- By:
- Reis, Carla; Perakis, Steven; Cleveland, Cory; Menge, Duncan; Reed, Sasha; Batterman, Sarah; Crews, Timothy; Dynarski, Katherine; Gei, Maga; Gundale, Michael; Jovan, Sarah; Giesbrecht, Sian; Peoples, Mark; Caballero, Emilio; Salmon, Verity G; Soper, Fiona; Staccone, Anika; Taylor, Benton; Weber, Bettina; Wurzburger, Nina
- Journal Name:
- Scientific Data
- Page Number:
- 1362
- Volume:
- 12
- Issue Number:
- 1
- Publication Date:
- August 2025
- View DOI Listing:
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05131-4
Abstract
Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is the main natural source of new nitrogen inputs in terrestrial ecosystems, supporting terrestrial productivity, carbon uptake, and other Earth system processes. We assembled a comprehensive global dataset of field measurements of BNF in all major N-fixing niches across natural terrestrial biomes derived from the analysis of 376 BNF studies. The dataset comprises 32 variables, including site location, biome type, N-fixing niche, sampling year, quantification method, BNF rate (kg N ha−1 y−1), the percentage of nitrogen derived from the atmosphere (%Ndfa), N fixer or N-fixing substrate abundance, BNF rate per unit of N fixer abundance, and species identity. Overall, the dataset combines 1,207 BNF rates for trees, shrubs, herbs, soil, leaf litter, woody litter, dead wood, mosses, lichens, and biocrusts, 152 herb %Ndfa values, 1,005 measurements of N fixer or N-fixing substrate abundance, and 762 BNF rates per unit of N fixer abundance for a total of 424 species across 66 countries. This dataset facilitates synthesis, meta-analysis, upscaling, and model benchmarking of BNF fluxes at multiple spatial scales.
