Global Topsoil Fungal and Bacterial Carbon Biomass Across 11 Biomes

1,323 synthesized data points detail fungal biomass carbon, bacterial biomass carbon, and their ratio in topsoil across 11 major biomes. The dataset, produced by Liyuan He from San Diego State University, includes global stock estimates of 12.6 Pg C in fungal biomass and 4.3 Pg C in bacterial biomass for the top 30 cm of soil. It was used to create global maps of these microbial components, serving as a benchmark for climate feedback models.

Use Cases

• Model global soil carbon cycling based on fungal and bacterial biomass estimates
• Analyze microbial community patterns across latitudinal and environmental gradients like temperature and precipitation
• Benchmark and validate earth system models that include explicit microbial data
• Estimate regional carbon stocks in soil microbial biomass for different biomes

Strengths

• Synthesizes 1,323 data points with confidence intervals, providing a substantial empirical foundation
• Covers 11 major biomes globally, enabling broad comparative analysis
• Includes explicit stock estimates (e.g., 12.6 Pg C in fungal biomass) derived from an empirical model and global soil data

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific modeling needs
• Data may reflect geographic or source bias inherent to the synthesis of existing studies from paperswithcode

Provenance

Source

San Diego State University

Collection Method

Synthesis of 1,323 combinations of phospholipid fatty acid-derived measurements from existing studies.

Geography

Global, spanning 11 major biomes.