Millennial-age glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) in forested mineral soils: 14C-based evidence for stabilization of microbial necromass

Understanding controls on the persistence of soil organic matter (SOM) is essential to constrain its role in the carbon cycle and inform climate-carbon cycle model predictions. Emerging concepts regarding the formation and turnover of SOM imply that it is mainly comprised of mineral-stabilized microbial products and residues; however, direct evidence in support of this concept remains limited. Here, we introduce and test a method for the isolation of isoprenoid and branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) - diagnostic membrane lipids of archaea and bacteria, respectively - for subsequent natural abundance radiocarbon analysis. The method is applied to depth profiles from two Swiss pre-Alpine forested soils. We find that the Delta C-14 values of these microbial markers markedly decrease with increasing soil depth, indicating turnover times of millennia in mineral subsoils. The contrasting metabolisms of the GDGT-producing microorganisms indicates it is unlikely that the low Delta C-14 values of these membrane lipids reflect heterotrophic acquisition of C-14-depleted carbon. We therefore attribute the C-14-depleted signatures of GDGTs to their physical protection through association with mineral surfaces. These findings thus provide strong evidence for the presence of stabilized microbial necromass in forested mineral soils.