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Rethinking microbial carbon use efficiency in soil models

Nature Climate Change volume 15, pages 10–12 (2025)Cite this article

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Soil models include a key parameter known as carbon use efficiency, which impacts estimates of global carbon storage by determining the flow of carbon into soil pools versus the atmosphere. Microbial-explicit versions of these models are due for an update that recasts carbon use efficiency as an output variable emerging from microbial metabolism.

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Fig. 1: Partitioning of soil carbon into microbial biomass versus carbon dioxide (CO2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

    Steven D. Allison

  2. Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

    Steven D. Allison

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  1. Steven D. Allison
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Correspondence to Steven D. Allison.

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The author serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc.

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Allison, S.D. Rethinking microbial carbon use efficiency in soil models. Nat. Clim. Chang. 15, 10–12 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02217-6

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