Soil microbiome interventions for carbon sequestration and climate mitigation
Gwyn A. Beattie,
Anna Edlund,
Nwadiuto Esiobu,
Jack Gilbert,
Mette Haubjerg Nicolaisen,
Janet K. Jansson,
Paul Jensen,
Marco Keiluweit,
Jay T. Lennon,
Jennifer Martiny,
Vanessa R. Minnis,
Dianne Newman,
Raquel Peixoto,
Christopher Schadt,
Jan Roelof van der Meer
Affiliations
Gwyn A. Beattie
Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
Anna Edlund
Oath Inc., Mill Valley, California, USA
Nwadiuto Esiobu
Department of Biological Sciences, Microbiome Innovation Cluster, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA
Jack Gilbert
Department of Pediatrics and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California, USA
Mette Haubjerg Nicolaisen
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Janet K. Jansson
Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
Paul Jensen
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
Marco Keiluweit
Soil Biogeochemistry Group, Faculty of Geosciences and the Environment, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Jay T. Lennon
Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
Jennifer Martiny
School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
Vanessa R. Minnis
Department of Pediatrics and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California, USA
Dianne Newman
Division of Biology & Biological Engineering and Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
Raquel Peixoto
Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
Christopher Schadt
Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
Jan Roelof van der Meer
Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
ABSTRACT Mitigating climate change in soil ecosystems involves complex plant and microbial processes regulating carbon pools and flows. Here, we advocate for the use of soil microbiome interventions to help increase soil carbon stocks and curb greenhouse gas emissions from managed soils. Direct interventions include the introduction of microbial strains, consortia, phage, and soil transplants, whereas indirect interventions include managing soil conditions or additives to modulate community composition or its activities. Approaches to increase soil carbon stocks using microbially catalyzed processes include increasing carbon inputs from plants, promoting soil organic matter (SOM) formation, and reducing SOM turnover and production of diverse greenhouse gases. Marginal or degraded soils may provide the greatest opportunities for enhancing global soil carbon stocks. Among the many knowledge gaps in this field, crucial gaps include the processes influencing the transformation of plant-derived soil carbon inputs into SOM and the identity of the microbes and microbial activities impacting this transformation. As a critical step forward, we encourage broadening the current widespread screening of potentially beneficial soil microorganisms to encompass functions relevant to stimulating soil carbon stocks. Moreover, in developing these interventions, we must consider the potential ecological ramifications and uncertainties, such as incurred by the widespread introduction of homogenous inoculants and consortia, and the need for site-specificity given the extreme variation among soil habitats. Incentivization and implementation at large spatial scales could effectively harness increases in soil carbon stocks, helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
