Soil organic carbon (C) accumulation is commonly higher under nitrogen-fixing tree species than under non-fixing ones [1], [2] and [3]. A higher rate of C input through litterfall and belowground carbon flux may account for the increase in soil C but a lower rate of soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization has also been postulated [3], [4] and [5]. A stimulation of the mineralization of the old SOM when fresh organic matter is added [6] has been postulated in nutrient poor soils, promoting the recycling of nutrient, and especially nitrogen trapped in old SOM [7], [8] and [9]. In contrast, a lack of stimulation of old SOM mineralization was reported in sites with high nitrogen availability [10]. An increase in N availability under acacia grown on tropical ferralic Arenosols [2] and [11] may therefore lead to a reduction of native SOM mineralization, thus to an increase in soil C stock. Acacia has been introduced in a eucalypt plantation trial that was established 20 years ago on a C4 grass dominated savannah. Because SOM derived from the old C4 vegetation is less depleted in 13C than the one derived from the C3 trees [12] and [13], and because addition of glucose to soil sampled in nearby eucalypt plantations resulted in a clear priming effect [7], this site offers the opportunity to test if N fixation by legume trees impacts the dynamics of native SOM mineralization by measuring the C isotope composition (δ13C) of the different SOM fractions. We postulated that if native SOM mineralization is higher under eucalypt plantations than in the presence of acacia either alone or in mixture, the oldest, more stabilized SOM fraction, will be less 13C depleted when acacia is present