Grass root litter and soil carbon quality paradoxically control Q10 of labile and recalcitrant carbon pools in a semi-arid Inceptisol

Grass root litter and soil carbon quality paradoxically control Q10 of labile and recalcitrant carbon pools in a semi-arid Inceptisol | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Grass root litter and soil carbon quality paradoxically control Q10 of labile and recalcitrant carbon pools in a semi-arid Inceptisol Vikas Kumar Singhal, Avijit Ghosh, Amit K Singh, Ranjan Bhattcahryya, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7771415/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 04 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Plant and Soil → Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Aim The temperature sensitivity of labile (Q 10L ) and recalcitrant (Q 10R ) pools of soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition is a critical for predicting soil carbon (C) fluxes under changing climatic conditions. Methods Soils under six grass covers, namely, Cenchrus ciliaris , Chrysopogon fulvus , Panicum maximum , Sehima nervosum , Heteropogon contortus , and Vetiveria zizanioides from semi-arid India were evaluated for Q 10L and Q 10R of bulk soil, macroaggregates, microaggregates, and silt + clay associated SOC. Soil fractions (from 0–20 and 21–40 cm depths) were incubated at 25, 32, and 37°C for 100 days, and cumulative C mineralization was measured. The Q 10L and Q 10R were calculated using a two-pool decay model. The quality of root litter C and SOC was assessed through FTIR spectroscopy. Results Q 10L and Q 10R of microaggregate-C was significantly higher (22–64% and 22–24%, respectively) than macroaggregate-C and silt + clay-C. Among grasses, Q 10L and Q 10R values under C.ciliaris , H.contortus , and S.nervosum were lower than other grasses, indicating their capability to store SOC under global warming scenarios. Q 10L at topsoil layer was correlated with root litter C quality and at the sub-surface soil layer, it was influenced by labile C concentration. The Q 10R was correlated with the recalcitrant C concentration and SOC quality in both soil layers, indicating that quality and availability of recalcitrant SOC had pivotal roles in governing Q 10R in restored land. Conclusions Soil C and litter C quality should be potentially incorporated into the biogeochemical models to better predict SOC dynamics in managed ecosystems in the context of global warming and land use changes. Carbon mineralization Carbon-quality-temperature hypothesis Soil organic matter quality Grass root litter Grasslands Full Text Supplementary Files Supplementary040425.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 04 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Plant and Soil → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Major revisions 24 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 25 Oct, 2025 Editor invited by journal 08 Oct, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 08 Oct, 2025 First submitted to journal 06 Oct, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7771415","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":534868658,"identity":"7fa973ea-4174-4d21-97fd-221d80300363","order_by":0,"name":"Vikas Kumar Singhal","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vikas","middleName":"Kumar","lastName":"Singhal","suffix":""},{"id":534868659,"identity":"73d27a9d-90f7-4707-b646-a00bf1d0c0a9","order_by":1,"name":"Avijit Ghosh","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0556-445X","institution":"Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Avijit","middleName":"","lastName":"Ghosh","suffix":""},{"id":534868660,"identity":"8dbf71a3-26c8-4b1e-989f-dda85e93122c","order_by":2,"name":"Amit K Singh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amit","middleName":"K","lastName":"Singh","suffix":""},{"id":534868661,"identity":"17c2dd6a-6d30-4544-b5f8-3ec963902c40","order_by":3,"name":"Ranjan Bhattcahryya","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ranjan","middleName":"","lastName":"Bhattcahryya","suffix":""},{"id":534868662,"identity":"e3624bb6-e317-4a95-a53e-d2a32810d390","order_by":4,"name":"Yogeshwar Singh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yogeshwar","middleName":"","lastName":"Singh","suffix":""},{"id":534868663,"identity":"eb53533e-e450-4035-abe8-73df6230a3c2","order_by":5,"name":"Sourav Kumar","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sourav","middleName":"","lastName":"Kumar","suffix":""},{"id":534868664,"identity":"9896c190-1488-40ef-936f-59c676b7cbda","order_by":6,"name":"Deepak Ojha","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Deepak","middleName":"","lastName":"Ojha","suffix":""},{"id":534868665,"identity":"b19231ec-de09-431f-96e5-f2a84fe1fa54","order_by":7,"name":"Arun K Shukla","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Arun","middleName":"K","lastName":"Shukla","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-10-03 08:01:51","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7771415/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7771415/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-026-08423-9","type":"published","date":"2026-03-04T15:59:17+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":95160314,"identity":"a06bc49a-a1f1-4f48-9f5f-3375477e7dcb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"tif","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":7524864,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Fig1.tif","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/5f8c484a553955d6fbcabcdb.tif"},{"id":95160305,"identity":"ac7439c5-b5b1-4242-8892-152e38119d1e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"tif","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":909296,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Fig2.tif","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/5e18f3798d21ae265e4f00df.tif"},{"id":95160304,"identity":"601a43b8-fb19-498a-85f3-a445ba3dd83b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"tif","order_by":4,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":294802,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Fig3.tif","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/860c7f0559925d61e589212e.tif"},{"id":95226584,"identity":"8bd4cdde-3668-4dc2-9229-f79836fd5e84","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:31:24","extension":"tif","order_by":5,