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; Juha M. Alatalo; 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; Arthur A. D. Broadbent; Concha Cano-Díaz; Anna M. Cates; Carlos E. P. Cerri; Simone Cesarz; Baodong Chen; Aimeé T. Classen; Mathilde Borg Dahl; Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo; Nico Eisenhauer; Svetlana Yu. Evgrafova; Nicolas Fanin; Flavio Fornasier; Romeu Francisco; André L. C. Franco; Serita D. Frey; Hannu Fritze; Carlos García; Pablo García-Palacios; María Gómez-Brandón; Marina Gonzalez-Polo; Beatriz Gozalo; Robert Griffiths; Carlos Guerra; Moritz Hallama; Inga Hiiesalu; Mohammad Zabed 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; Fernando 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; Raúl 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; Robert L. Sinsabaugh; Lindsey C. Slaughter; Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia; José Paulo Sousa; Lee Stanish; Shu-ichi Sugiyama; Leho Tedersoo; Pankaj Trivedi; Tanel Vahter; Jana Voriskova; Dirk Wagner; Cong Wang; David A. Wardle; Jeanette Whitaker; Yuanhe Yang; Zhiwei Zhong; Kai Zhu; Lori A. Ziolkowski; Martin Zobel; Johan van den Hoogen

doi:10.1038/s41597-025-05759-2

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, Juha M. Alatalo, 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. BardgettM. Noelia Barrios-Garcia, Felipe Bastida, Francesca Beggi, Liane G. Benning, Luca Bragazza, Arthur A. D. Broadbent, Concha Cano-Díaz, Anna M. Cates, Carlos E. P. Cerri, Simone Cesarz, Baodong Chen, Aimeé T. Classen, Mathilde Borg Dahl, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Nico Eisenhauer, Svetlana Yu. Evgrafova, Nicolas Fanin, Flavio Fornasier, Romeu Francisco, André L. C. Franco, Serita D. Frey, Hannu Fritze, Carlos García, Pablo García-Palacios, María Gómez-Brandón, Marina Gonzalez-Polo, Beatriz Gozalo, Robert Griffiths, Carlos Guerra, Moritz Hallama, Inga Hiiesalu, Mohammad Zabed 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, Fernando 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, Raúl 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, Robert L. Sinsabaugh, Lindsey C. Slaughter, Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia, José Paulo Sousa, Lee Stanish, Shu-ichi Sugiyama, Leho Tedersoo, Pankaj Trivedi, Tanel Vahter, Jana Voriskova, Dirk Wagner, Cong Wang, David A. Wardle, Jeanette Whitaker, Yuanhe Yang, Zhiwei Zhong, Kai Zhu, Lori A. Ziolkowski, Martin Zobel, Johan van den Hoogen

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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.

Original language	English
Article number	1568
Journal	Scientific data
Volume	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05759-2
Publication status	Published - 26 Sept 2025

Keywords

Databases, Factual
Ecosystem
Enzymes
Fatty Acids
Phospholipids
Soil
Soil Microbiology

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van Galen, L. G., Smith, G. R., Margenot, A. J., Waldrop, M. P., Crowther, T. W., Peay, K. G., Jackson, R. B., Yu, K., Abrahão, A., Ahmed, T. A., Alatalo, J. M., Anslan, S., Anthony, M. A., Araujo, A. S. F., Ascher-Jenull, J., Bach, E. M., Bahram, M., Baker, C. C. M., Baldrian, P., ... van den Hoogen, J. (2025). A global database of soil microbial phospholipid fatty acids and enzyme activities. Scientific data, 12, Article 1568 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05759-2

@article{ff5e5aad0ee2465bb0f530361ecca324,

title = "A global database of soil microbial phospholipid fatty acids and enzyme activities",

