Warming and elevated ozone induce tradeoffs between fine roots and mycorrhizal fungi and stimulate organic carbon decomposition

Climate warming and elevated ozone (eO(3)) are important climate change components that can affect plant growth and plant-microbe interactions. However, the resulting impact on soil carbon (C) dynamics, as well as the underlying mechanisms, remains unclear. Here, we show that warming, eO(3), and their combination induce tradeoffs between roots and their symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and stimulate organic C decomposition in a nontilled soybean agroecosystem. While warming and eO(3) reduced root biomass, tissue density, and AMF colonization, they increased specific root length and promoted decomposition of both native and newly added organic C. Also, they shifted AMF community composition in favor of the genus Paraglomus with high nutrient-absorbing hyphal surface over the genus Glomus prone to protection of soil organic C. Our findings provide deep insights into plant-microbial interactive responses to warming and eO(3) and how these responses may modulate soil organic C dynamics under future climate change scenarios.