The role of plant litter traits, and microbial and soil chemical diversity on the formation of particulate and mineral-associated organic matter.

A two-tiered laboratory incubation experiment using 13C and 15N labeled plant material to investigate the effects of the physical nature (i.e., structural versus soluble) of plant inputs as well as their chemical composition on (1) the pathways of SOM formation, (2) the soil microbial community and chemical diversity, and (3) their interaction on the efficiency of POM and MAOM formation, in a topsoil and a subsoil.