Elevated CO2 mediates ectomycorrhizal fungi species-specific decreases of native soil carbon and causes negative priming under low nutrients.

Abstract

Ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM) can influence soil carbon (C) accrual and loss. The mechanisms and environmental controls of this balance are unclear, and direct evidence is needed. We assessed the influence of atmospheric CO2 and inorganic nitrogen (N) on the impact of two ECM fungi on the cycling of native and new soil C. We inoculated Eucalyptus under continuous C isotopic labeling with two species of Pisolithus and manipulated inorganic N (high/low) and CO2 (ambient/elevated, aCO2/eCO2). We differentiated plant-derived C and native soil-C in soil, dissolved-C, microbial-C, and CO2. Under eCO2, Pisolithus albus increased plant-derived dissolved organic C compared to the uninoculated control and reduced soil-derived C compared to both the uninoculated control and Pisolithus microcarpus, consistent with the facilitation of soil C decay. While ECM effects were not dependent on N, eCO2 reduced soil-derived C loss under low N, demonstrating suppression of decomposition (negative C priming) under low nutrients. These findings highlight that closely related ECM fungal species have contrasting capacities to impact different pools of soil C. For some ECM species, eCO2 may favor soil C decay. Our findings call for caution in generalizing the role of ECM fungi on soil C and of N availability on eCO2 impacts.