Articles | Volume 11, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-11-1029-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-11-1029-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Original research article
| 
02 Dec 2025
Original research article |
| 02 Dec 2025
| 02 Dec 2025
Soil carbon accrual and biopore formation across a plant diversity gradient
Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
Institute of Plant Environmental Science, Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
Department of Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
Maik Geers-Lucas
Department of Soil Science, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
G. Philip Robertson
Department of Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI, USA
Alexandra N. Kravchenko
Department of Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
Related authors
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Matthew A. Belanger, Carmella Vizza, G. Philip Robertson, and Sarah S. Roley
SOIL, 7, 47–52, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-47-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-47-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Soil health is often assessed by re-wetting a dry soil and measuring CO2 production, but the potential bias introduced by soils of different moisture contents is unclear. Our study found that wetter soil tended to lose more carbon during drying than drier soil, thus affecting soil health interpretations. We developed a correction factor to account for initial soil moisture effects, which future studies may benefit from adapting for their soil.
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Short summary
We looked at soil carbon storage in bioenergy crop fields that had different levels of plant diversity over 12 years. We discovered that biopores – small holes in the soil formed as roots grow, die, and decompose – are closely linked to the amount of organic carbon in the soil. When there are more biopores, there’s more surface where roots touch the soil, which helps carbon from plants spread out and get stored better.
We looked at soil carbon storage in bioenergy crop fields that had different levels of plant...
