Divergent assembly mechanisms mediate plant stoichiometric responses to soil P constraints during ecosystem restoration

doi:10.1093/jpe/rtag242

J Plant Ecol ›› Advance articles DOI:10.1093/jpe/rtag242

Divergent assembly mechanisms mediate plant stoichiometric responses to soil P constraints during ecosystem restoration

Jiannan Lu^{1, 3}, Xuyang Wang^{1, 2, 3*}, Yuqiang Li^{1, 2, 3}, Chengzhuo Zheng^{1, 2, 3}, Yuqian Li^{1, 2, 3}, Xueyong Zhao^{1, 2, 3}

1 Inner Mongolia Naiman Agroecosystem National Field Observation and Research Station/State Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China;
2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
3 Naiman Desertification Research Station, Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Tongliao 028300, China
^*Corresponding author:
Xuyang Wang,E-mail: xuyangwang@lzb.ac.cn

Received:2026-02-13 Revised:2026-09-01 Accepted:2026-09-21 Published:2026-10-14
Supported by:
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42577550), the Gansu Provincial Science and Technology Program (25JRRA513), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2023449), and the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (GZC20232948).

Abstract

Abstract: Stoichiometric coupling within plant-soil-microbial systems underpins ecosystem development. However, the assembly mechanisms governing these interactions during restoration in resource-limited environments remain poorly understood. We investigated carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry across plant, soil, and microbial pools along a restoration chronosequence in a semi-arid sandy ecosystem. Our results revealed an intensifying relative P constraint driven by disproportionate resource accumulation: biologically mediated N accrual outpaced geochemical P supply. Alongside shifts in ecoenzymatic stoichiometry, microbial biomass P declined in the fixed dune and sparse forest-grassland stages despite rising soil total P, a decline negatively associated with soil water content. Regarding plant responses to this belowground constraint, while species identity explained the largest share of leaf stoichiometric trait variation (42.8%–63.3%), community-level assembly followed divergent pathways. Variance partitioning revealed that species turnover dominated evolutionarily constrained structural traits (leaf C, 71.7%) and environmentally responsive N investment (leaf N, 45.8%). Conversely, for P-related traits, negative covariance between species turnover and intraspecific trait variation (ITV) contributed −38.1% for leaf P and −23.7% for leaf C:P, counterbalancing turnover-driven changes in these traits. Leaf N:P was co-regulated by turnover (15.26%) and ITV (15.32%). These strategies allowed the plant community to mitigate belowground P constraints on metabolic stoichiometry. Our findings suggest that plant communities respond to geochemical constraints through trait-specific assembly pathways: structural investment is filtered by species replacement, whereas P-related traits reflect counterbalancing turnover–ITV contributions. Thus, the capacity of plant communities to buffer against biogeochemical constraints may depend on both species composition and ITV-driven functional flexibility.

Based on a semi-arid sandy-land restoration chronosequence, this study integrated plant, soil, and microbial stoichiometry and found that relative phosphorus limitation of soil microorganisms intensified during vegetation restoration. Plant communities regulated leaf stoichiometry through divergent assembly pathways involving species turnover and intraspecific trait variation, thereby buffering phosphorus constraints in the soil-microbial system.

Key words: community assembly, ecological stoichiometry, intraspecific trait variation, phosphorus constraint, semi-arid sandy land, species turnover

Jiannan Lu, Xuyang Wang, Yuqiang Li, Chengzhuo Zheng, Yuqian Li, Xueyong Zhao. Divergent assembly mechanisms mediate plant stoichiometric responses to soil P constraints during ecosystem restoration[J]. J Plant Ecol, DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtag242.

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Divergent assembly mechanisms mediate plant stoichiometric responses to soil P constraints during ecosystem restoration

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