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A global database of soil microbial phospholipid fatty acids and enzyme activities

Laura G. van Galen·Gabriel Reuben Smith·Andrew J. Margenot·Mark P. Waldrop·Thomas W. Crowther·Kabir G. Peay·Robert B. Jackson·Kailiang Yu·Anna Abrahão·Talaat A. Ahmed·Sten Anslan·Mark A. Anthony·Ademir Sergio Ferreira Araujo·Judith Ascher-Jenull·Elizabeth M. Bach·Mohammad Bahram·Christopher C.M. Baker·Petr Baldrian·Richard D. Bardgett·M. Noelia Barrios-Garcia·Felipe Bastida·Francesca Beggi·Liane G. Benning·Luca Bragazza·Arth A.D. Broadbent·Concha Cano-Díaz·Anna M. Cates·Carlos E.P. Cerri·Simone Cesarz·Baodong Chen·Amy T. Classen·Mathilde Borg Dahl·Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo·Nico Eisenhauer·Svetlana Evgrafova·Nicolas Fanin·Flavio Fornasier·Romeu Francisco·Andre L.C. Franco·Serita D. Frey·Hannu Fritze·Carlos García·Pablo García-Palacios·Maria Gómez-Brandón·Marina Gonzalez-Polo·Beatriz Gozalo·Robert Griffiths·Carlos Guerra·Moritz Hallama·Inga Hiiesalu·Hossain·Yajun Hu·Heribert Insam·Vincent E.J. Jassey·Lili Jiang·Ellen Kandeler·Petr Kohout·Urmas Kõljalg·Valentyna Krashevska·Xiaofei Li·Jing-Zhong Lu·Xiankai Lu·Shan Luo·Stefanie Lutz·Kathleen Allison Mackie-Haas·Fernanado T. Maestre·Minna Malmivaara-Lämsä·Kai Mangelsdorf·Maria Manjarrez·Sven Marhan·Ashley Martin·Kelly E. Mason·Jordan Mayor·Rebecca L. McCulley·Mari Moora·Paula V. Morais·Miriam Muñoz-Rojas·Rajasekaran Murugan·Andrew T. Nottingham·Victoria Ochoa·Raul Ochoa-Hueso·Jane Oja·Pål Axel Olsson·Maarja Öpik·Nick Ostle·Krista Peltoniemi·Taina Pennanen·David S. Pescador·G. Kenny Png·Christian Poll·Sergei Põlme·Anton M. Potapov·Anders Priemé·William Pritchard·Jeremy Puissant·Sandra Mara Barbosa Rocha·Christoph Rosinger·Liliane Ruess·Emma J. Sayer·Stefan Scheu
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Abstract

Soil microbes drive ecosystem function and play a critical role in how ecosystems respond to global change. Research surrounding soil microbial communities has rapidly increased in recent decades, and substantial data relating to phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and potential enzyme activity have been collected and analysed. However, studies have mostly been restricted to local and regional scales, and their accuracy and usefulness are limited by the extent of accessible data. Here we aim to improve data availability by collating a global database of soil PLFA and potential enzyme activity measurements from 12,258 georeferenced samples located across all continents, 5.1% of which have not previously been published. The database contains data relating to 113 PLFAs and 26 enzyme activities, and includes metadata such as sampling date, sample depth, and soil pH, total carbon, and total nitrogen. This database will help researchers in conducting both global- and local-scale studies to better understand soil microbial biomass and function.

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Laura G. van Galen, Gabriel Reuben Smith, Andrew J. Margenot, Mark P. Waldrop, Thomas W. Crowther, Kabir G. Peay, Robert B. Jackson, Kailiang Yu, Anna Abrahão, Talaat A. Ahmed, Sten Anslan, Mark A. Anthony, Ademir Sergio Ferreira Araujo, Judith Ascher-Jenull, Elizabeth M. Bach, Mohammad Bahram, Christopher C.M. Baker, Petr Baldrian, Richard D. Bardgett, M. Noelia Barrios-Garcia, Felipe Bastida, Francesca Beggi, Liane G. Benning, Luca Bragazza, Arth A.D. Broadbent, Concha Cano-Díaz, Anna M. Cates, Carlos E.P. Cerri, Simone Cesarz, Baodong Chen, Amy T. Classen, Mathilde Borg Dahl, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Nico Eisenhauer, Svetlana Evgrafova, Nicolas Fanin, Flavio Fornasier, Romeu Francisco, Andre L.C. Franco, Serita D. Frey, Hannu Fritze, Carlos García, Pablo García-Palacios, Maria Gómez-Brandón, Marina Gonzalez-Polo, Beatriz Gozalo, Robert Griffiths, Carlos Guerra, Moritz Hallama, Inga Hiiesalu, Hossain, Yajun Hu, Heribert Insam, Vincent E.J. Jassey, Lili Jiang, Ellen Kandeler, Petr Kohout, Urmas Kõljalg, Valentyna Krashevska, Xiaofei Li, Jing-Zhong Lu, Xiankai Lu, Shan Luo, Stefanie Lutz, Kathleen Allison Mackie-Haas, Fernanado T. Maestre, Minna Malmivaara-Lämsä, Kai Mangelsdorf, Maria Manjarrez, Sven Marhan, Ashley Martin, Kelly E. Mason, Jordan Mayor, Rebecca L. McCulley, Mari Moora, Paula V. Morais, Miriam Muñoz-Rojas, Rajasekaran Murugan, Andrew T. Nottingham, Victoria Ochoa, Raul Ochoa-Hueso, Jane Oja, Pål Axel Olsson, Maarja Öpik, Nick Ostle, Krista Peltoniemi, Taina Pennanen, David S. Pescador, G. Kenny Png, Christian Poll, Sergei Põlme, Anton M. Potapov, Anders Priemé, William Pritchard, Jeremy Puissant, Sandra Mara Barbosa Rocha, Christoph Rosinger, Liliane Ruess, Emma J. Sayer, Stefan Scheu. 2025-09-26. A global database of soil microbial phospholipid fatty acids and enzyme activities. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05759-2

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