Closing in on the last frontier: C allocation in the rhizosphere.

Increased belowground C allocation of trees, especially enhanced rhizodeposition, might lead to long-term C sequestration in forest soil. Microbes are crucial players in this complex process of forming stable soil organic carbon (SOC). Hence, research must be accelerated to understand the complex rhizosphere processes and their effect on stable SOC formation. This is a commentary on Hikino et al., 2022, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.16388.