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.",

keywords = "Databases, Factual, Ecosystem, Enzymes, Fatty Acids, Phospholipids, Soil, Soil Microbiology",

author = "\{van Galen\}, \{Laura G.\} and Smith, \{Gabriel Reuben\} and Margenot, \{Andrew J.\} and Waldrop, \{Mark P.\} and Crowther, \{Thomas W.\} and Peay, \{Kabir G.\} and Jackson, \{Robert B.\} and Kailiang Yu and Anna Abrah{\~a}o and Ahmed, \{Talaat A.\} and Alatalo, \{Juha M.\} and Sten Anslan and Anthony, \{Mark A.\} and Araujo, \{Ademir Sergio Ferreira\} and Judith Ascher-Jenull and Bach, \{Elizabeth M.\} and Mohammad Bahram and Baker, \{Christopher C. M.\} and Petr Baldrian and Bardgett, \{Richard D.\} and Barrios-Garcia, \{M. Noelia\} and Felipe Bastida and Francesca Beggi and Benning, \{Liane G.\} and Luca Bragazza and Broadbent, \{Arthur A. D.\} and Concha Cano-D{\'i}az and Cates, \{Anna M.\} and Cerri, \{Carlos E. P.\} and Simone Cesarz and Baodong Chen and Classen, \{Aime{\'e} T.\} and Dahl, \{Mathilde Borg\} and Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo and Nico Eisenhauer and Evgrafova, \{Svetlana Yu.\} and Nicolas Fanin and Flavio Fornasier and Romeu Francisco and Franco, \{Andr{\'e} L. C.\} and Frey, \{Serita D.\} and Hannu Fritze and Carlos Garc{\'i}a and Pablo Garc{\'i}a-Palacios and Mar{\'i}a G{\'o}mez-Brand{\'o}n and Marina Gonzalez-Polo and Beatriz Gozalo and Robert Griffiths and Carlos Guerra and Moritz Hallama and Inga Hiiesalu and Hossain, \{Mohammad Zabed\} and Yajun Hu and Heribert Insam and Jassey, \{Vincent E. J.\} and Lili Jiang and Ellen Kandeler and Petr Kohout and Urmas K{\~o}ljalg and Valentyna Krashevska and Xiaofei Li and Jing-Zhong Lu and Xiankai Lu and Shan Luo and Stefanie Lutz and Mackie-Haas, \{Kathleen Allison\} and Maestre, \{Fernando T.\} and Minna Malmivaara-L{\"a}ms{\"a} and Kai Mangelsdorf and Maria Manjarrez and Sven Marhan and Ashley Martin and Mason, \{Kelly E.\} and Jordan Mayor and McCulley, \{Rebecca L.\} and Mari Moora and Morais, \{Paula V.\} and Miriam Mu{\~n}oz-Rojas and Rajasekaran Murugan and Nottingham, \{Andrew T.\} and Victoria Ochoa and Ra{\'u}l Ochoa-Hueso and Jane Oja and Olsson, \{P{\aa}l Axel\} and Maarja {\"O}pik and Nick Ostle and Krista Peltoniemi and Taina Pennanen and Pescador, \{David S.\} and Png, \{G. Kenny\} and Christian Poll and Sergei P{\~o}lme and Potapov, \{Anton M.\} and Anders Priem{\'e} and William Pritchard and Jeremy Puissant and Rocha, \{Sandra Mara Barbosa\} and Christoph Rosinger and Liliane Ruess and Sayer, \{Emma J.\} and Stefan Scheu and Sinsabaugh, \{Robert L.\} and Slaughter, \{Lindsey C.\} and Soudzilovskaia, \{Nadejda A.\} and Sousa, \{Jos{\'e} Paulo\} and Lee Stanish and Shu-ichi Sugiyama and Leho Tedersoo and Pankaj Trivedi and Tanel Vahter and Jana Voriskova and Dirk Wagner and Cong Wang and Wardle, \{David A.\} and Jeanette Whitaker and Yuanhe Yang and Zhiwei Zhong and Kai Zhu and Ziolkowski, \{Lori A.\} and Martin Zobel and \{van den Hoogen\}, Johan",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2025. The Author(s).",

