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A global analysis of soil microbial biomass carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in terrestrial ecosystems
Author(s) -
Xu Xiaofeng,
Thornton Peter E.,
Post Wilfred M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
global ecology and biogeography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.164
H-Index - 152
eISSN - 1466-8238
pISSN - 1466-822X
DOI - 10.1111/geb.12029
Subject(s) - biomass (ecology) , environmental science , soil carbon , biome , soil water , phosphorus , terrestrial ecosystem , agronomy , ecological stoichiometry , ecosystem , nutrient , soil science , environmental chemistry , ecology , chemistry , biology , organic chemistry
Abstract Aim To estimate the concentrations, stoichiometry and storage of soil microbial biomass carbon ( C ), nitrogen ( N ) and phosphorus ( P ) at biome and global scales. Location Global. Method We collected 3422 data points to summarize the concentrations and stoichiometry of C , N and P in soils, soil microbial biomass at global and biome levels, and to estimate the global storage of soil microbial biomass C and N . Results The results show that concentrations of C , N and P in soils and soil microbial biomass vary substantially across biomes; the fractions of soil elements C , N and P in soil microbial biomass are 1.2, 2.6 and 8.0%, respectively. The best estimates of C : N : P stoichiometry for soil elements and soil microbial biomass are 287:17:1 and 42:6:1, respectively, at global scale, and they vary in a wide range among biomes. The vertical distribution of soil microbial biomass follows the distribution of roots up to 1 m depth. Main conclusions The global storage of soil microbial biomass C and N were estimated to be 16.7 Pg C and 2.6 Pg N in the 0–30 cm soil profiles, and 23.2 Pg C and 3.7 Pg N in the 0–100 cm soil profiles. We did not estimate P in soil microbial biomass due to insufficient data and insignificant correlation between soil total P and climate variables used for spatial extrapolation. The spatial patterns of soil microbial biomass C and N were consistent with those of soil organic C and total N , i.e. high density in northern high latitude, and low density in low latitudes and the Southern Hemisphere.