text: The priming effect is characterized by intense changes in the natural process of soil organic matter (SOM) turnover, resulting from relatively moderate intervention with the soil. The phenomenon is generally caused by either pulsed or continuous changes to inputs of fresh organic matter (FOM). Priming effects usually result in an acceleration of mineralization due to a trigger such as the FOM inputs. The cause of this increase in decomposition has often been attributed to an increase in microbial activity resulting from higher energy and nutrient availability released from the FOM. After the input of FOM, specialized microorganisms are believed to grow quickly and only decompose this newly added organic matter. The turnover rate of SOM in these areas is at least one order of magnitude higher than the bulk soil.
  Other soil treatments, besides organic matter inputs, which lead to this short-term change in turnover rates, include "input of mineral fertilizer, exudation of organic substances by roots, mere mechanical treatment of soil or its drying and rewetting."
  Priming effects can be either positive or negative depending on the reaction of the soil with the added substance.  A positive priming effect results in the acceleration of mineralization while a negative priming effect results in immobilization, leading to N unavailability. Although most changes have been documented in C and N pools, the priming effect can also be found in phosphorus and sulfur, as well as other nutrients.
  Löhnis was the first to discover the priming effect phenomenon in 1926 through his studies of green manure decomposition and its effects on legume plants in soil.  He noticed that when adding fresh organic residues to the soil, it resulted in intensified mineralization by the humus N.  It was not until 1953, though, that the term priming effect was given by Bingeman in his paper titled, The effect of the addition of organic material on the decomposition of an organic soil. Several other terms had been used before priming effect was coined, including priming action, added nitrogen interaction (ANI), extra N and additional N. Despite these early contributions, the concept of the priming effect was widely disregarded until about the 1980s-1990s.
  The priming effect has been found in many different studies and is regarded as a common occurrence, appearing in most plant soil systems. However, the mechanisms which lead to the priming effect are more complex then originally thought, and still remain generally misunderstood.
  Although there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the reason for the priming effect, a few undisputed facts have emerged from the collection of recent research:
  # The priming effect can arise either instantaneously or very shortly (potentially days or weeks) after the addition of a substance is made to the soil.
  # The priming effect is larger in soils that are rich in C and N as compared to those poor in these nutrients.
  # Real priming effects have not been observed in sterile environments.
  # The size of the priming effect increases as the amount of added treatment to the soil increases.
  Recent findings suggest that the same priming effect mechanisms acting in soil systems may also be present in aquatic environments, which suggests a need for broader considerations of this phenomenon in the future.