Biogeochemistry · 8 authors, 4 centres
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Cooling temperate soils from 11 °C to 1 °C in a laboratory experiment reduced microbial respiration and growth but did not affect glucose uptake, suggesting microbes accumulate carbon in storage compounds as an adaptive response to cold conditions.
The authors investigated mechanisms underlying previously observed winter increases in soil microbial biomass by cooling temperate soils from 11 °C to 1 °C under controlled laboratory conditions. Using 13C-glucose isotope tracing, they assessed microbial respiration, growth (cell division), and carbon allocation at 42 h (immediate response) and 186 h (short-term acclimation). Cooling strongly reduced microbial respiration and growth, yet uptake and respiration of amended glucose remained largely unaffected. Cooled soils showed increased allocation of carbon to unsaturated relative to saturated phospholipid fatty acids, consistent with membrane fluidity adjustments at low temperatures. These findings suggest physiological adaptation to cold—not merely increased carbon use efficiency or reduced predation—is a primary driver of winter microbial biomass accumulation.
