Fertilization and aridity legacies determine soil microbial necromass persistence across climates

Microbial necromass-mineral interactions are vital for soil organic carbon (C) persistence, but their response to concurrent climate and fertilization legacies in croplands remains unclear. Using six long-term field sites (27–38 years) across a pronounced aridity gradient, we show that stabilization of microbial necromass is coupled with short-range ordered (SRO) minerals in humid zones (aridity index, AI 1.3), this correlation strongly weakens, challenging the universality of SRO-associated C paradigms. While aridity controls mineral weathering and SRO abundance, we showed that long-term fertilization can supersede aridity-driven constraints on necromass C accrual. Spatial mapping of 6,060 in situ μ-FTIR spectra revealed reduced organic C transformation in outer aggregate rims under aridity, aligning with diminished microbial processing and a consequent weakening of necromass-SRO associations. Our findings establish soil moisture as a critical regulator of fertilization-induced ecological memory in mineral-necromass interactions, urging climate-tailored practices to sustain soil C resilience in water-limited ecosystems under global aridification.