Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Biodiversity, Macroecology & Biogeography, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany.
Nat Ecol Evol. 2021 Jan;5(1):67-73. doi: 10.1038/s41559-020-01323-w. Epub 2020 Nov 2.
The greater bioavailability of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in the Anthropocene has strongly impacted terrestrial plant communities. In northwest Europe, because high N deposition is considered the main driver of plant diversity loss, European Union (EU) legislation to reduce N deposition is expected to promote plant species recovery. However, this expectation is simplistic: it ignores the role of other macronutrients. Analysing the relationship between plant species pools and species stoichiometric niches along nutrient gradients across northern Eurasia's herbaceous ecosystems, we found that both absolute and relative P availability are more critical than N or K availability. This result is consistent with stoichiometric niche theory, and with findings from studies of hyperdiverse forests and shrublands at lower latitudes. We show that ecosystems with low absolute and relative P availability harbour a unique set of threatened species that have narrower nutrient-based niche widths than non-threatened species. Such ecosystems represent a conservation priority, but may be further threatened by latent effects of relative P enrichment arising from reduction of N availability without simultaneous reduction of P. The narrow focus of EU legislation on reducing N, but not P, may therefore inadvertently increase the threat to many of Europe's already threatened plant species. An EU Phosphate Directive is needed.
在人类世，氮（N）、磷（P）和钾（K）的生物利用率更高，这强烈影响了陆地植物群落。在西北欧，由于高氮沉积被认为是植物多样性丧失的主要驱动因素，因此欧盟（EU）减少氮沉积的立法有望促进植物物种的恢复。然而，这种期望过于简单化：它忽略了其他大量营养素的作用。通过分析欧亚大陆北部草本生态系统中沿养分梯度的植物物种库和物种化学计量生态位之间的关系，我们发现绝对和相对 P 可用性比 N 或 K 可用性更为关键。这一结果与化学计量生态位理论以及低纬度地区对超丰富森林和灌木林地的研究结果一致。我们表明，绝对和相对 P 可用性低的生态系统中蕴藏着一组独特的受威胁物种，它们的养分基础生态位宽度比非受威胁物种更窄。这些生态系统是保护的优先事项，但由于减少 N 而不是 P 的相对 P 富集的潜在影响，可能会进一步受到威胁。因此，欧盟立法对减少 N 的关注，而不是 P，可能会无意中增加欧洲许多已经受到威胁的植物物种的威胁。需要制定欧盟磷酸盐指令。
