Abstract
Dormancy, as a microbial survival strategy, plays a crucial role in sustaining microbial diversity. However, the large-scale distribution patterns of microbial dormancy and drivers remain poorly understood. Here, we analyzed 591 soil samples from 197 field sites across China, spanning deserts, croplands, grasslands, and forests, to quantify the proportion of dormant microbial cells (Dormancy%). On average, 95.48% of soil microbial cells were dormant, with the lowest Dormancy% in forests (93.84%) and the highest in deserts (96.81%). This regulation followed a regular mechanism: soil water-holding capacity and β−1,4-glucosidase activity acted as immediate triggers, while mineral-associated organic carbon, dissolved organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon indirectly governed the process. Overall, this study provides evidence at the China scale for the dominance of dormant microorganisms in terrestrial ecosystems and reveals the environmental regulatory mechanism of dormancy, highlighting its ecological importance for maintaining microbial diversity and ecosystem stability.
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Data availability
Data supporting the findings of this study are available in figshare (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.31419065).
Code availability
The R code we used in this study were put into https://github.com/FEBC-lab.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42277284), Central Government to Guide Local Science & Technology Development in Qinghai Province (2025ZY007), Qinling Hundred Talents Project of Shaanxi Academy of Science (2024K-31). The soil sampling conducted in this study did not require any specific permits or permissions.
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F.Z.Z. and J.Y.W. designed the work and led the formal analyses. F.Z.Z., L.Y.H., and X.Z. wrote the first draft of the manuscript. X.Z. and J.Y.W. analyzed the data. F.Z.Z., L.Y.H., G.S.W., J.W., Z.H.Z., C.J.R. and S.Z. substantively revised the draft. F.Z.Z. acquired funding for it. All other authors acquired and interpreted the data and edited the drafts.
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Zhao, X., He, L., Wang, G. et al. Dormant microbes dominate soils across China and are regulated by water and resource availability. Commun Earth Environ (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03377-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03377-3
