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Article Dans Une Revue Ecology Letters Année : 2013

An experimental test of the hypothesis of non-homeostatic consumer stoichiometry in a plant litter–microbe system

Résumé

Stoichiometric homeostasis of heterotrophs is a common, but not always well-examined premise in ecological stoichiometry. We experimentally evaluated the relationship between substrate (plant litter) and consumer (microorganisms) stoichiometry for a tropical terrestrial decomposer system. Variation in microbial C : P and N : P ratios tracked that of the soluble litter fraction, but not that of bulk leaf litter material. Microbial N and P were not isometrically related, suggesting higher rates of P than N sequestration in microbial biomass. Shifts in microbial stoichiometry were related to changes in microbial community structure. Our results indicate that P in dissolved form is a major driver of terrestrial microbial stoichiometry, similar to aquatic environments. The demonstrated relative plasticity in microbial C : P and N : P and the critical role of P have important implications for theoretical modelling and contribute to a process-based understanding of stoichiometric relationships and the flow of elements across trophic levels in decomposer systems.

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hal-01604136 , version 1 (02-10-2017)

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Nicolas Fanin, Nathalie Fromin, Bruno Buatois, Stephan Hättenschwiler. An experimental test of the hypothesis of non-homeostatic consumer stoichiometry in a plant litter–microbe system. Ecology Letters, 2013, 16 (6), pp.764-772. ⟨10.1111/ele.12108⟩. ⟨hal-01604136⟩
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