Stoichiometric plasticity of microbial communities is similar between litter and soil in a tropical rainforest.

ABSTRACT: Heterotrophic microorganisms are commonly thought to be stoichiometrically homeostatic but their stoichiometric plasticity has rarely been examined, particularly in terrestrial ecosystems. Using a fertilization experiment in a tropical rainforest, we evaluated how variable substrate stoichiometry may influence the stoichiometry of microbial communities in the leaf litter layer and in the underlying soil. C:N:P ratios of the microbial biomass were higher in the organic litter layer than in the underlying mineral soil. Regardless of higher ratios for litter microbial communities, C, N, and P fertilization effects on microbial stoichiometry were strong in both litter and soil, without any fundamental difference in plasticity between these two communities. Overall, N:P ratios were more constra

SUBMITTER: Fanin N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5624877 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature