Hu, Chao-ChenLiu, XueyanDriscoll, Avery W.Kuang, YuanwenBrookshire, E. N. JackLü, Xiao-TaoChen, Chong-JuanSong, WeiMao, RongLiu, Cong-QiangHoulton, Benjamin Z.2024-10-142024-07Hu, CC., Liu, XY., Driscoll, A.W. et al. Global distribution and drivers of relative contributions among soil nitrogen sources to terrestrial plants. Nat Commun 15, 6407 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50674-62041-1723https://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/18859Soil extractable nitrate, ammonium, and organic nitrogen (N) are essential N sources supporting primary productivity and regulating species composition of terrestrial plants. However, it remains unclear how plants utilize these N sources and how surface-earth environments regulate plant N utilization. Here, we establish a framework to analyze observational data of natural N isotopes in plants and soils globally, we quantify fractional contributions of soil nitrate (fNO3-), ammonium (fNH4+), and organic N (fEON) to plant-used N in soils. We find that mean annual temperature (MAT), not mean annual precipitation or atmospheric N deposition, regulates global variations of fNO3-, fNH4+, and fEON. The fNO3- increases with MAT, reaching 46% at 28.5 °C. The fNH4+ also increases with MAT, achieving a maximum of 46% at 14.4 °C, showing a decline as temperatures further increase. Meanwhile, the fEON gradually decreases with MAT, stabilizing at about 20% when the MAT exceeds 15 °C. These results clarify global plant N-use patterns and reveal temperature rather than human N loading as a key regulator, which should be considered in evaluating influences of global changes on terrestrial ecosystems.en-UScc-byhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/terrestrial plantssoil nitrogennitrogen isotopesterrestrial ecosystemsArticle10.1038/s41467-024-50674-6