Quantification of rhizodeposition and priming effect of intermediate crops via 13CO2 labeling.

When assessing the carbon storage potential of a crop, it is useful to 1) quantify the inputs that return to the soil, such as roots, rhizodeposition and sometimes aboveground biomass, and 2) estimate the carbon gains or losses attributed to the priming effect. This allows to draw up a balance of inputs and outputs at the end of the growing season. While the quantity of carbon supplied by roots and aboveground biomass is relatively easy to measure, the quantity of rhizodeposition and the priming effect are not.

To establish such a balance, 12 intercropping plant species from 3 plant families (brassicaceae, fabaceae and poaceae) were grown for two months in mesocosms (15 liters) under controlled conditions simulating a temperate summer climate in real time in an ecotron. Multi-pulse atmospheric labeling with ¹³CO₂ 99% was used to trace photosynthesized carbon and thus quantify aboveground and root biomass, rhizodeposition and variations in carbon stock due to the priming effect.

The results show that rhizodeposition represents a significant carbon input (around a quarter of root biomass), positively correlated with root biomass. Root biomass is therefore one of the main traits to be considered for increasing inputs. At the same time, 10 out of 12 plants accelerated the mineralization of soil organic matter (positive priming effect), resulting in a cumulative carbon loss over the course of the plant's growth that can be of the same order of magnitude as the biomass input.

This priming effect is highly heterogeneous and difficult to explain by plant traits, but seems quantitatively more important for brassicaceae. We propose that this variability is due both to the spatial heterogeneity inducing these processes, but also to the great variability of processes that can occur in the rhizosphere, processes that can simultaneously lead to an acceleration and/or deceleration of the decomposition of native soil organic matter.