Goethite is known to contribute to the co-precipitation of rhizodeposits and thus benefit carbon (C) sequestration, while arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play significant role in soil organic C (SOC), however, the combined effect is less known. To address this paucity in knowledge, we compared the physicochemical stabilization and microbial mineralization of rhizodeposits from maize (Zea mays L.) and the rhizosphere priming effect (RPE) in soils with a combination of goethite addition and AMF inoculation. Here, we showed that compared to the control: i) Co-amendment of AMF and goethite resulted in a 0.6-fold decrease of rhizodeposit derived CO₂, and a 2.8-fold larger allocation of rhizodeposits into macro-aggregates, most likely due to precipitation by goethite and macro-aggregate formation stimulated by AMF hyphae. Analyses using μ-FTIR confirmed the spatial distribution of polysaccharides overlapped with Fe–O minerals within macro-aggregates, supporting the concomitant processes of rhizodeposit stabilization and aggregate formation via hyphal-aggregate mineral interactions; ii) Inoculation with AMF accelerated SOC turnover by increasing the RPE (by 6.1 mg C kg⁻¹ day⁻¹, 74% increase) and rhizodeposit stabilization (by 6.2 mg C kg⁻¹ soil day⁻¹, 47% increase). The larger soil priming effect stimulated by AMF was associated with several genera including Solirubrobacter, Pseudomonas and Talaromyces, suggesting these hyper-symbionts were involved in nutrient acquisition (mining hypothesis). Our results enabled the comparison between rhizodeposit stabilization versus rhizodeposit and SOC mineralization, and highlighted the contributions of both goethite (abiotic contribution) and AMF (biotic contribution) to C accrual in a soil-plant system.

Goethite is known to contribute to the co-precipitation of rhizodeposits and thus benefit carbon (C) sequestration, while arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play significant role in soil organic C (SOC), however, the combined effect is less known. To address this paucity in knowledge, we compared the physicochemical stabilization and microbial mineralization of rhizodeposits from maize (Zea mays L.) and the rhizosphere priming effect (RPE) in soils with a combination of goethite addition and AMF inoculation. Here, we showed that compared to the control: i) Co-amendment of AMF and goethite resulted in a 0.6-fold decrease of rhizodeposit derived CO₂, and a 2.8-fold larger allocation of rhizodeposits into macro-aggregates, most likely due to precipitation by goethite and macro-aggregate formation stimulated by AMF hyphae. Analyses using μ-FTIR confirmed the spatial distribution of polysaccharides overlapped with Fe–O minerals within macro-aggregates, supporting the concomitant processes of rhizodeposit stabilization and aggregate formation via hyphal-aggregate mineral interactions; ii) Inoculation with AMF accelerated SOC turnover by increasing the RPE (by 6.1 mg C kg⁻¹ day⁻¹, 74% increase) and rhizodeposit stabilization (by 6.2 mg C kg⁻¹ soil day⁻¹, 47% increase). The larger soil priming effect stimulated by AMF was associated with several genera including Solirubobacter、Pseudomonas和Talaromyces，表明这些超共生菌参与了营养获取（挖掘假设）。我们的结果使根沉积物稳定与根沉积物和 SOC 矿化之间的比较成为可能，并强调了针铁矿（非生物贡献）和 AMF（生物贡献）对土壤-植物系统中 C 积累的贡献。