year = "2025",

month = sep,

day = "26",

doi = "10.1038/s41597-025-05759-2",

language = "English",

volume = "12",

journal = "Scientific data",

issn = "2052-4463",

publisher = "Nature Research",

}

van Galen, LG, Smith, GR, Margenot, AJ, Waldrop, MP, Crowther, TW, Peay, KG, Jackson, RB, Yu, K, Abrahão, A, Ahmed, TA, Alatalo, JM, Anslan, S, Anthony, MA, Araujo, ASF, Ascher-Jenull, J, Bach, EM, Bahram, M, Baker, CCM, Baldrian, P, Bardgett, RD, Barrios-Garcia, MN, Bastida, F, Beggi, F, Benning, LG, Bragazza, L, Broadbent, AAD, Cano-Díaz, C, Cates, AM, Cerri, CEP, Cesarz, S, Chen, B, Classen, AT, Dahl, MB, Delgado-Baquerizo, M, Eisenhauer, N, Evgrafova, SY, Fanin, N, Fornasier, F, Francisco, R, Franco, ALC, Frey, SD, Fritze, H, García, C, García-Palacios, P, Gómez-Brandón, M, Gonzalez-Polo, M, Gozalo, B, Griffiths, R, Guerra, C, Hallama, M, Hiiesalu, I, Hossain, MZ, Hu, Y, Insam, H, Jassey, VEJ, Jiang, L, Kandeler, E, Kohout, P, Kõljalg, U, Krashevska, V, Li, X, Lu, J-Z, Lu, X, Luo, S, Lutz, S, Mackie-Haas, KA, Maestre, FT, Malmivaara-Lämsä, M, Mangelsdorf, K, Manjarrez, M, Marhan, S, Martin, A, Mason, KE, Mayor, J, McCulley, RL, Moora, M, Morais, PV, Muñoz-Rojas, M, Murugan, R, Nottingham, AT, Ochoa, V, Ochoa-Hueso, R, Oja, J, Olsson, PA, Öpik, M, Ostle, N, Peltoniemi, K, Pennanen, T, Pescador, DS, Png, GK, Poll, C, Põlme, S, Potapov, AM, Priemé, A, Pritchard, W, Puissant, J, Rocha, SMB, Rosinger, C, Ruess, L, Sayer, EJ, Scheu, S, Sinsabaugh, RL, Slaughter, LC, Soudzilovskaia, NA, Sousa, JP, Stanish, L, Sugiyama, S, Tedersoo, L, Trivedi, P, Vahter, T, Voriskova, J, Wagner, D, Wang, C, Wardle, DA, Whitaker, J, Yang, Y, Zhong, Z, Zhu, K, Ziolkowski, LA, Zobel, M & van den Hoogen, J 2025, 'A global database of soil microbial phospholipid fatty acids and enzyme activities', Scientific data, vol. 12, 1568 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05759-2

TY - JOUR

T1 - A global database of soil microbial phospholipid fatty acids and enzyme activities

AU - van Galen, Laura G.

AU - Smith, Gabriel Reuben

AU - Margenot, Andrew J.

AU - Waldrop, Mark P.

AU - Crowther, Thomas W.

AU - Peay, Kabir G.

AU - Jackson, Robert B.

AU - Yu, Kailiang

AU - Abrahão, Anna

AU - Ahmed, Talaat A.

AU - Alatalo, Juha M.

AU - Anslan, Sten

AU - Anthony, Mark A.

AU - Araujo, Ademir Sergio Ferreira

AU - Ascher-Jenull, Judith

AU - Bach, Elizabeth M.

AU - Bahram, Mohammad

AU - Baker, Christopher C. M.

AU - Baldrian, Petr

AU - Bardgett, Richard D.

AU - Barrios-Garcia, M. Noelia

AU - Bastida, Felipe

AU - Beggi, Francesca

AU - Benning, Liane G.

AU - Bragazza, Luca

AU - Broadbent, Arthur A. D.

