Review: Factors affecting rhizosphere priming effects

Living plants change the local environment in the rhizosphere and consequently affect the rate of soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition. The rate may increase for 3- to 5-folds, or decrease by 10 % to 30 % by plant cultivation. Such short-term changes of rate (intensity) of SOM decomposition are due to the priming effect. In the presence of plants, a priming effect occurs in the direct vicinity of the living roots, and it is called rhizosphere priming effect (RPE). Plant-mediated and environmental factors, such as, plant species, development stage, soil organic matter content, photosynthesis intensity, and N fertilization which affect RPE are reviewed and discussed in this paper. It was concluded that root…