Articles | Volume 12, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-12-703-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-12-703-2026
Original research article
 | 
23 Jun 2026
Original research article |  | 23 Jun 2026

Electrical conductivity measurements as proxies for diffusion-limited microbial activity in soils under controlled laboratory conditions

Orsolya Fülöp, Naoise Nunan, Mamadou Gueye, and Damien Jougnot

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Cited articles

Allende-Montalbán, R., San-Juan-Heras, R., Martín-Lammerding, D., Delgado, M. D. M., Albarrán, M. D. M., and Gabriel, J. L.: The soil sample conservation method and its potential impact on ammonium, nitrate and total mineral nitrogen measurements, Geoderma, 448, 116963, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2024.116963, 2024. 
Al-Maliki, S. and Ebreesum, H.: Changes in soil carbon mineralization, soil microbes, roots density and soil structure following the application of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and green algae in the arid saline soil, Rhizosphere, 14, 100203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rhisph.2020.100203, 2020. 
Ameen, F., AlYahya, S. A., AlNadhari, S., Alasmari, H., Alhoshani, F., and Wainwright, M. L.: Phosphate solubilizing bacteria and fungi in desert soils: Species, limitations and mechanisms, Arch. Agron. Soil Sci., 65, 1446–1459, https://doi.org/10.1080/03650340.2019.1566713, 2019. 
Autret, B., Mary, B., Chenu, C., Balabane, M., Girardin, C., Bertrand, M., Grandeau, G., and Beaudoin, N.: Alternative arable cropping systems: A key to increase soil organic carbon storage? Results from a 16 year field experiment, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ., 232, 150–164, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.07.008, 2016. 
Autret, B., Guillier, H., Pouteau, V., Mary, B., and Chenu, C.: Similar specific mineralization rates of organic carbon and nitrogen in incubated soils under contrasted arable cropping systems, Soil Till. Res., 204, 104712, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2020.104712, 2020. 
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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.
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