Nitrogen deposition reveals global patterns in plant and animal stoichiometry

The elemental content of organisms links cellular biochemistry to ecological processes, from physiology to nutrient dynamics. While plant stoichiometry is thought to vary with climate and nutrient availability across latitudes, the consistency of these patterns across trophic groups and realms remains unclear. Using the StoichLife database, which includes nitrogen and phosphorus content data for 5443 species across 1390 sites, we examine how solar energy (temperature, radiation) and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) influence stoichiometric variation. We find that plant stoichiometry in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems is more strongly associated with environmental gradients, particularly nitrogen deposition, than animal stoichiometry. Contrary to expectations, temperature, radiation, and labile P show limited global effects. Latitudinal patterns in stoichiometry are more closely associated with species turnover rather than intraspecific variation. Given the strong links between stoichiometry and organismal performance, these findings underscore the need to predict the ecological consequences of anthropogenic disruption to global biogeochemical cycles.

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Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-12-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65960-0
Primary Topic
Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Nitrogen deposition reveals global patterns in plant and animal stoichiometry

Alexei V. Tiunov, Gustavo Q. Romero, Vinicius F. Farjalla, Eugênia Zandonà et al.
Nature Communications
Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
article

Nitrogen deposition reveals global patterns in plant and animal stoichiometry

Alexei V. Tiunov, Gustavo Q. Romero, Vinicius F. Farjalla, Eugênia Zandonà, Ulrich Brose, Michael Steinwandter, Karl Andraczek, Maren Striebel, Judith Sitters, Anton Potapov, Mark P. Nessel, W. Stanley Harpole, Sarah L. Bluhm, Helmut Hillebrand, Melanie M. Pollierer, Julia Seeber, Nico Eisenhauer, Stefan Scheu, Pavel Kratina, Nicole Scheunemann, Attila Mozsár, Michelle C. Jackson, Michał Filipiak, Jean‐Marc Roussel, Renske E. Onstein, Julian Merder, Angélica L. González, Winda Ika Susanti, Olivier Dézerald, James M. Hood, Shawn Leroux, Amanda T. Rugenski, Catherine E. Lovelock, Eric K. Moody, Erik Sperfeld, Hideyuki Doi, George L. W. Perry, Rachel E. Paseka, Malte Jochum, Angie Peace
article en

Abstract

The elemental content of organisms links cellular biochemistry to ecological processes, from physiology to nutrient dynamics. While plant stoichiometry is thought to vary with climate and nutrient availability across latitudes, the consistency of these patterns across trophic groups and realms remains unclear. Using the StoichLife database, which includes nitrogen and phosphorus content data for 5443 species across 1390 sites, we examine how solar energy (temperature, radiation) and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) influence stoichiometric variation. We find that plant stoichiometry in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems is more strongly associated with environmental gradients, particularly nitrogen deposition, than animal stoichiometry. Contrary to expectations, temperature, radiation, and labile P show limited global effects. Latitudinal patterns in stoichiometry are more closely associated with species turnover rather than intraspecific variation. Given the strong links between stoichiometry and organismal performance, these findings underscore the need to predict the ecological consequences of anthropogenic disruption to global biogeochemical cycles.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 16(1)
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US), Oklahoma State University (US), The Graduate Center, CUNY (US), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (BR), Texas Tech University (US), Jagiellonian University (PL), Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung (DE), Naturalis Biodiversity Center (NL), Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg (DE), Memorial University of Newfoundland (CA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (MA), Eurac Research (IT), Federal Highway Administration (US), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE), Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE), University of Auckland (NZ), Ifremer (FR), The University of Queensland (AU), University of Georgia (US), Queen Mary University of London (GB), Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) (BR), Universität Innsbruck (AT), Middlebury College (US), Carnegie Institution for Science (US), Kyoto University (JP), University of Würzburg (DE), London School of Business and Management (GB), German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (DE), Universität Greifswald (DE), Kyoto College of Graduate Studies for Informatics (JP), Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (BR), University of Oxford (GB), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (DE), Rutgers Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (NL), B-Ware (Netherlands) (NL), Institute of Zoology (KZ), HUN-REN Balaton Limnological Research Institute (HU), German Environment Agency (DE), Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz (DE), International Center for Tropical Agriculture (VN), Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (RU), L'Institut Agro (FR), The Ohio State University (US), Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (DE), University of Göttingen (DE), Friedrich Schiller University Jena (DE), Leipzig University (DE)
National Science Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Russian Science Foundation, Vlaamse regering, Deutsches Zentrum für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung Halle-Jena-Leipzig, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Openalex Percentile: Top 63%
Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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