Response to Ding et al.: Carboxylate exudation promotes C sequestration in dryland ecosystems

Plant nutrient acquisition and use strategies, particularly of phosphorus (P), play an important role in ecosystem functioning, including nutrient cycling. In a recent opinion article in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Ding and colleagues [ 1. Ding W. et al. Plant phosphorus-acquisition and -use strategies affect soil carbon cycling. Trends Ecol. Evol. 2021; 36: 899-906 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (13) Google Scholar ] provided a new approach to investigate interactions between soil carbon (C), nitrogen, and P cycling, especially in the context of global change. They highlighted that plant P-acquisition strategies involving carboxylate exudation (with or without specialised cluster-root formation) can destabilise Fe/Al-associated organic matter, liberate the bound organic matter (OM), and potentially promote soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralisation due to SOC becoming more accessible to soil microorganisms.