Low-intensity management promotes the soil priming effect in European agroecosystems

Agricultural management strongly regulates soil carbon (C) stocks and fluxes. The soil priming effect (PE), reflecting changes in SOC mineralization after fresh C inputs, remains poorly explored across agroecosystems. Using ¹³C-glucose incubations in European Long-term Experiments, we show that PE predicts soil C content at continental and global scales. Low-intensity management (organic fertilization, no-tillage) enhanced PE, whereas high-intensity practices reduced or even reversed it. Modeling analyses revealed that management shapes PE directly via SOC and indirectly through aggregate stability and microbial biomass, highlighting fertilization and tillage as key drivers of C cycling.