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":473612,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Fig4.tif","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/6cbb4b9d3d728463912bf22d.tif"},{"id":95160312,"identity":"23317c15-3e9c-4417-ad02-169d7456bedd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"tif","order_by":6,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":468286,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Fig5.tif","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/45db62f7924edc86f5e0fbde.tif"},{"id":95160309,"identity":"8e91a330-f985-44b5-8c67-e6f0424ee2f2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"tif","order_by":7,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":525516,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Fig6.tif","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/de22a2faa30486649f8c59f4.tif"},{"id":95160327,"identity":"d1cc2152-480d-4ce2-a806-54318e52a561","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"tif","order_by":8,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":7292620,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Fig7.tif","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/d9b952393e2b85fc136cd6db.tif"},{"id":95160303,"identity":"000072c3-e8ec-44fa-9bcd-1e5a6e6032ee","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"xml","order_by":9,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":10813,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"plsoPLSOD2503784.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/e6a64cb9662713095cf1ecb8.xml"},{"id":95160307,"identity":"6fea4274-8759-4a9e-b134-91cf289b1fa8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"xml","order_by":10,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":1236,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"PLSOD250378464361.go.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/faa57a04610ceddd66d7d903.xml"},{"id":95226091,"identity":"04a6436a-087f-4e23-8310-be10d6c61b31","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:26:13","extension":"xml","order_by":11,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":909,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"PLSOD2503784Import.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/68529fe422d8a2fa61e9eda2.xml"},{"id":95225912,"identity":"b6b0c876-9adb-4435-839f-7a9718ae4a5f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:25:46","extension":"xml","order_by":13,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":279164,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"PLSOD25037840enriched.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/02ef092273b113a6fbaa1c35.xml"},{"id":95225940,"identity":"1c8d899b-df2f-4685-84d6-fb1c3da384cf","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:25:48","extension":"tif","order_by":14,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":7524864,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Fig1.tif","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/db4064f6d8f0b30141495bce.tif"},{"id":95160320,"identity":"1a8d45e7-8aa9-411f-9d46-838a2fe8ca73","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"tif","order_by":15,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":909296,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Fig2.tif","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/134862271de2052d7e0488e3.tif"},{"id":95160317,"identity":"ea9ae70f-0dd3-414d-832f-5960cec54efc","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"tif","order_by":16,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":294802,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Fig3.tif","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/7db56a2450a2fbec67a9be4d.tif"},{"id":95226387,"identity":"86f7b617-da4f-487b-9f56-7940f134d54e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:31:03","extension":"tif","order_by":17,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":473612,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Fig4.tif","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/6ab47cdd0319fa53bc0c2462.tif"},{"id":95160340,"identity":"16249d4b-e2c6-47af-9208-e75a282c366b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:49","extension":"tif","order_by":18,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":468286,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Fig5.tif","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/b95192c4deb25d1d7c98fb13.tif"},{"id":95160325,"identity":"c8c8b8de-726e-4633-927c-06c663e93546","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"tif","order_by":19,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":525516,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Fig6.tif","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/67c3b32b722beca74a5c167f.tif"},{"id":95160331,"identity":"f563f1b7-0697-4204-b8ac-1c25eea2cad0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:49","extension":"tif","order_by":20,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":7292620,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Fig7.tif","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/21510ef79a6ce980faa6977d.tif"},{"id":95160316,"identity":"125514e3-20d8-4615-a938-9ad5ffa4233a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"png","order_by":21,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":1047530,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/a3fd328332e88f3ed4d5906b.png"},{"id":95225920,"identity":"3211ceb7-0eda-47bc-8b04-fd5d8e4e90c5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:25:46","extension":"png","order_by":22,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":35961,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/06c9ba13a47f40dfea20b2b9.png"},{"id":95160324,"identity":"1dd73f1b-cb1b-479b-97eb-1c30611145ef","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"png","order_by":23,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":158710,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/2a2956652534b516bc0582d7.png"},{"id":95160310,"identity":"e156df61-fed2-4e04-ba3f-8672c34e0c16","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"png","order_by":24,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":42121,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/c35e53eab3c75845eb238a79.png"},{"id":95160313,"identity":"85534873-be3e-480d-ac2a-d07ed7b3d919","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"png","order_by":25,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":236084,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/39e3a8292bf768b6d0c92005.png"},{"id":95160319,"identity":"0ed64d2c-1f86-4e17-b1d0-1482970abf2e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"jpeg","order_by":26,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":399200,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage6.