Friday, November 6, 2026
Science

Climate shapes microbial nitrogen pump in forests, not in farmlands

Microbes build a long-lived nitrogen reservoir in soil from the remains of dead bacteria and fungi, which cling to minerals and resist decay. The microbial nitrogen pump turns nitrogen taken up by living microbes into this persistent pool, and microbial nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) has long been as...

Climate shapes microbial nitrogen pump in forests, not in farmlands
Image: Phys.org
Microbes build a long-lived nitrogen reservoir in soil from the remains of dead bacteria and fungi, which cling to minerals and resist decay. The microbial nitrogen pump turns nitrogen taken up by living microbes into this persistent pool, and microbial nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) has long been assumed to regulate this process.

Originally published at Phys.org

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