Drought reduces formation, but enhances persistence, of mineral-associated organic matter in a grassland soil

Drought effects are pervasive in many terrestrial ecosystems, yet little is known about the impact of drought on the transformation of plant C inputs to mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) – the largest and slowest-cycling pool of organic carbon (C) on land. Using ¹³ C-CO ₂ greenhouse labeling chambers, we tracked the formation of ¹³ C-MAOM derived from Avena barbata living root inputs ( ¹³ C-rhizodeposits) versus A. barbata decaying root inputs ( ¹³ C-root detritus) under normal moisture and spring drought conditions in a semi-arid grassland soil, and then tested the durability of this ¹³ C-MAOM in a subsequent persistence assay. Overall, drought reduced formation of MAOM – both per gram of soil and across the entire soil profile. Notably, drought conditions enhanced the persistence of MAOM derived from root detritus, though not of MAOM derived from rhizodeposition. Drought had the most pronounced effect on MAOM accrual from rhizodeposition late in plant development (week 12) whereas it had the most pronounced effect on MAOM accrual from root detritus early in root decomposition (week 4). These temporal responses were associated with distinct trajectories in microbial community-level growth rates, the average mass of OM compounds, and the number of unique metabolites within each habitat. Our results provide mechanistic evidence that drought reduces overall formation of MAOM but can enhance its persistence in a grassland soil.