Arable soil nitrogen dynamics reflect organic inputs via the extended composite phenotype

Neal, Andrew L.; Barrat, Harry A.; Bacq-Lebreuil, Aurélie; Qin, Yuwei; Zhang, Xiaoxian; Takahashi, Taro; Rubio, Valentina; Hughes, David; Clark, Ian M.; Cárdenas, Laura M.; Gardiner, Laura-Jayne; Krishna, Ritesh; Glendining, Margaret L.; Ritz, Karl; Mooney, Sacha J.; Crawford, John W.

Abstract

Achieving food security requires resilient agricultural systems with improved nutrient-use efficiency, optimized water and nutrient storage in soils, and reduced gaseous emissions. Success relies on understanding coupled nitrogen and carbon metabolism in soils, their associated influences on soil structure and the processes controlling nitrogen transformations at scales relevant to microbial activity. Here we show that the influence of organic matter on arable soil nitrogen transformations can be decoded by integrating metagenomic data with soil structural parameters. Our approach provides a mechanistic explanation of why organic matter is effective in reducing nitrous oxide losses while supporting system resilience. The relationship between organic carbon, soil-connected porosity and flow rates at scales relevant to microbes suggests that important increases in nutrient-use efficiency could be achieved at lower organic carbon stocks than currently envisaged.

Citation

Neal, A. L., Barrat, H. A., Bacq-Lebreuil, A., Qin, Y., Zhang, X., Takahashi, T., …Crawford, J. W. (2023). Arable soil nitrogen dynamics reflect organic inputs via the extended composite phenotype. Nature Food, 4, 51-60. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-022-00671-z

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 28, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Dec 23, 2022
• Publication Date: 2023-01
• Deposit Date: Oct 31, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 24, 2023
• Journal: Nature Food
• Print ISSN: 2662-1355
• Electronic ISSN: 2662-1355
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 4
• Pages: 51-60
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-022-00671-z
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/13168390
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-022-00671-z