Reply to: Contribution of carbon inputs to soil carbon accumulation cannot be neglected

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Authors

Feng Tao, Tsinghua University
Benjamin Z. Houlton, Cornell University
Serita D. Frey, University of New Hampshire, DurhamFollow
Johannes Lehmann, Cornell University
Stefano Manzoni, Stockholm University
Yuanyuan Huang, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Lifen Jiang, Cornell University
Umakant Mishra, Sandia National Laboratories
Bruce A. Hungate, Northern Arizona University
Michael W. I. Schmidt, University of Zurich
Markus Reichstein, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Nuno Carvalhais, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Philippe Ciais, Université Paris-Saclay
Ying-Ping Wang, CSIRO Environment
Bernhard Ahrens, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Gustaf Hugelius, Stockholm University
Toby D. Hocking, Northern Arizona University
Xingjie Lu, Sun Yat-sen University
Zheng Shi, University of Oklahoma
Kostiantyn Viatkin, Cornell University
Ronald Vargas, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
Yusuf Yigini, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
Christian Omuto, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
Ashish A. Malik, University of Aberdeen
Guillermo Peralta, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
Rosa Cuevas-Corona, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
Luciano E. Di Paolo, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
Isabel Luotto, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
Cuijuan Liao, Tsinghua University
Yi-Shuang Liang, Tsinghua University
Vinisa S. Saynes, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
Xiaomeng Huang, Tsinghua University
Yiqi Luo, Cornell University

Abstract

In the accompanying Comment1, He et al. argue that the determinant role of microbial carbon use efficiency in global soil organic carbon (SOC) storage shown in Tao et al. (2023)2 was overestimated because carbon inputs were neglected in our data analysis while they suggest that our model-based analysis could be biased and model-dependent. Their argument is based on a different choice of independent variables in the data analysis and a sensitivity analysis of two process-based models other than that used in our study. We agree that both carbon inputs and outputs (as mediated by microbial processes) matter when predicting SOC storage – the question is their relative contributions. While we encourage further studies to examine how the evaluation of the relative importance of CUE to global SOC storage may vary with different model structures, He et al.’s claims about Tao et al. (2023) need to be taken as an alternative, unproven hypothesis until empirical data support their specific parameterization. Here we show that an additional literature assessment of global data does not support He et al.’s argument, in contrast to our study, and that further study on this topic is essential.

Department

Soil Biogeochemistry and Microbial Ecology

Publication Date

8-29-2023

Publisher

bioRxiv

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2023.08.20.552557

Document Type

Article

Recommended Citation

Feng Tao, Benjamin Z. Houlton, Serita D. Frey, Johannes Lehmann, Stefano Manzoni, Yuanyuan Huang, Lifen Jiang, Umakant Mishra, Bruce A. Hungate, Michael W. I. Schmidt, Markus Reichstein, Nuno Carvalhais, Philippe Ciais, Ying-Ping Wang, Bernhard Ahrens, Gustaf Hugelius, Toby D. Hocking, Xingjie Lu, Zheng Shi, Kostiantyn Viatkin, Ronald Vargas, Yusuf Yigini, Christian Omuto, Ashish A. Malik, Guillermo Peralta, Rosa Cuevas-Corona, Luciano E. Di Paolo, Isabel Luotto, Cuijuan Liao, Yi-Shuang Liang, Vinisa S. Saynes, Xiaomeng Huang, Yiqi Luo. Reply to: Contribution of carbon inputs to soil carbon accumulation cannot be neglected, bioRxiv 2023.08.20.552557; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.08.20.552557

Comments

This is a preprint posted to bioRxiv, available online: https://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2023.08.20.552557