Does long-term soil warming affect microbial element limitation? A test by short-term assays of microbial growth responses to labile C, N and P additions

Increasing global temperatures have been reported to accelerate soil carbon (C) cycling but also to promote nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems. However, warming can differentially affect ecosystem C, N and P dynamics, potentially intensifying elemental imbalances between soil resources, plants and soil microorganisms. Here we investigated the effect of long-term soil warming on microbial resource limitation, based on measurements of microbial growth (18O incorporation into DNA) and respiration after C, N and P amendments. Soil samples were taken from two soil depths (0–10, 10–20 cm) in control and warmed (>14 yrs warming, +4°C) plots in the Achenkirch soil warming experiment. Soils were amended with combinations of glucose-C, inorganic/organic N and inorganic/organic P in a full factorial design, followed by incubation at their respective mean field temperatures for 24 hours. Soil microbes were generally C-limited, exhibiting 1.8-fold to 8.8-fold incre..., Please refer to the accompanying README file and the published paper: Shi, C., Malo, C., Tian, Y., Heinzle, J., Kengdo, S. K., Inselsbacher, E., Borken, W., Schindlbacher, A., & Wanek, W. (2023). Does long-term soil warming affect microbial element limitation? A test by short-term assays of microbial growth responses to labile C, N and P additions. Global Change Biology. Accepted., Excel