Microbial necromass contribution to topsoil organic carbon storage of natural and agricultural ecosystems

Microbial necromass is an important component of soil organic carbon (C). Yet, the relative contribution of microbial necromass in shaping the global C stocks in agricultural and natural ecosystems worldwide remains virtually unknown. Here, we compiled data on fungal and bacterial necromass along with soil organic carbon (SOC) from the 0–20 cm soil layer across 486 study sites (145 agricultural and 341 natural ecosystems) to evaluate the relative contribution of fungal necromass C (FNC) and bacterial necromass C (BNC) to SOC. Our results indicated that, on average, FNC is two times more important than BNC in explaining SOC in both agricultural and natural ecosystems. The contributions of FNC and BNC to SOC were markedly higher in agricultural ecosystems compared with natural ecosystems, with a contrasting trend in the FNC/BNC ratio. Soil physicochemical properties (soil C/N ratio and clay content) were the most important predictors of the contributions of FNC and BNC to SOC in both ecosystems, while geographical factor (elevation) was the most important predictor of the FNC/BNC ratio. Our study enhances the current level of understanding regarding microbially mediated biogeochemical cycling and SOC dynamics, underscoring the critical role of microbial necromass in the global C cycle. The data and R code for this manuscript are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.28827383 (Lu, 2025).