Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles doi:10.1029/2008GB003250 (2009)

Soil is the same all around the world — at least in terms of its capacity to break down certain nutrients. Davey Jones of Bangor University in Gwynedd, UK, and his colleagues reached this conclusion after analysing soil samples collected at 40 locations around the globe, from the Arctic to the equatorial zone to Antarctica.

The researchers found that all of the soil samples contained similar concentrations of amino acids. And, when maintained at the same conditions, microbes resident in the different samples all broke down amino acids at roughly the same rate. The results suggest that even though global ecosystems are complex and distinct, soil microbes are similar in their ability to convert amino acids into smaller molecules.