DOI: 10.5061/dryad.r4xgxd2rp
title: Data from: Eco–enzymatic stoichiometry unveils resource limitations in soil microorganisms during subtropical vegetation restoration

description: Eco–enzymatic stoichiometry provides insights into how soil microorganisms
 allocate resources to meet their energy and nutrient needs. Subtropical
 ecosystems are known to be strongly resource-limited, particularly for
 phosphorus (P) limitation. Vegetation restoration usually sustainably
 further alters the relative availability of soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N),
 and P. However, the patterns of microbial nutrient limitation and their
 drivers along vegetation restoration remain largely unclear. Here, using
 eco–enzymatic stoichiometry modeling, we investigated soil microbial
 resource limitations and identified primary factors driving them across
 five stages of vegetation restoration [grassland (GL), shrubland (SL),
 early–, mid–, and late–forest (EF, MF, and LF)] in subtropical China.
 β–1,4–glucosidase (BG), β–N–acetyl glucosaminidase (NAG), and acid
 phosphatase (ACP) activities in forest stages (EF, MF, and LF) were
 significantly higher than the GL and SL stages. Cellobiohydrolase (CBH)
 and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) activities exhibited a consistent
 increase solely within the forest stages (EF, MF, and LF). Soil microbial
 resources are co–limited by C and P. Soil nutrients had the strongest
 overall impact, positively affecting microbial C limitation and negatively
 affecting P limitation, while litter biomass positively regulated P
 limitation. Synthesis and applications: This research provides key
 insights into the limitations of microbial resources following vegetation
 restoration and would contribute to designing more effective forest
 restoration strategies to promote the recovery and stability of
 subtropical ecosystems.
description: # Data from: Eco–enzymatic stoichiometry unveils resource limitations in
 soil microorganisms during subtropical vegetation restoration Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.r4xgxd2rp](10.5061/dryad.r4xgxd2rp) ## Description of the
 data and file structure Wan, J., Zhang, R., Jiang W.T., Chen, Y.F., Yang,
 J., Hu, B.A., & Ouyang, S. (2025). Data from: Eco-enzymatic
 stoichiometry unveils resource limitations in soil microorganisms during
 subtropical vegetation restoration. Journal of Applied Ecology ### Files
 and variables #### File: Raw_data.xlsx **Description:** Raw data belonging
 to: Wan, J., Zhang, R., Jiang W.T., Chen, Y.F., Yang, J., Hu, B.A., &
 Ouyang, S. (2025). Data from: Eco-enzymatic stoichiometry unveils resource
 limitations in soil microorganisms during subtropical vegetation
 restoration. Journal of Applied Ecology #### Data for Physicochemical
 properties | Entry | Unit | Explanation | | :---------------- |
 :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :----------------------------------------------- | | Restoration stage | GL: grassland; SL: shrubland; EF: early forest; MF: middle forest; LF: late forest | | | Sand | % | Soil sand, between 0.05 and 2 mm in diameter | | Silt | % | Soil silt, between 0.002 and 0.05 mm in diameter | | Clay | % | Soil clay, less than 0.002 mm in diameter | | SWC | % | Soil water content at 105℃ for 24 hours | | SOC | g kg-1 dry soil | Soil organic carbon | | TN | g kg-1 dry soil | Soil total nitrogen | | TP | g kg-1 dry soil | Soil total phosphorus | | C/N | | Soil organic carbon to total nitrogen ratio | | C/P | | Soil organic carbon to total phosphorus ratio | | N/P | | Soil total nitrogen to total phosphorus ratio | | pH | | The pH of 1/2.5 soil/water mixture | | DOC | mg kg-1 fresh soil | Soil dissolved organic carbon | | NH4+-N | mg kg-1 fresh soil | Soil ammonium nitrogen | | NO3–N | mg kg-1 fresh soil | Soil nitrate nitrogen | | AP | mg kg-1 dry soil | Soil available phosphorus | #### Data for Microorganisms properties | Entry | Unit | Explanation | | :---------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------- | | Restoration stage | GL: grassland; SL: shrubland; EF: early forest; MF: middle forest; LF: late forest | | | MBC | mg kg-1 | Microbial biomass carbon | | MBN | mg kg-1 | Microbial biomass nitrogen | | MBP | mg kg-1 | Microbial biomass phosphorus | | MBC/MBN | The ratio of microbial biomass carbon to microbial biomass nitrogen | | | MBC/MBP | The ratio of microbial biomass carbon to microbial biomass phosphorus | | | MBN/MBP | The ratio of microbial biomass nitrogen to microbial biomass phosphorus | | | GP | nmol g-1 soil | Gram–positive bacteria | | GN | nmol g-1 soil | Gram–negative bacteria | | Fungi | nmol g-1 soil | Soil fungi | | GP/GN | | Gram–positive bacteria to gram–negative bacteria ratio | | Bacteria | nmol g-1 soil | Soil bacteria | | F/B | | Soil fungi to soil bacteria ratio | | Total PLFAs | nmol g-1 soil | Total phospholipid fatty acids | #### Data for Enzymes | Entry | Unit | Explanation | | :---------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Restoration stage | GL: grassland; SL: shrubland; EF: early forest; MF: middle forest; LF: late forest | | | BG | nmol g-1 h-1 | β–1,4–Glucosidase | | CBH | nmol g-1 h-1 | Cellobiohydrolase | | NAG | nmol g-1 h-1 | β–N–acetyl glucosaminidase | | LAP | nmol g-1 h-1 | Leucine aminopeptidase | | ACP | nmol g-1 h-1 | Acid phosphatase | | EC/N | | The ratio of the sum of β–1,4–glucosidase and cellobiohydrolase activities to the total sum of  β–N–acetyl glucosaminidase, leucine aminopeptidaseactivities activities | | EN/P | | The ratio of the sum of β–N–acetyl glucosaminidase and leucine aminopeptidaseactivities activities to the acid phosphatase activity | | EC/P | | The ratio of the sum of β–1,4–glucosidase and cellobiohydrolase activities to the acid phosphatase activity | | Vector length | Microbial carbon limitation | | | Vector angle | Microbial phosphorus limitation | | #### Data for Litter biomass | Entry | Unit | Explanation | | :---------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------- | | Restoration stage | GL: grassland; SL: shrubland; EF: early forest; MF: middle forest; LF: late forest | | | Litter biomass | g m-2 | Plant litter biomass | ## Access information Other publicly accessible locations of the data: * n/a Data was derived from the following sources: * n/a