Articles | Volume 12, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-12-1079-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-12-1079-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Original research article
| 
02 Nov 2026
Original research article |
| 02 Nov 2026
| 02 Nov 2026
Microbial carbon use efficiency emerges from interactions between soil structure and life-history strategies
Maëlle Maestrali
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, Univ. Paris Est Créteil, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris, IEES, 75005 Paris, France
Naoise Nunan
Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, Univ. Paris Est Créteil, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris, IEES, 75005 Paris, France
Antsa Sarobidy-Randrianantenaina
Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, Univ. Paris Est Créteil, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris, IEES, 75005 Paris, France
Haotian Wu
Technical University of Munich, TUM, School of Life Science, Chair of Soil Science, Emil-Ramann Straße 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
Steffen A. Schweizer
Technical University of Munich, TUM, School of Life Science, Chair of Soil Science, Emil-Ramann Straße 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
Xavier Raynaud
Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, Univ. Paris Est Créteil, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris, IEES, 75005 Paris, France
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Orsolya Fülöp, Naoise Nunan, Mamadou Gueye, and Damien Jougnot
SOIL, 12, 703–714, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-12-703-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-12-703-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Soil microorganisms play a key role in carbon cycling, yet their activity depends strongly on soil water connectivity. We investigated whether electrical conductivity, a non-destructive geophysical measurement, could provide information about microbial respiration under drying conditions. Our results suggest that electrical conductivity measurements may help better understand diffusion-limited soil respiration.
Julie-Maï Paris, Naoise Nunan, and Xavier Raynaud
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1841, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1841, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Soil hosts diverse microorganisms forming complex metabolic networks. Their interactions depend on spatial distribution, often overlooked in studies. We propose a new geometric model that show that spatial arrangement affects resource use: density and interaction ranges can alter resource transformations. Spatial structure thus regulates microbial community function and resource transformation in soils.
Naoise Nunan, Claire Chenu, Valérie Pouteau, André Soro, Kevin Potard, Célia R. Montes, Patricia Merdy, Adolpho J. Melfi, and Yves Lucas
Biogeosciences, 23, 1279–1289, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1279-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1279-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
The vulnerability to decomposition of organic C in Amazonian podzols as a result of predicted drier soil moisture regimes was tested: more than four times as much CO2 was released from soils under oxic conditions with the addition of N relative to soils under the prevailing anoxic conditions. An extrapolation of the data to the whole of the Amazonian podzols suggests that this increased C-CO2 flux to the atmosphere could be equivalent to 8 % of the current net global C flux to the atmosphere.
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Short summary
Soil microorganisms contribute to carbon storage, but their efficacy depends on their environment. We have developed a computer model based on real soil structures to investigate how pore shape, resource location and water content influence microbial behaviour. Small, poorly interconnected pores favour slower but more efficient microorganisms, whilst large, interconnected pores favour fast-growing but less efficient ones, demonstrating that soil structure plays a decisive role in carbon storage.
Soil microorganisms contribute to carbon storage, but their efficacy depends on their...
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