Microbial carbon use efficiency is governed by site-level soil and climate factors and does not explain soil carbon gains under diversified crop rotations
Persistent URL
Author(s)
Bowles, Timothy M.
Mooshammer, Maria
Grandy, A. Stuart
Geyer, Kevin
Allegheny College
Frey, Serita D.
Calderón, Francisco
Culman, Steve
Deen, Bill
Dunfield, Kari
Jin, Virginia L.
Lehman, R. Michael
Osborne, Shannon L.
Schmer, Marty
Date Issued
June 20, 2026
Abstract
Soil microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is an important parameter governing the formation of soil organic carbon (C). We hypothesized that increased CUE could explain higher soil C with diversified crop rotations, which do not necessarily have higher C inputs or reduced soil disturbance — traditional drivers of soil C. Across five long-term experiments, crop rotational diversity increased microbial biomass C but did not affect microbial CUE or its components. CUE was marginally higher when the crop grown the year prior was a legume vs. a grain, though soil C did not differ. Site-level soil and climate factors governed CUE far more than management. Higher soil C in more diverse rotations thus likely results from mechanisms other than increasing microbial CUE.
Journal
Soil Biology and Biochemistry
Citation
Bowles, Timothy M., Maria Mooshammer, A. Stuart Grandy, et al. "Microbial Carbon use Efficiency is Governed by Site-Level Soil and Climate Factors and does Not Explain Soil Carbon Gains Under Diversified Crop Rotations." Soil Biology and Biochemistry 221,(2026): 110230. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110230. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038071726001495.
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Version of Article
Version of Record
DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110230
ISSN
0038-0717
1879-3428
Rights
© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Type of Publication
Journal Article
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