Convergence of microbial assimilations of soil carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur in terrestrial ecosystems
Abstract
How soil microbes assimilate carbon-C, nitrogen-N, phosphorus-P, and sulfur-S is fundamental for understanding nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. We compiled a global database of C, N, P, and S concentrations in soils and microbes and developed relationships between them by using a power function model. The C:N:P:S was estimated to be 287:17:1:0.8 for soils, and 42:6:1:0.4 for microbes. We found a convergence of the relationships between elements in soils and in soil microbial biomass across C, N, P, and S. The element concentrations in soil microbial biomass follow a homeostatic regulation curve with soil element concentrations across C, N, P and S, implying a unifying mechanism of microbial assimilating soil elements. This correlation explains the well-constrained C:N:P:S stoichiometry with a slightly larger variation in soils than in microbial biomass. Meanwhile, it is estimated that the minimum requirements of soil elements for soil microbes are 0.8 mmol C Kg–1 dry soil, 0.1 mmol N Kg–1 dry soil, 0.1 mmol P Kg–1 dry soil, and 0.1 mmol S Kg–1 dry soil, respectively. Lastly, these findings provide a mathematical explanation of element imbalance in soils and soil microbial biomass, and offer insights for incorporating microbial contribution to nutrient cycling into Earth system models.
- Authors:
-
- Univ. of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); San Diego State Univ., San Diego, CA (United States)
- Middle Tennessee State Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Univ. of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing (China)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1241459
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Scientific Reports
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 5; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 2045-2322
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; biogeochemistry; ecosystem ecology
Citation Formats
Xu, Xiaofeng, Hui, Dafeng, King, Anthony Wayne, Song, Xia, Thornton, Peter E., and Zhang, Lihua. Convergence of microbial assimilations of soil carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur in terrestrial ecosystems. United States: N. p., 2015.
Web. doi:10.1038/srep17445.
Xu, Xiaofeng, Hui, Dafeng, King, Anthony Wayne, Song, Xia, Thornton, Peter E., & Zhang, Lihua. Convergence of microbial assimilations of soil carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur in terrestrial ecosystems. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep17445
Xu, Xiaofeng, Hui, Dafeng, King, Anthony Wayne, Song, Xia, Thornton, Peter E., and Zhang, Lihua. Fri .
"Convergence of microbial assimilations of soil carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur in terrestrial ecosystems". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep17445. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1241459.
@article{osti_1241459,
title = {Convergence of microbial assimilations of soil carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur in terrestrial ecosystems},
author = {Xu, Xiaofeng and Hui, Dafeng and King, Anthony Wayne and Song, Xia and Thornton, Peter E. and Zhang, Lihua},
abstractNote = {How soil microbes assimilate carbon-C, nitrogen-N, phosphorus-P, and sulfur-S is fundamental for understanding nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. We compiled a global database of C, N, P, and S concentrations in soils and microbes and developed relationships between them by using a power function model. The C:N:P:S was estimated to be 287:17:1:0.8 for soils, and 42:6:1:0.4 for microbes. We found a convergence of the relationships between elements in soils and in soil microbial biomass across C, N, P, and S. The element concentrations in soil microbial biomass follow a homeostatic regulation curve with soil element concentrations across C, N, P and S, implying a unifying mechanism of microbial assimilating soil elements. This correlation explains the well-constrained C:N:P:S stoichiometry with a slightly larger variation in soils than in microbial biomass. Meanwhile, it is estimated that the minimum requirements of soil elements for soil microbes are 0.8 mmol C Kg–1 dry soil, 0.1 mmol N Kg–1 dry soil, 0.1 mmol P Kg–1 dry soil, and 0.1 mmol S Kg–1 dry soil, respectively. Lastly, these findings provide a mathematical explanation of element imbalance in soils and soil microbial biomass, and offer insights for incorporating microbial contribution to nutrient cycling into Earth system models.},
doi = {10.1038/srep17445},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
number = 3,
volume = 5,
place = {United States},
year = {2015},
month = {11}
}
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