How Microbes Die Influences Soil Carbon Content

Biologists at Freie Universität Berlin publish research results in Nature Geoscience. Soil fungus Image Credit: Tessa Camenzind Even microorganisms do not live forever. However, the manner in which these tiny soil organisms die has an effect on the amount of carbon they leave behind. These are the latest results of a study carried out by microbiologist and ecologist Dr. Tessa Camenzind from Freie Universität Berlin, together with Humboldt Research Award winner Johannes Lehmann, visiting researcher at Freie Universität Berlin from Cornell University, New York (USA), and their colleagues. The results of their study have now been published in the internationally renowned scientific journal Nature Geoscience under the title "Formation of Necromass-Derived Soil Organic Carbon Determined by Microbial Death Pathways." The article is available online at: '022 -01100-3.pdf. The researchers' results contribute to our understanding of climate change and CO₂ emissions. Microorganisms are all around us, including in the ground beneath our feet.