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Nutrient co‐limitation of primary producer communities
Author(s) -
Harpole W. Stanley,
Ngai Jacqueline T.,
Cleland Elsa E.,
Seabloom Eric W.,
Borer Elizabeth T.,
Bracken Matthew E.S.,
Elser James J.,
Gruner Daniel S.,
Hillebrand Helmut,
Shurin Jonathan B.,
Smith Jennifer E.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01651.x
Subject(s) - biomass (ecology) , resource (disambiguation) , ecology , limiting , phosphorus , primary producers , constraint (computer aided design) , nutrient , primary production , production (economics) , biology , environmental resource management , environmental science , ecosystem , computer science , mathematics , chemistry , economics , phytoplankton , engineering , mechanical engineering , computer network , geometry , organic chemistry , macroeconomics
Ecology Letters (2011) 14 : 852–862 Abstract Synergistic interactions between multiple limiting resources are common, highlighting the importance of co‐limitation as a constraint on primary production. Our concept of resource limitation has shifted over the past two decades from an earlier paradigm of single‐resource limitation towards concepts of co‐limitation by multiple resources, which are predicted by various theories. Herein, we summarise multiple‐resource limitation responses in plant communities using a dataset of 641 studies that applied factorial addition of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in freshwater, marine and terrestrial systems. We found that more than half of the studies displayed some type of synergistic response to N and P addition. We found support for strict definitions of co‐limitation in 28% of the studies: i.e. community biomass responded to only combined N and P addition, or to both N and P when added separately. Our results highlight the importance of interactions between N and P in regulating primary producer community biomass and point to the need for future studies that address the multiple mechanisms that could lead to different types of co‐limitation.