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/3bbe6da5fb9edec07db10706.jpeg"},{"id":95226089,"identity":"038049ed-1356-4c03-a2fc-509dff210817","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:26:13","extension":"png","order_by":27,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":1026418,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage7.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/2b25ebfed82f8ae70e5a39be.png"},{"id":95160336,"identity":"18c5cfa2-0d9b-40d9-95f0-33afca24aa3a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:49","extension":"png","order_by":28,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":735702,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"OnlineFig1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/5579137959b0f189ec6efe36.png"},{"id":95225608,"identity":"2c795f8b-ec8d-41d9-ae13-3d14306d92be","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:25:16","extension":"png","order_by":29,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":89046,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"OnlineFig2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/8f277f144d84fd259c512869.png"},{"id":95160332,"identity":"ca9fb3fa-e694-4f97-9e15-6accc9a76a91","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:49","extension":"png","order_by":30,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":50070,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"OnlineFig3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/a6bf7e8bfd89160d6417fe93.png"},{"id":95226544,"identity":"2d92b1e4-e470-4007-9778-c4a0ace85ff8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:31:21","extension":"png","order_by":31,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":35306,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"OnlineFig4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/d97a893039247db71e18da33.png"},{"id":95226709,"identity":"ebd0e381-0bac-49d0-9937-1c6e01f2efd5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:31:39","extension":"png","order_by":32,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":81791,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"OnlineFig5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/0b3b715fc49b0c77329162b2.png"},{"id":95160342,"identity":"4f737ba0-3bff-4958-a122-048bc6e7cd13","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:49","extension":"png","order_by":33,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":174366,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"OnlineFig6.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/9d2a7b7c26353b08617a47ed.png"},{"id":95160322,"identity":"70eb30b0-93a4-4f23-a58a-e6cf7bd77b2e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"png","order_by":34,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":920117,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"OnlineFig7.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/8302ed6f43eba73d0eb264ec.png"},{"id":95160341,"identity":"919a9835-74ac-4a0e-b7ad-7f363fbf78fd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:49","extension":"png","order_by":35,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":160705,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/589bf3f0507c2907af779b29.png"},{"id":95227660,"identity":"890a05f7-8714-469f-89ef-c1d2c10f8a51","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:32:42","extension":"png","order_by":36,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":24036,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/c6585b651f5c521262d45065.png"},{"id":95160329,"identity":"daa571a9-b823-4a89-93c0-8e8fb4c016b2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:49","extension":"png","order_by":37,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":49303,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/4a2532b7d805f113d33a7bd6.png"},{"id":95160339,"identity":"236f55fa-d9a2-4773-ba62-f0d37bfff941","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:49","extension":"png","order_by":38,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":31819,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/adecd33269377baefba338c5.png"},{"id":95160334,"identity":"2cc3ed98-eb72-4096-ab82-562d3573ef1d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:49","extension":"png","order_by":39,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":66933,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/a5af4892f4377348bf3709ad.png"},{"id":95160318,"identity":"1ac87c6c-e751-4961-835c-1c1c78270bc5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"png","order_by":40,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":86465,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage6.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/f0bb3f493047085555c9c48e.png"},{"id":95227914,"identity":"ae36e2a1-afba-4820-81c1-416edf0cb62f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:33:08","extension":"png","order_by":41,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":216288,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage7.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/c1dd89debb76b914b6fa01ce.png"},{"id":95160335,"identity":"571dc72c-8b7f-438a-8c43-53ecc469ab79","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:49","extension":"xml","order_by":42,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":277527,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"PLSOD25037840structuring.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/c0fd09a9e8ae6b54878fcafc.xml"},{"id":95225655,"identity":"b192a72d-b656-4942-9981-990829831cc1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:25:22","extension":"html","order_by":43,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":280725,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"earlyproof.html","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/f4499768c3cb52614616ae94.html"},{"id":104252279,"identity":"0e38ea1f-49a4-47f9-90e1-3b5819b9a462","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-09 16:17:47","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1561587,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"MS040425CL.