Microbial residues play a significant role in the formation of soil organic matter (SOM), but it is not clear how microbial traits influence residue accrual and SOM persistence. By pairing microbial biomarker and genomics approaches, we tested whether microbial life history strategies and residue accrual differed between primary (~70-year-old) and secondary (~30-year-old) subtropical forests. We found that microbial residue concentrations were significantly higher in secondary than primary forests, and strongly associated with several abundant microbial taxa (Ascomycota, Proteobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes). Microbial communities inhabiting resource-rich secondary forests were also associated with high growth yields and soil organic carbon (SOC) accrual (through residue retention), while nutrient-limited primary forests were dominated by microorganisms employing resource-acquisition strategies. We therefore suggest microbial life history traits can be used to link microbial community composition and metabolic processes with the turnover and transformation of SOC.

微生物残留物在土壤有机质（SOM）的形成中起着重要作用，但尚不清楚微生物性状如何影响残留物的累积和SOM持久性。通过将微生物生物标记物和基因组学方法配对，我们测试了亚热带森林（约70岁）和次生森林（约30岁）的微生物生活史策略和残留物应计是否不同。我们发现次生林中的微生物残留浓度显着高于原始林，并与几种丰富的微生物类群（子囊菌，变形杆菌，芽孢杆菌）密切相关。）。居住在资源丰富的次生林中的微生物群落还与高产量和土壤有机碳（SOC）的累积（通过残留物保留）有关，而养分有限的原始林则是采用资源获取策略的微生物所主导。因此，我们建议微生物生活史特征可用于将微生物群落组成和代谢过程与SOC的更新和转化联系起来。