Peng Yang, Yang Jian-Xia, Seabloom Eric W, Sardans Jordi, Peñuelas Josep, Zhang Hai-Yang, Wei Cun-Zheng, Han Xing-Guo
State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Erguna Forest-Steppe Ecotone Ecosystem Research Station, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.
Glob Chang Biol. 2025 Mar;31(3):e70123. doi: 10.1111/gcb.70123.
Human activities are altering terrestrial ecosystem biogeochemistry globally by augmenting the availability of multiple biologically essential nutrients, thereby potentially altering plant internal concentrations (i.e., stoichiometry) across a diverse array of elements. These shifts in plant nutrient concentrations may subsequently impact crucial ecosystem processes, including litter decomposition, herbivory by insects and large animals, and ecosystem productivity. However, most work on the alteration of plant stoichiometry has focused on a few macronutrients (e.g., nitrogen or phosphorus), despite the potential importance of many other elements. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive field experiment in the Inner Mongolia Steppe, manipulating eight distinct nutrients to examine their effects on both soil and plant tissue concentrations. Our findings reveal that adding most nutrients increased their corresponding available contents in the soil. In most cases, the addition of nutrients also increased their corresponding concentrations in plant tissues at both species and community levels. Besides, multiple nutrient additions had greater effects on soil available nutrient contents than on plant internal nutrient concentrations. Notably, the concurrent addition of multiple nutrients led to a significant homogenization of plant stoichiometry among different species within the same community. This homogenization might influence interspecific interactions and coexistence within grassland ecosystems. Our findings advanced our comprehension of how anthropogenic nutrient enrichment may simplify plant nutrient profiles, thereby influencing grassland biodiversity and ecosystem functionality.
人类活动正在通过增加多种生物必需养分的可利用性，在全球范围内改变陆地生态系统的生物地球化学，从而有可能改变各种元素的植物内部浓度（即化学计量）。植物养分浓度的这些变化可能随后影响关键的生态系统过程，包括凋落物分解、昆虫和大型动物的食草作用以及生态系统生产力。然而，尽管许多其他元素具有潜在重要性，但大多数关于植物化学计量变化的研究都集中在少数几种大量营养素（如氮或磷）上。在本研究中，我们在内蒙古草原进行了一项全面的田间试验，操纵八种不同的养分，以研究它们对土壤和植物组织浓度的影响。我们的研究结果表明，添加大多数养分增加了土壤中相应的有效含量。在大多数情况下，添加养分还增加了物种和群落水平上植物组织中相应的浓度。此外，多种养分添加对土壤有效养分含量的影响大于对植物内部养分浓度的影响。值得注意的是，同时添加多种养分导致同一群落内不同物种间植物化学计量显著趋同。这种趋同可能会影响草原生态系统中的种间相互作用和共存。我们的研究结果推进了我们对人为养分富集如何可能简化植物养分特征，从而影响草原生物多样性和生态系统功能的理解。
