Can we manage microbial systems to enhance carbon storage?

Abstract

Climate change is an urgent environmental issue with wide‐ranging impacts on ecosystems and society. Microbes are instrumental in maintaining the balance between carbon (C) accumulation and loss in the biosphere, actively regulating greenhouse gas fluxes from vast reservoirs of organic C stored in soils, sediments and oceans. Heterotrophic microbes exhibit varying capacities to access, degrade and metabolise organic C—leading to variations in remineralisation and turnover rates. The present challenge lies in effectively translating this accumulated knowledge into strategies that effectively steer the fate of organic C towards prolonged sequestration. In this article, we discuss three ecological scenarios that offer potential avenues for shaping C turnover rates in the environment. Specifically, we explore the promotion of slow‐cycling microbial byproducts, the facilitation of higher carbon use efficiency, and the influence of biotic interactions. The ability to harness and control these processes relies on the integration of ecological principles and management practices, combined with advances in economically viable technologies to effectively manage microbial systems in the environment.

Effect of soil flooding and drying on the metabolic pathways of CO2 fixing microorganisms along an elevation gradient in the Three Gorges Reservoir drawdown area

“…In terrestrial ecosystems, CFMs are estimated to sequester ca. 4.9 Pg of carbon annually (Huang et al, 2022), making their carbon fixation function crucial for greenhouse gas regulation, soil carbon uptake and global carbon cycling (Liao et al, 2023;Mahmoudi & Wilhelm, 2023). Among the eight major carbon fixation pathways identified in nature, the Calvin cycle is the primary pathway for microbial assimilation of CO 2 (Berg, 2011).…”