The influence of temperature on mineralization of plant litter and pre-existing soil organic matter (SOM) involves not only the prevailing temperature, but also how it has changed through time. However, little is known about how temperature variability through time influences mineralization processes. Here, we investigated how short-term temperature history affects the mineralization of SOM and plant litter in soils from different agricultural management systems. We used soils from a long-term experiment with conventional and organic management treatments to set up microcosms. The microcosms were exposed to eight days of contrasting temperature regimes (different mean temperatures and constant versus fluctuating temperatures). Microcosms were then returned to a common temperature of 16 °C, ¹³C-labelled plant litter was added to half of them, and CO₂ efflux was measured over the following week. We found that SOM and litter mineralization were both sensitive to the temperature history, with lower mean temperatures during preliminary treatment associated with higher mineralization during the subsequent common-temperature incubation. This effect persisted through the week after temperature differences were removed. Different patterns of temperature fluctuation and agricultural management did not significantly affect mineralization during common-temperature incubation. The history sensitivity of litter mineralization, despite litter being added after temperature differences had ended, indicates that the temperature history effects may be driven by short-term microbial acclimation. We conclude that organic matter and litter mineralization, which are key processes in the carbon cycle, are sensitive to short-term temperature history. This suggests that future investigations of soil CO₂ efflux may need to take recent weather effects into account.

温度对植物凋落物矿化和预先存在的土壤有机质（SOM）的影响不仅涉及盛行的温度，还涉及其随时间的变化。但是，关于温度随时间变化如何影响矿化过程的知识鲜为人知。在这里，我们调查了短期温度历史如何影响来自不同农业管理系统的土壤中SOM和植物凋落物的矿化作用。我们使用长期实验的土壤，采用常规和有机管理方法建立了微观世界。缩影暴露于八天的不同温度范围（不同的平均温度以及恒定的相对波动的温度）。然后将缩影返回到16°C，¹³将C标记的植物凋落物添加到其中一半，并将CO ₂在接下来的一周中测量外排。我们发现SOM和垫料矿化对温度历史都很敏感，在初步处理期间平均温度较低，而在随后的常温孵化过程中矿化度较高。在消除温差后的一周内，这种效果一直持续。在常温孵化过程中，不同的温度波动模式和农业管理对矿化作用没有显着影响。尽管温度差异结束后添加了垫料，但垫料矿化的历史敏感性表明，温度历史记录的影响可能是由短期微生物适应引起的。我们得出结论，有机物质和垃圾矿化是碳循环中的关键过程，对短期温度历史敏感。这表明土壤CO的未来研究₂流出可能需要考虑最近的天气影响。