mariela Garcia Arredondo +10 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics #Arsenic contamination and mitigation #Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology

paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41467-025-61273-4

openalex publication_date 2025/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31

Abstract

The majority of soil carbon (C) is stored in organic matter associated with reactive minerals. These mineral-organic associations (MOAs) inhibit microbial and enzymatic access to organic matter, suggesting that organic C within MOAs is resistant to decomposition. However, plant roots and rhizosphere microbes are known to transform minerals through dissolution and exchange reactions, implying that MOAs in the rhizosphere can be dynamic. Here we identify key drivers, mechanisms, and controls of MOA disruption in the rhizosphere and present a new conceptual framework for the vulnerability of soil C within MOAs. We introduce a vulnerability spectrum that highlights how MOAs characteristic of certain ecosystems are particularly susceptible to specific root-driven disruption mechanisms. This vulnerability spectrum provides a framework for critically assessing the importance of MOA disruption mechanisms at the ecosystem scale. Comprehensive representation of not only root-driven MOA formation, but also disruption, will improve model projections of soil C-climate feedbacks and guide the development of more effective soil C management strategies.

Citations

• Is soil carbon mostly root carbon? Mechanisms for a specific stabilisation
• Dynamic interactions at the mineral–organic matter interface
• Simulating rhizodeposition patterns around growing and exuding root systems
• Prime osservazioni sulla subirrigazione a goccia dei frutteti
• Coupled iron cycling and organic matter transformation across redox interfaces
• The interplay between microbial communities and soil properties
• Novel insights into the factors influencing rhizosphere reactive oxygen species production and their role in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons transformation

Discussions

• Wondering how plant roots interact with minerals to affect soil carbon storage? Check out our new review in Nature Communications! @natcomms.nature.com‬ Bölscher, T. et al. Vulnerability of mineral [bsky, 2 points, 0 comments]

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