Bacterial necromass decomposition and priming effects in paddy soils depend on long-term fertilization

Microbial necromass not only contributes to soil organic matter accumulation, but also serves as a critical source of nutrients and energy for microorganisms. Long-term fertilization influences the decomposition dynamics of microbial necromass and nutrient mobilization from SOM. We combined 13C isotope probing with high-throughput sequencing to investigate the microbial groups involved in necromass decomposition and the resulting priming effect on SOC mineralization in paddy soils subjected to 34 years of mineral fertilization and chicken manure application.