Nitrogen deposition reveals global patterns in plant and animal stoichiometry

Angélica L. González, Julian Merder, Karl Andraczek, Ulrich Brose, Michał Filipiak, W. Stanley Harpole, Helmut Hillebrand, Michelle C. Jackson, Malte Jochum, Shawn J. Leroux, Mark P. Nessel, Renske E. Onstein, Rachel Paseka, George L. W. Perry, Angie Peace, Amanda Rugenski, Judith Sitters, Erik Sperfeld, Maren Striebel, Eugenia Zandona, Attila Mozsár, Sarah Bluhm, Hideyuki Doi, Nico Eisenhauer, Vinicius F. Farjalla, James Hood, Pavel Kratina, Catherine Lovelock, Eric K. Moody, Melanie E. Pollierer, Anton Potapov, Gustavo Q. Romero, Jean-Marc Roussel, Stefan Scheu, Nicole Scheunemann, Julia Seeber, Michael Steinwandter, Winda Ika Susanti, Alexei Tiunov & Olivier Dézerald.  Nat Commun 16, 10977 (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-65960-0

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.