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Article summary:
1. For nearly a century, soil organic matter (SOM) formation has been depicted primarily as a function of plant inputs and their chemistry.
2. Advances in molecular analytical techniques have demonstrated that some decomposition-resistant SOM is characteristic of microbial cells, excretions and cytoplasmic materials stabilized via organo-mineral and organo-metal oxide interactions.
3. This article uses model soils to assess whether microbial processing of simple C substrates alone can build significant amounts of chemically diverse, stable SOM.
Article analysis:
The article provides direct evidence for the role of soil microbes in the formation of soil organic matter (SOM). The authors present a comprehensive overview of the current understanding on the topic, including the dominant plant-based models from the past and recent advances in molecular analytical techniques which have highlighted the importance of soil microbes in SOM formation. The authors also discuss how microbial contributions to SOM formation may influence land use and climate change, as well as how it should be modelled and managed to promote climate change mitigation.
The article is written in an objective manner, presenting both sides equally without any bias or promotional content. The authors provide detailed evidence for their claims, citing relevant studies and research papers throughout the text. They also acknowledge potential limitations associated with separating direct microbial and plant inputs to SOM, such as analytical challenges which create fundamental uncertainties about the degree to which microbial residues contribute to stable SOM formation.
The authors also discuss potential ecological controls that regulate the transfer of microbial residues to mineral-associated SOM, such as clay mineralogy, microbial community structure and physiology, carbon use efficiency (CUE), substrate chemistry etc., though they note that these interactions have yet to be fully characterized. To address this gap in knowledge, they propose using model soils to quantitatively assess whether microbial processing of simple C substrates alone can build significant amounts of chemically diverse, stable SOM.
In conclusion, this article provides reliable evidence for microbial-derived soil organic matter formation and its ecophysiological controls. It is written objectively without any biases or promotional content and provides detailed evidence for its claims throughout the text.