Soil Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency in Natural Terrestrial Ecosystems

Soil microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is the ratio of carbon allocated to microbial growth to that taken up by microorganisms. Soil microbial CUE affects terrestrial ecosystem processes such as greenhouse gas emissions, carbon turnover, and sequestration, which is an important indicator of chan...

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Main Authors: Weirui Yu, Lianxi Sheng, Xue Wang, Xinyu Tang, Jihong Yuan, Wenbo Luo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Biology
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/4/348
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author Weirui Yu
Lianxi Sheng
Xue Wang
Xinyu Tang
Jihong Yuan
Wenbo Luo
author_facet Weirui Yu
Lianxi Sheng
Xue Wang
Xinyu Tang
Jihong Yuan
Wenbo Luo
author_sort Weirui Yu
collection DOAJ
description Soil microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is the ratio of carbon allocated to microbial growth to that taken up by microorganisms. Soil microbial CUE affects terrestrial ecosystem processes such as greenhouse gas emissions, carbon turnover, and sequestration, which is an important indicator of changes in the terrestrial carbon cycle. Firstly, we summarized the three methods of soil microbial CUE, stoichiometric modeling, <sup>13</sup>C glucose tracing, and <sup>18</sup>O water tracing, and compared the advantages and limitations of the three methods. Then, we analyzed the single or combined effects of different environmental factors on soil microbial CUE in grassland ecosystems, forest ecosystems, and wetland ecosystems. Finally, we suggested that future research should focus on the following aspects: the influence of management patterns on CUE (such as grazing and the prohibition of grazing in grassland ecosystems, forest gap, and thinning in forest ecosystems); effects of the strategies of microorganisms for adapting to environmental changes on CUE; effects of anaerobic metabolic pathways, especially in wetland ecosystems; and effects of microbial taxonomic level. This study contributes to the investigation of the microbial mechanisms of carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
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spelling doaj-art-0efa4b036ae348bea39f512d94e3cd852025-08-20T02:17:24ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372025-03-0114434810.3390/biology14040348Soil Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency in Natural Terrestrial EcosystemsWeirui Yu0Lianxi Sheng1Xue Wang2Xinyu Tang3Jihong Yuan4Wenbo Luo5Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaKey Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaKey Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaKey Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaNational Ecosystem Research Station of Jiangxi Wugong Mountain Meadow, Wetland Ecological Resources Research Center, Jiangxi Academy of Forestry, Nanchang 330032, ChinaKey Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaSoil microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is the ratio of carbon allocated to microbial growth to that taken up by microorganisms. Soil microbial CUE affects terrestrial ecosystem processes such as greenhouse gas emissions, carbon turnover, and sequestration, which is an important indicator of changes in the terrestrial carbon cycle. Firstly, we summarized the three methods of soil microbial CUE, stoichiometric modeling, <sup>13</sup>C glucose tracing, and <sup>18</sup>O water tracing, and compared the advantages and limitations of the three methods. Then, we analyzed the single or combined effects of different environmental factors on soil microbial CUE in grassland ecosystems, forest ecosystems, and wetland ecosystems. Finally, we suggested that future research should focus on the following aspects: the influence of management patterns on CUE (such as grazing and the prohibition of grazing in grassland ecosystems, forest gap, and thinning in forest ecosystems); effects of the strategies of microorganisms for adapting to environmental changes on CUE; effects of anaerobic metabolic pathways, especially in wetland ecosystems; and effects of microbial taxonomic level. This study contributes to the investigation of the microbial mechanisms of carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems to mitigate the impacts of climate change.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/4/348terrestrial ecosystemssoil microbesmicrobial carbon use efficiencyenvironmental factorsanaerobic metabolic
spellingShingle Weirui Yu
Lianxi Sheng
Xue Wang
Xinyu Tang
Jihong Yuan
Wenbo Luo
Soil Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency in Natural Terrestrial Ecosystems
Biology
terrestrial ecosystems
soil microbes
microbial carbon use efficiency
environmental factors
anaerobic metabolic
title Soil Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency in Natural Terrestrial Ecosystems
title_full Soil Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency in Natural Terrestrial Ecosystems
title_fullStr Soil Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency in Natural Terrestrial Ecosystems
title_full_unstemmed Soil Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency in Natural Terrestrial Ecosystems
title_short Soil Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency in Natural Terrestrial Ecosystems
title_sort soil microbial carbon use efficiency in natural terrestrial ecosystems
topic terrestrial ecosystems
soil microbes
microbial carbon use efficiency
environmental factors
anaerobic metabolic
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/4/348
work_keys_str_mv AT weiruiyu soilmicrobialcarbonuseefficiencyinnaturalterrestrialecosystems
AT lianxisheng soilmicrobialcarbonuseefficiencyinnaturalterrestrialecosystems
AT xuewang soilmicrobialcarbonuseefficiencyinnaturalterrestrialecosystems
AT xinyutang soilmicrobialcarbonuseefficiencyinnaturalterrestrialecosystems
AT jihongyuan soilmicrobialcarbonuseefficiencyinnaturalterrestrialecosystems
AT wenboluo soilmicrobialcarbonuseefficiencyinnaturalterrestrialecosystems