Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: While nutrient use efficiency of soil microorganisms, the proportion of assimilated nutrients allocated into biosynthesis rather than invested in mineralization, is a critical microbial functional trait, its global patterns remain poorly quantified. Here, we estimate microbial nitrogen use efficiency (NUE, n = 2012) and phosphorus use efficiency (PUE, n = 3419) across terrestrial ecosystems using the ecoenzymatic stoichiometric approach. Globally, NUE (mean 0.60) is nearly twice as high as PUE (0.35). Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the strongest predictor of both, with higher SOC associated with greater nutrient use efficiency. Spatial upscaling shows that tundra and boreal forest soils have markedly lower NUE than other regions, suggesting high nitrogen investments in nutrient acquisition in cold ecosystems, whereas PUE is similar across biomes, implying pervasively low phosphorus acquisition capacity. Our study identifies potential nutrient cycling hotspots worldwide and offers critical parameters to refine large-scale predictions of soil carbon and nutrient dynamics.
Source: Nature Communications
Institutions: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, University of Göttingen, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla, Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, University of Toledo, University of New Mexico, San Diego State University, Nanning Normal University, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Beijing Forestry University, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Berlin Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research, Freie Universität Berlin
Language: English
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,990
OpenAlex ID: W7138295605