EGU22-5625
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-5625
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Linking root traits to soil carbon: model and data gaps

Avni Malhotra1 and the Root trait-soil carbon working group*
Avni Malhotra and the Root trait-soil carbon working group
  • 1Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  • *A full list of authors appears at the end of the abstract

Climate change is expected to alter plant growth and traits, and in turn alter the quantity and quality of plant-derived carbon inputs to soils. Even though root-derived carbon inputs are more likely to be stabilized as soil organic matter (SOM) than aboveground inputs, our models of how climate change influences plant traits and SOM often focus on aboveground plant dynamics. This is in part because our knowledge of root trait linkages to SOM is limited. Recent efforts synthesizing root trait and soil data make it possible to harmonize these data towards an improved representation of roots in terrestrial biosphere models but a conceptual framework to do this is missing. To this end, we review processes that bridge root traits to SOM formation and stabilization and suggest future model improvements. We estimated that 80% of total global soil carbon is in the rooting zone. We then determined that root traits relevant for SOM can be broadly divided into those pertaining to either living or dead roots, within which, the amount, characteristics, and lifespan of living roots, and the decomposability of dead roots and root fragments are particularly important for SOM. Model recommendations included improved allocation regimes, representation of root interactions with microbes and minerals, and incorporation of root-trait variation across the heterogeneous soil matrix. Our review provides a framework necessary for data syntheses and modelling of root trait-SOM linkages to understand future changes in SOM driven by changing plant inputs in a warmer and elevated atmospheric CO2 world. 

Root trait-soil carbon working group:

Shersingh J. Tumber-Dávila, Rose Abramoff, Katerina Georgiou, Paul Hanson, Jennifer Harden, Caitlin Hicks Pries, Gustaf Hugelius, Dan Lu, Melanie Mayes, M. Luke McCormack, Richard J. Norby, Daniel M. Ricciuto, Debjani Sihi, Benjamin Sulman, Peter Thornton, Anthony Walker, Zoey Werbin, Stan D. Wullschleger, Robert B. Jackson, Colleen M. Iversen

How to cite: Malhotra, A. and the Root trait-soil carbon working group: Linking root traits to soil carbon: model and data gaps, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-5625, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-5625, 2022.