AU - Cano-Díaz, Concha

AU - Cates, Anna M.

AU - Cerri, Carlos E. P.

AU - Cesarz, Simone

AU - Chen, Baodong

AU - Classen, Aimeé T.

AU - Dahl, Mathilde Borg

AU - Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel

AU - Eisenhauer, Nico

AU - Evgrafova, Svetlana Yu.

AU - Fanin, Nicolas

AU - Fornasier, Flavio

AU - Francisco, Romeu

AU - Franco, André L. C.

AU - Frey, Serita D.

AU - Fritze, Hannu

AU - García, Carlos

AU - García-Palacios, Pablo

AU - Gómez-Brandón, María

AU - Gonzalez-Polo, Marina

AU - Gozalo, Beatriz

AU - Griffiths, Robert

AU - Guerra, Carlos

AU - Hallama, Moritz

AU - Hiiesalu, Inga

AU - Hossain, Mohammad Zabed

AU - Hu, Yajun

AU - Insam, Heribert

AU - Jassey, Vincent E. J.

AU - Jiang, Lili

AU - Kandeler, Ellen

AU - Kohout, Petr

AU - Kõljalg, Urmas

AU - Krashevska, Valentyna

AU - Li, Xiaofei

AU - Lu, Jing-Zhong

AU - Lu, Xiankai

AU - Luo, Shan

AU - Lutz, Stefanie

AU - Mackie-Haas, Kathleen Allison

AU - Maestre, Fernando T.

AU - Malmivaara-Lämsä, Minna

AU - Mangelsdorf, Kai

AU - Manjarrez, Maria

AU - Marhan, Sven

AU - Martin, Ashley

AU - Mason, Kelly E.

AU - Mayor, Jordan

AU - McCulley, Rebecca L.

AU - Moora, Mari

AU - Morais, Paula V.

AU - Muñoz-Rojas, Miriam

AU - Murugan, Rajasekaran

AU - Nottingham, Andrew T.

AU - Ochoa, Victoria

AU - Ochoa-Hueso, Raúl

AU - Oja, Jane

AU - Olsson, Pål Axel

AU - Öpik, Maarja

AU - Ostle, Nick

AU - Peltoniemi, Krista

AU - Pennanen, Taina

AU - Pescador, David S.

AU - Png, G. Kenny

AU - Poll, Christian

AU - Põlme, Sergei

AU - Potapov, Anton M.

AU - Priemé, Anders

AU - Pritchard, William

AU - Puissant, Jeremy

AU - Rocha, Sandra Mara Barbosa

AU - Rosinger, Christoph

AU - Ruess, Liliane

AU - Sayer, Emma J.

AU - Scheu, Stefan

AU - Sinsabaugh, Robert L.

AU - Slaughter, Lindsey C.

AU - Soudzilovskaia, Nadejda A.

AU - Sousa, José Paulo

AU - Stanish, Lee

AU - Sugiyama, Shu-ichi

AU - Tedersoo, Leho

AU - Trivedi, Pankaj

AU - Vahter, Tanel

AU - Voriskova, Jana

AU - Wagner, Dirk

AU - Wang, Cong

AU - Wardle, David A.

AU - Whitaker, Jeanette

AU - Yang, Yuanhe

AU - Zhong, Zhiwei

AU - Zhu, Kai

AU - Ziolkowski, Lori A.

AU - Zobel, Martin

AU - van den Hoogen, Johan

PY - 2025/9/26

Y1 - 2025/9/26

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - Databases, Factual

KW - Ecosystem

KW - Enzymes

KW - Fatty Acids

KW - Phospholipids

KW - Soil

KW - Soil Microbiology

U2 - 10.1038/s41597-025-05759-2

DO - 10.1038/s41597-025-05759-2

M3 - Article

C2 - 41006295

SN - 2052-4463

VL - 12

JO - Scientific data

JF - Scientific data

M1 - 1568

ER -

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

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Keywords

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