Carbon flow from litter through soil microorganisms: From incorporation rates to mean residence times in bacteria and fungi

•We studied C flow through soil microorganisms in a microbial hotspot.•Maize C input into soil microbial and C pools changed during litter decomposition.•No clear resource partitioning between detritusphere bacteria and fungi occurred.•Mean residence time of C was equal to or shorter in fungi than in bacteria.•C input into PLFAs reflected various strategies of microbial substrate utilization.

Resource quality and availability modify the microbial contribution to soil organic matter turnover and formation. We created a microbial hotspot at the soil-litter interface in a microcosm experiment to better understand and integrate specific microbial habitats into C turnover models. Reciprocal transplantation of 13C and 12C litter on top of soil cores allowed us to follow C flow into specific members of the microbial food web (bacteria and fungi) and to calculate the turnover times of litter-derived C in these microorganisms at three different stages of maize litter decomposition; early stage (0-4 days), intermediate stage (5-12 days) and later stage (29-36 days).Litter age influenced the incorporation rate of C into bacteria and fungi and subsequent turnover in phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) biomarkers. When fresh litter was applied, both fungi and bacteria were able to assimilate labile litter C in the early stage of decomposition, while lower substrate quality in the intermediate stage of decomposition promoted fungal utilization. Utilization of complex litter C sources was minor in both fungi and bacteria in the later stage of decomposition. Different bacterial substrate utilization strategies were reflected by either a decline of the isotopic signal after exchange of 13C by 12C litter or by storage and/or reuse of previously released microbial 13C. The mean residence time of C in the fungal PLFA 18:2ω6,9 was estimated from 46 to 32 days, which is the same or shorter time than that of bacterial PLFAs. This highlights the role of fungi in rapid turnover processes of plant residues, with implications for implementation of bacterial and fungal processes into C turnover models.