# Microbial and mineral interactions decouple litter quality from soil organic matter formation

*PRI Rank #18 · Topics and Trends in Most Cited Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics Papers, Class of 2026*

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/soil-carbon-and-nitrogen-dynamics/2026/rank-18*

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Rank | #18 |
| 18m citations | 70 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Year | 2024 |
| DOI | 10.1038/s41467-024-54446-0 |
| Corresponding authors | Jeanette Whitaker |
| Institution | UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, United Kingdom |

**Ranking page:** [Topics and Trends in Most Cited Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics Papers, Class of 2026](https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/soil-carbon-and-nitrogen-dynamics/2026)

**Paper link:** [10.1038/s41467-024-54446-0](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54446-0)

## Topics

Organo-mineral associations · Plant carbon inputs · soil mineralogy · Microbial carbon use efficiency · Microbial anabolism · microbial residues · Mineral protection · Stable isotope tracing · Decomposition · soil microbial community shifts · priming effect · low-quality litter · high-quality litter · pristine mineral manipulation · litter-microbial interactions

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/soil-carbon-and-nitrogen-dynamics/2026. Accessed 2026-07-21.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
```