Nitrogen fixation does not axiomatically lead to phosphorus limitation in aquatic ecosystems

A long‐standing debate in ecology deals with the role of nitrogen and phosphorus in management and restoration of aquatic ecosystems. It has been argued that nutrient reduction strategies to combat blooms of phytoplankton or floating plants should solely focus on phosphorus (P). The underlying argum...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inOikos Vol. 128; no. 4; pp. 563 - 570
Main Authors van Gerven, Luuk P. A., Kuiper, Jan J., Mooij, Wolf M., Janse, Jan H., Paerl, Hans W., de Klein, Jeroen J. M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.04.2019
Subjects
Aquatic ecosystems
Blooms
Ecosystem management
Ecosystem models
Ecosystem restoration
Ecosystems
Eutrophic environments
Eutrophic waters
Eutrophication
Floating
Floating plants
Mineral nutrients
Nitrogen
Nitrogen fixation
Nutrients
Phosphorus
Phytoplankton
Primary production
Reduction
Restoration
Species
Strategic management
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Summary:A long‐standing debate in ecology deals with the role of nitrogen and phosphorus in management and restoration of aquatic ecosystems. It has been argued that nutrient reduction strategies to combat blooms of phytoplankton or floating plants should solely focus on phosphorus (P). The underlying argument is that reducing nitrogen (N) inputs is ineffective because N2‐fixing species will compensate for N deficits, thus perpetuating P limitation of primary production. A mechanistic understanding of this principle is, however, incomplete. Here, we use resource competition theory, a complex dynamic ecosystem model and a 32‐year field data set on eutrophic, floating‐plant dominated ecosystems to show that the growth of non‐N2‐fixing species can become N limited under high P and low N inputs, even in the presence of N2 fixing species. N2‐fixers typically require higher P concentrations than non‐N2‐fixers to persist. Hence, the N2 fixers cannot deplete the P concentration enough for the non‐N2‐fixing community to become P limited because they would be outcompeted. These findings provide a testable mechanistic basis for the need to consider the reduction of both N and P inputs to most effectively restore nutrient over‐enriched aquatic ecosystems.
ISSN:0030-1299
1600-0706
1600-0706
DOI:10.1111/oik.05246