What drives growth responses of nitrogen and phosphorus (co-)limited primary producer communities?

We explored the possible mechanisms driving nutrient co-limitation patterns in communities of autotrophs. To test our hypotheses, we used phytoplankton communities of different species grown in experimental microcosms under nutrient-limiting conditions. With this work, we tried to address and fill a knowledge gap on mechanisms involved in nutrient (co-)limitation at the community level and we also highlighted the importance of predicting and understanding nutrient (co-)limitation patterns of primary producer communities.

本研究探究了驱动自养生物（autotroph）群落营养元素共同限制模式的潜在机制。为验证所提出的假说，我们选取不同物种的浮游植物（phytoplankton）群落，在营养限制条件下于实验微宇宙（experimental microcosm）中开展培养实验。本研究旨在填补当前在群落尺度下营养元素（共同）限制相关机制领域的研究空白，同时阐明预测与理解初级生产者（primary producer）群落营养元素（共同）限制模式的重要性。