Soil microbial biomass C:N:P stoichiometry is driven more by climate, soil properties and plant traits than by N enrichment in a desert steppe

[Display omitted] •N addition changed the microbial biomass C, N, C:N and N:P but no P and C:P.•Soil microbes maintained strong community-level elemental homeostasis.•Microbial stoichiometry was driven more by climate, plant and soil properties than by N addition. The impacts of increased ecosystem nitrogen (N) inputs on soil microbial biomass C:N:P stoichiometry have been extensively explored. However, the stoichiometric homeostasis and driving mechanisms of microbial C:N:P stoichiometry following N enrichment remain elusive in dryland ecosystems, especially in moderately alkaline desert steppes. Here, we employed a five-year (2015–2019) N enrichment experiment to examine the changes in microbial C:N:P stoichiometry and the strength of stoichiometric homeostasis in a moderately alkaline desert steppe in northwest China. Climate factors, plant traits, and soil properties were analyzed to determine the critical factors influencing microbial C:N:P stoichiometry. The results showed that microbial C:N:P stoichiometry changed little under low doses of N input (