Contribution of soil algae to the global carbon cycle. Issue 1 (1st February 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jassey, Vincent E. J.; Walcker, Romain; Kardol, Paul; Geisen, Stefan; Heger, Thierry; Lamentowicz, Mariusz; Hamard, Samuel; Lara, Enrique
• Is Part Of: New phytologist. Volume 234:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: 64
• Page End: 76
• Publication Date: 2022-02-01
• Subjects: biogeography -- microbial photosynthesis -- net primary productivity (NPP) -- photoautotrophs -- soil carbon (C) cycle -- soil microbiome; Botany -- Periodicals; 580
• DOI: 10.1111/nph.17950
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0028-646X

Abstract

Summary: Soil photoautotrophic prokaryotes and micro‐eukaryotes – known as soil algae – are, together with heterotrophic microorganisms, a constitutive part of the microbiome in surface soils. Similar to plants, they fix atmospheric carbon (C) through photosynthesis for their own growth, yet their contribution to global and regional biogeochemical C cycling still remains quantitatively elusive. Here, we compiled an extensive dataset on soil algae to generate a better understanding of their distribution across biomes and predict their productivity at a global scale by means of machine learning modelling. We found that, on average, (5.5 ± 3.4) × 10 6 algae inhabit each gram of surface soil. Soil algal abundance especially peaked in acidic, moist and vegetated soils. We estimate that, globally, soil algae take up around 3.6 Pg C per year, which corresponds to c . 6% of the net primary production of terrestrial vegetation. We demonstrate that the C fixed by soil algae is crucial to the global C cycle and should be integrated into land‐based efforts to mitigate C emissions.