Carbon input by roots into the soil: Quantification of rhizodeposition from root to ecosystem scale

Abstract Despite its fundamental role for carbon (C) and nutrient cycling, rhizodeposition remains ‘the hidden half of the hidden half ’: it is highly dynamic and rhizodeposits are rapidly incorporated into microorganisms, soil organic matter, and decomposed to CO 2 . Therefore, rhizodeposition is rarely quantified and remains the most uncertain part of the soil C cycle and of C fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems. This review synthesizes and generalizes the literature on C inputs by rhizodeposition under crops and grasslands (281 data sets). The allocation dynamics of assimilated C (after 13 C‐ CO 2 or 14 C‐ CO 2 labeling of plants) were quantified within shoots, shoot respiration, roots, net rhizodeposition…

• DF
  Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft