A global dataset of terrestrial biological nitrogen fixation

Carla R. Reis Ely; Steven Perakis; Cory C. Cleveland; Duncan Menge; Sasha Reed; Sarah A. Batterman; Timothy E. Crews; Katherine A Dynarski; Maga G. Gei; Michael J. Gundale; Sarah E. Jovan; Sian Kou-Giesbrecht; Mark B. Peoples; Emilio Rodriguez-Caballero; Verity G. Salmon; Fiona M. Soper; Anika P. Staccone; Benton Taylor; Bettina Weber; Nina Wurzburger

doi:10.1038/s41597-025-05131-4

A global dataset of terrestrial biological nitrogen fixation

Scientific Data

By: Carla R. Reis Ely, Steven Perakis, Cory C. Cleveland, Duncan Menge, Sasha Reed, Sarah A. Batterman, Timothy E. Crews, Katherine A Dynarski, Maga G. Gei, Michael J. Gundale, Sarah E. Jovan, Sian Kou-Giesbrecht, Mark B. Peoples, Emilio Rodriguez-Caballero, Verity G. Salmon, Fiona M. Soper, Anika P. Staccone, Benton Taylor, Bettina Weber, and Nina Wurzburger

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05131-4

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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 (%N_dfa), 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 %N_dfa 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.

Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	A global dataset of terrestrial biological nitrogen fixation
Series title	Scientific Data
DOI	10.1038/s41597-025-05131-4
Volume	12
Publication Date	August 05, 2025
Year Published	2025
Language	English
Publisher	Nature
Contributing office(s)	Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center
Description	1362, 10 p.