Continental-scale drivers of soil microbial extracellular polymeric substances
Ke Shi; Qing Zheng; Baorong Wang; Lisa Noll; Shasha Zhang; Yuntao Hu; Honghua Ruan; Wolfgang D. Wanek · 2026 · Nature Communications
WASTE classifies this as Negative / Null Result Report · AI classification, approximate
The study found no significant effect — useful as a negative control or null benchmark for your own design.
Abstract
Abstract Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are key microbial residues that contribute to soil organic carbon (SOC) and promote soil aggregation. Yet, their abundance and large-scale controls have only begun to be investigated. We conduct extensive soil sampling across a European transect spanning diverse climates, bedrocks, and land uses. Average soil EPS content is 956 ± 55 µg g -1 soil ( n = 92 sites), with EPS-carbon (EPS-C) contributing 1.6 ± 0.1% to SOC. Bedrock influences EPS content, EPS-C contribution to SOC, and the EPS-C/microbial biomass carbon (MBC) ratio, whereas land use m
Abstract by Ke Shi; Qing Zheng; Baorong Wang; Lisa Noll; Shasha Zhang; Yuntao Hu; Honghua Ruan; Wolfgang D. Wanek, Nature Communications (2026) — licensed CC BY 4.0.
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Metadata source: OpenAlex · DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-70068-0