Persistence of dissolved organic matter explained by molecular changes during its passage through soil

Roth, Vanessa-Nina; Lange, Markus; Simon, Carsten; Hertkorn, Norbert; Bucher, Sebastian; Goodall, Timothy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1526-4071; Griffiths, Robert I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3341-4547; Mellado-Vázquez, Perla G.; Mommer, Liesje; Oram, Natalie J.; Weigelt, Alexandra; Dittmar, Thorsten; Gleixner, Gerd. 2019 Persistence of dissolved organic matter explained by molecular changes during its passage through soil. Nature Geoscience, 12 (9). 755-761. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0417-4

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0417-4

Abstract/Summary

Dissolved organic matter affects fundamental biogeochemical processes in the soil such as nutrient cycling and organic matter storage. The current paradigm is that processing of dissolved organic matter converges to recalcitrant molecules (those that resist degradation) of low molecular mass and high molecular diversity through biotic and abiotic processes. Here we demonstrate that the molecular composition and properties of dissolved organic matter continuously change during soil passage and propose that this reflects a continual shifting of its sources. Using ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we studied the molecular changes of dissolved organic matter from the soil surface to 60 cm depth in 20 temperate grassland communities in soil type Eutric Fluvisol. Applying a semi-quantitative approach, we observed that plant-derived molecules were first broken down into molecules containing a large proportion of low-molecular-mass compounds. These low-molecular-mass compounds became less abundant during soil passage, whereas larger molecules, depleted in plant-related ligno-cellulosic structures, became more abundant. These findings indicate that the small plant-derived molecules were preferentially consumed by microorganisms and transformed into larger microbial-derived molecules. This suggests that dissolved organic matter is not intrinsically recalcitrant but instead persists in soil as a result of simultaneous consumption, transformation and formation.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0417-4
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Soils and Land Use (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	1752-0894
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Publisher link (see Related URLs) provides a read-only full-text copy of the published paper.
Additional Keywords:	biogeochemistry, carbon cycle, element cycles, microbial ecology
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Related URLs:	Publisher
Date made live:	30 Aug 2019 10:35 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/524959

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0417-4

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Soils and Land Use (Science Area 2017-)

ISSN:

1752-0894

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

Publisher link (see Related URLs) provides a read-only full-text copy of the published paper.

Additional Keywords:

biogeochemistry, carbon cycle, element cycles, microbial ecology