Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41519895›Full record

SynthesisNature communications2026

Global nitrogen enrichment impacts plant diversity more than soil bacterial and fungal diversity: a meta-analysis.

Yu Song, Weibo Kong, Xiaorong Wei, Peter B Reich, Liping Qiu, Josep Peñuelas, Leho Tedersoo, Mohammad Bahram, James M Bullock, Roland Bobbink and 12 more

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

22 authors.

Yu Song *State Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
Weibo Kong *State Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
Xiaorong Wei *State Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China. weixr@nwafu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0359-0339
Peter B ReichDepartment of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA. preich@umich.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4424-662X
Liping QiuState Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
Josep PeñuelasCSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7215-0150
Leho TedersooMycology and Microbiology Center, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1635-1249
Mohammad BahramDepartment of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Slagelse, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9539-3307
James M BullockUK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0529-4020
Roland BobbinkB-WARE Research Centre, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1994-6085
Wim de VriesEarth Systems and Global Change Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9974-0612
Xiaoxu JiaState Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
Xiang WangCollege of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
Xiaomei GouState Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
Wei LiState Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
Yaxian HuState Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
Tongchuan LiState Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4669-5023
Zhikun ChenXi'an Botanical Garden, Xi'an, China.
Zekun ZhongState Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
Jintao JiaoState Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
Mingan ShaoState Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
Gehong WeiState Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 42277349National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) U24A20631
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Anthropogenic nitrogen enrichment has significant effects on plant and soil biodiversity across local to global scales, yet how the nitrogen-induced changes in plant diversity differ from those in soil organisms across multiple ecosystems and climatic conditions remains virtually unknown. By synthesizing plant and soil studies globally (3,816 paired observations from 458 articles), we demonstrate that nitrogen enrichment has stronger negative effects on plant diversity but surprisingly modest to negligible effects on soil bacterial and fungal diversity. On average, nitrogen enrichment results in 8.3% and 10.3% reductions in species richness and Shannon index for plants. In contrast, it leads to 1.9% and 0.2% reductions for soil bacteria and <0.4% changes for soil fungi, respectively. The nitrogen-induced soil acidification modulates soil biodiversity change and, in conjunction with aboveground biomass, regulates plant biodiversity change. Our findings provide a perspective on the differential impacts of global nitrogen enrichment on above- and below-ground biodiversity, highlighting the need for integrated biodiversity conservation strategies.

Indexed as

BacteriaBiodiversityFungiNitrogenPlantsSoilSoil MicrobiologyBiomassEcosystemNitrogenSoil

Identifiers

PMID41519895
PMCPMC12847881

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.