Bacterial & fungal biomass (fatty acid methyl esters)

Land-use- and climate-mediated variations in soil bacterial and fungal biomass across Europe and their driving factors. These are data accompanying a study that was carried out by a number of researchers from various organizations, including staff from the European Commission Joint Research Centre
Resource Type: 
Datasets
Soil Functions Data
Registration is requested: 
Yes
Year: 
2023

These are data accompanying a study that was carried out by a number of researchers from various organizations, including staff from the European Commission, Joint Research Centre, EU Soil Observatory (EUSO). The study resulted in a peer-reviewed scientific paper published in Geoderma “Land-use- and climate-mediated variations in soil bacterial and fungal biomass across Europe and their driving factors”.


The objectives of this study were (i) quantifying and comparing bacterial (including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and Actinobacteria) and fungal biomass in soils from croplands, grasslands, and forests located across Europe and belonging to three broad climate types: cold, temperate, and arid; (ii) modeling the factors controlling soil bacterial and fungal biomass under contrasting land uses and climates; and (iii) investigating levels of bacterial and fungal biomass in cropland soils cultivated with three important crop types in Europe: cereals, oil-producing crops, and woody orchards. Contents of soil microbial biomass were investigated through the analysis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). Soil and climate data were obtained from the same LUCAS 2018 survey and online databases and were used as predictors of bacterial and fungal biomass. Random forest, regression analyses and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to explore the main drivers of soil microbial biomass.

Bacterial biomass decreased with land use in the following order: grasslands > croplands > forests and was found to be the highest in temperate environments. Similar patterns were found for biomass of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and Actinobacteria. Soil fungal biomass was greater in forests than in croplands and grasslands and was favoured by colder environments. The fungi to bacteria ratio (F/B) decreased as follows: forests > croplands > grasslands, with soils in colder climates showing greater F/B ratios in croplands and forests. Soil texture, soil organic carbon, and nitrogen were shown to directly drive bacterial and fungal biomass. The biomass of the different microbial groups was not influenced by the crop type when only croplands were considered. Fungi were shown to be more susceptible to agricultural soil use than bacteria.

Title:   Land-use- and climate-mediated variations in soil bacterial and fungal biomass across Europe and their driving factors (based on LUCAS 2018)

Description: Data include measurements of soil FAME (fatty acid methyl esters) contents for bacteria and fungi. Data provide in Excel table.

Spatial coverage: EU
Format: Excel file & GIS (as the excel includes co-ordinates) - Source: LUCAS 2018 survey;  513 points
Measurement Unit: nmol FAME (fatty acid methyl esters) g-1 soil.
Temporal coverage: 2018

 

Reference: Siles, J.A., Vera, A., Díaz-López, M., García, C., van den Hoogen, J., Crowther, T.W., Eisenhauer, N., Guerra, C., Jones, A., Orgiazzi, A., Delgado-Baquerizo, M., Bastida, F., 2023. Land-use- and climate-mediated variations in soil bacterial and fungal biomass across Europe and their driving factors. Geoderma 434, 116474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2023.116474

 

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  1. The data provided has been prepared for use by internal research activities in the Joint Research Centre (JRC) Ispra in collaboration with the members of the EU Soil Observatory working group on soil biodiversity.
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Reference of source (Citations) :

Siles, J.A., Vera, A., Díaz-López, M., García, C., van den Hoogen, J., Crowther, T.W., Eisenhauer, N., Guerra, C., Jones, A., Orgiazzi, A., Delgado-Baquerizo, M., Bastida, F., 2023. Land-use- and climate-mediated variations in soil bacterial and fungal biomass across Europe and their driving factors. Geoderma 434, 116474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2023.116474

When making reference to the ESDAC

  • Panagos, P., Van Liedekerke, M., Borrelli, P., Köninger, J., Ballabio, C., Orgiazzi, A., Lugato, E., Liakos, L., Hervas, J., Jones, A.  Montanarella, L. 2022. European Soil Data Centre 2.0: Soil data and knowledge in support of the EU policies. European Journal of Soil Science, 73(6), e13315. DOI: 10.1111/ejss.13315
  • Panagos P., Van Liedekerke M., Jones A., Montanarella L., “European Soil Data Centre: Response to European policy support and public data requirements”; (2012) Land Use Policy, 29 (2), pp. 329-338. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2011.07.003
  • European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC), esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu, European Commission, Joint Research Centre