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1_covered_ce09be71-5f53-4880-9d8b-ef1b0e8fda52.pdf"},{"id":95160315,"identity":"fef64640-ae8f-4583-b12c-816e1670d8f9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 03:10:48","extension":"docx","order_by":12,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":1791145,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Supplementary040425.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7771415/v1/68d3d01473114649b29a68b5.docx"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Grass root litter and soil carbon quality paradoxically control Q10 of labile and recalcitrant carbon pools in a semi-arid Inceptisol","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"plant-and-soil","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"plso","sideBox":"Learn more about [Plant and Soil](https://www.springer.com/journal/11104)","snPcode":"11104","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11104/3","title":"Plant and Soil","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Carbon mineralization, Carbon-quality-temperature hypothesis, Soil organic matter quality, Grass root litter, Grasslands","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7771415/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7771415/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eAim\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe temperature sensitivity of labile (Q\u003csub\u003e10L\u003c/sub\u003e) and recalcitrant (Q\u003csub\u003e10R\u003c/sub\u003e) pools of soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition is a critical for predicting soil carbon (C) fluxes under changing climatic conditions.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSoils under six grass covers, namely, \u003cem\u003eCenchrus ciliaris\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eChrysopogon fulvus\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePanicum maximum\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eSehima nervosum\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eHeteropogon contortus\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eVetiveria zizanioides\u003c/em\u003e from semi-arid India were evaluated for Q\u003csub\u003e10L\u003c/sub\u003e and Q\u003csub\u003e10R\u003c/sub\u003e of bulk soil, macroaggregates, microaggregates, and silt\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;clay associated SOC. Soil fractions (from 0\u0026ndash;20 and 21\u0026ndash;40 cm depths) were incubated at 25, 32, and 37\u0026deg;C for 100 days, and cumulative C mineralization was measured. The Q\u003csub\u003e10L\u003c/sub\u003e and Q\u003csub\u003e10R\u003c/sub\u003e were calculated using a two-pool decay model. The quality of root litter C and SOC was assessed through FTIR spectroscopy.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eQ\u003csub\u003e10L\u003c/sub\u003e and Q\u003csub\u003e10R\u003c/sub\u003e of microaggregate-C was significantly higher (22\u0026ndash;64% and 22\u0026ndash;24%, respectively) than macroaggregate-C and silt\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;clay-C. Among grasses, Q\u003csub\u003e10L\u003c/sub\u003e and Q\u003csub\u003e10R\u003c/sub\u003e values under \u003cem\u003eC.ciliaris\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eH.contortus\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eS.nervosum\u003c/em\u003e were lower than other grasses, indicating their capability to store SOC under global warming scenarios. Q\u003csub\u003e10L\u003c/sub\u003e at topsoil layer was correlated with root litter C quality and at the sub-surface soil layer, it was influenced by labile C concentration. The Q\u003csub\u003e10R\u003c/sub\u003e was correlated with the recalcitrant C concentration and SOC quality in both soil layers, indicating that quality and availability of recalcitrant SOC had pivotal roles in governing Q\u003csub\u003e10R\u003c/sub\u003e in restored land.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusions\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSoil C and litter C quality should be potentially incorporated into the biogeochemical models to better predict SOC dynamics in managed ecosystems in the context of global warming and land use changes.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Grass root litter and soil carbon quality paradoxically control Q10 of labile and recalcitrant carbon pools in a semi-arid Inceptisol","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-11-05 03:10:43","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7771415/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Major revisions","date":"2025-11-24T22:53:44+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2025-10-27T06:42:59+00:00","index":0,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-10-25T13:42:09+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"Plant and Soil","date":"2025-10-09T01:01:03+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-10-09T00:59:08+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Plant and Soil","date":"2025-10-07T01:47:38+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"plant-and-soil","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"plso","sideBox":"Learn more about [Plant and Soil](https://www.springer.com/journal/11104)","snPcode":"11104","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11104/3","title":"Plant and Soil","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"2db47ada-510b-4110-903b-41ee24502191","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 5th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-09T16:15:16+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7771415","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-026-08423-9","journal":{"identity":"plant-and-soil","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Plant and Soil"},"publishedOn":"2026-03-04 15:59:17","publishedOnDateReadable":"March 4th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-11-05 03:10:43","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s11104-026-08423-9","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-026-08423-9","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7771415","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7771415","identity":"rs-7771415","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}