MYCOLab Ai Logo - gold and army green

Carbon:Nitrogen:Phosphorus Stoichiometry in Fungi: A Meta-Analysis

Summary

This research examined the ratios of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in fungi to better understand how these organisms process and cycle nutrients in ecosystems. The study revealed that fungi maintain remarkably consistent nutrient ratios despite varying environmental conditions, similar to other living organisms. This has important implications for understanding soil health and plant nutrition. Impacts on everyday life: • Helps farmers and gardeners better understand how fungi contribute to soil fertility and plant health • Provides insights for improving agricultural practices that rely on beneficial fungal relationships with crops • Advances our understanding of how forests and other ecosystems maintain nutrient balance • Contributes to developing more sustainable farming and forestry practices • Helps predict how climate change might affect nutrient cycling in ecosystems

Background

Ecological stoichiometry studies the balance of chemical elements in ecological interactions and processes. While surveys of carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus ratios are available for major biota groups and biomes, relatively little is known about fungal C:N:P stoichiometry despite fungi’s important role in nutrient cycling. Understanding fungal stoichiometry is particularly important for mycorrhizal symbioses, where fungi provide nutrients to plant hosts.

Objective

This study aimed to present the first systematic compilation of C:N:P data for fungi across four phyla to determine: 1) The range and average values of C:N:P ratios exhibited by fungi, 2) Whether fungal stoichiometry differs among phyla or functional guilds, and 3) How environmental factors affect fungal stoichiometry.

Results

The C, N, and P contents of fungal biomass varied from 38-57%, 0.23-15%, and 0.040-5.5% respectively. Median C:N:P stoichiometry was 250:16:1, with the N:P ratio matching the canonical Redfield ratio. Significant differences were found between Ascomycota and Basidiomycota fungi in C content and C:P and N:P ratios. Ectomycorrhizal fungi showed significantly lower C:N ratios and higher N:P ratios compared to saprotrophs. N:P ratios increased toward the equator and correlated with temperature and precipitation.

Conclusion

The study revealed extremely broad variation in fungal C:N:P ratios around a core central tendency in N:P ratio similar to other biota. The variation likely reflects both local biochemical adaptation to environmental conditions and broader phylogenetic influences of different fungal guilds. The findings have implications for understanding fungal roles in symbioses and soil nutrient cycling, though further work is needed on how in situ growth conditions affect fungal stoichiometry.
  • Published in:Frontiers in Microbiology,
  • Study Type:Meta-Analysis,
  • Source: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01281
Scroll to Top