Chunkai Li, Youzhi Feng, Tadeo Sáez‐Sandino, Chao Xiong, David J. Eldridge, Nicolas Gross, Yoann Le Bagousse‐Pinguet, Victoria Ochoa, Beatriz Gozalo, Emilio Guirado, Guiyao Zhou, Miguel García‐Gómez, Enrique Valencia, Miguel Berdugo, Sergio Asensio, Jaime Martínez‐Valderrama, Betty J. Mendoza, Asmeret A. Berhe, Nick A. Cutler, Sebastian Abades, Julio M. Alcántara, Fernando Alfaro, Antonio I. Arroyo, Matthew D. Barrett, Felipe Bastida, Niels Blaum, Bazartseren Boldgiv, Matthew Bowker, Cristina Branquinho, Stephen C. Hart, Balázs Déak, Jorge Durán, Carlos Iván Espinosa, Alex Fajardo, Lauchlan H. Fraser, Antonio Gallardo, Laura García‐Velázquez, Katja Geißler, Tine Grebenc, Elizabeth Gusman Moltanvan, Liana Kindermann, Melanie Köbel, Lauri Laanisto, Peter C. le Roux, Pierre Liancourt, Jinsong Liang, Anja Linstädter, Michelle A. Louw, Petr Macek, Gillian Maggs‐Kölling, Thulani P. Makhalanyane, Antonio J. Manzaneda, Eugène Marais, Daniel Montesinos, Juan P. Mora, Gerardo Moreno, Miriam Muñoz‐Rojas, Amir Mussery, Tina Unuk Nahberger, Girish Nair, Sigrid Neuhauser, César Plaza, Yolanda Pueyo, Pedro J. Rey, Ana Rey, Asunción de los Rı́os, Alexandra Rodríguez, Borja Rodríguez‐Lozano, Raúl Román, Jan C. Ruppert, Ayman Salah, Joana Serôdio, José A. Siles, Jay Prakash Singh, Samantha K. Travers, Sainbileg Undrakhbold, Orsolya Valkó, María Vivas, Lixin Wang, Mark A. Williams, Eli Zaady, Fernando T. Maestre, Brajesh K. Singh, Manuel Delgado‐Baquerizo
Aridity alters soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry, yet the implications of these processes for soil microbial functional traits and potentials at the genomic level remain poorly synthesized. Here we combine measurements of soil C, N and P pools and ratios with shotgun metagenomes from 200 natural ecosystems spanning major biomes worldwide. Across sites, increased aridity is associated with lower soil C:N and N:P (and C:P) ratios and with a coordinated shift in microbial functional potential. Genes linked to catabolic resource acquisition-including carbohydrate-active enzymes and pathways for degradation of plant litter and organophosphorus compounds-are declined as C becomes relatively scarce. In contrast, genes supporting anabolic investment in growth and drought resistance, such as RNA transcription, protein synthesis and intracellular transport, are increased. These patterns indicate that aridity-related change in soil elemental ratios is coupled to a broad shift from catabolic to anabolic strategies in soil microbiomes. By linking soil elemental ratios to microbial functional traits across biomes, our study provides a framework for anticipating how climate-driven drying may reorganize microbial metabolism with consequences for carbon and nutrient cycling.