It remains unknown whether microbiota-mediated carbon

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the limitations and abstract of the source papers, classified as general, all from Plant and Soil.

Supporting evidence — 3 representative gaps

• Metagenomic insights into the effects of tillage regime and branch-pruning mulch on soil carbon cycling and microbial function in apple orchards (2026) · Plant and Soil · doi

  The dynamic association network between functional soil carbon cycle genes and environmental variables offers critical insights into the regulatory mechanisms of carbon cycling under distinct orchard management practices. In the CT system, the carbon fixation genes significantly and positively correlated with MBC and AK. This result indicates that in the CT sys- tem, which is characterized by limited organic mat- ter input, microbial biomass and its metabolic activ- ity (as indicated by AK) are the primary indicators linked to carbon fixation capacity (Li et al. 2023; Qiu et  al. 2016). Repeated tillage disturbs surface veg- etation, cover, reduces plant-derived organic inputs and makes microbial turnover the primary driver of soil organic carbon accumulation. In contrast, the NG system showed a significantly restructured car- bon cycling network, underlining the transformative effect of sustained vegetation cover on soil carbon dynamics and functional gene expression. Addition- ally, methane metabolism genes strongly correlated with both DOC and POC, suggesting that grass cover provides an abundant substrate for methano- genic microbes. As a readily usable carbon source, DOC can potentially fuel methyl-coenzyme-mediated methanogenesis, while POC likely supports meth- ane metabolism through microhabitat formation and physical protection (Zhou et  al. 2023). Additionally, carbon fixation genes significantly and positively correlated with MBC, DOC, and POC, highlighting Although this study provided strong evidence for the positive effects of SDCM under NG conditions on soil carbon sequestration and cycling, some limi- tations should be acknowledged. First, the findings were derived from specific climatic conditions, soil type, and experimental duration; therefore, their gen- eralizability requires further validation through long- term field trials in diverse environments. Second, some conclusions regarding shifts in microbial carbon metabolism were inferential, as direct measurements of CH₄ and CO₂ fluxes were not conducted. While metagenomic data revealed that the SDCM under NG conditions suppressed methanogenesis-related genes, future studies incorporating direct CH₄ and CO₂ flux measurements are needed to validate these inferred shifts and quantitatively assess the net greenhouse gas balance.

  generallimitationsevidence 5/5
  Keywords: carbon soil genes cycling fixation correlated organic microbial cover metabolism conditions network functional system positively
• Microbe-mediated changes of soil dissolved organic matter in the rhizosphere of Pinus massoniana during vegetation restoration in a typical red soil erosion region of southern China (2026) · Plant and Soil · doi

  Background Vegetation restoration enhances soil carbon sequestration, yet the mechanisms linking soil organic matter accumulation to rhizosphere microbial dynamics remain unclear.

  generalabstractevidence 4/5
  Keywords: soil background vegetation restoration enhances carbon sequestration mechanisms linking organic matter accumulation rhizosphere microbial dynamics
• Elevation and vertical gradient changes of microbe-mediated carbon cycling function in Poyang Lake wetland (2026) · Plant and Soil · doi

  However, it remains unknown whether microbiota-mediated carbon metabolism in different soil layers exhibits a similar change pattern with elevation.

  generalabstractevidence 3/5
  Keywords: remains unknown whether microbiota mediated carbon metabolism different soil layers exhibits similar change pattern elevation

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