Articles | Volume 12, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-12-521-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-12-521-2026
Original research article
 | 
01 May 2026
Original research article |  | 01 May 2026

Formation of mineral-associated organic matter via rock weathering: an experimental test for the organo-metallic glue hypothesis

Kaori Matsuoka, Jo Jinno, Hiroaki Shimada, Emi Matsumura, Ryo Shingubara, Puu-Tai Yang, and Rota Wagai

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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
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Cited articles

Angst, G., Messinger, J., Greiner, M., Häusler, W., Hertel, D., Kirfel, K., Kögel-Knabner, I., Leuschner, C., Rethemeyer, J., and Muellera, C. W.: Soil organic carbon stocks in topsoil and subsoil controlled by parent material, carbon input in the rhizosphere, and microbial-derived compounds, Soil Biol. Biochem., 122, 19–30, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2018.03.026, 2018. 
Angst, G., Mueller, K. E., Castellano, M. J., Vogel, C., Wiesmeier, M., and Mueller, C. W.: Unlocking complex soil systems as carbon sinks: multi-pool management as the key, Nat. Commun., 14, 2967, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38700-5, 2023. 
Arai, M., Ikazaki, K., Anzai, T., Celestial, V. P., Tumbay, J. V., Santillana, I. S., and Wagai, R.: Protective role of reactive aluminum phases to stabilize soil organic matter against long-term cultivation in the humid tropics under volcanic influence, Soil Sci. Plant Nutr., 71, 27–37, https://doi.org/10.1080/00380768.2024.2415455, 2025. 
Asano, M. and Wagai, R.: Evidence of aggregate hierarchy at micro- to submicron scales in an allophanic Andisol, Geoderma, 216, 62–74, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.10.005, 2014. 
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The organo-mineral assemblage formation from the mixture of crushed rocks and leaf compost was promoted by (i) microbial re-working of OM (indicated by lower C:N and higher δ13C and δ15N compared to the original leaf compost) and (ii) the supply of extractable metals (esp. oxalate-extractable Fe phase) from the rock weathering. These findings supported the organo-metallic glue hypothesis (Wagai et al., 2020) and suggest that C accretion during early pedogenesis.
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