Manipulating microorganisms to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) in croplands remains a challenge. This study evaluated microbial community properties (diversity and network complexity), microbial carbon pools (biomass and necromass carbon), and SOC in 468 cropland soils across northeast China. Results showed that microbial necromass carbon, community properties, and biomass carbon were correlated with SOC. Microbial biomass carbon and diversity were more important for maize SOC prediction, while network complexity was more important for rice. Models including both microbial community and carbon pools performed best, suggesting that management practices improving these parameters may increase cropland SOC levels.

Chao Wang, Xu Wang, Yang Zhang, Ember Morrissey, Yue Liu, Lifei Sun, Lingrui Qu, Changpeng Sang, Hong Zhang, Guochen Li, Lili Zhang, Yunting Fang