Ecological stoichiometry and studies of biogeochemical niches have mainly focused on plankton and vascular plants, but the phenotypically closest modern relatives of early plants, bryophytes, have been largely neglected. We analysed C:N:P stoichiometries and elemental compositions (K, Na, Mg, Ca, S, Fe) of 35 widely distributed bryophyte species inhabiting springs. We estimated bryophyte C:N:P ratios and their biogeochemical niches, investigated how elementomes respond to the environment and determined whether they tend to diverge more for coexisting than non-coexisting individuals and species. The median C:N:P was 145:8:1, intermediate between Redfield's ratio for marine plankton and those for vascular plants. Biogeochemical niches were differentiated amongst species and were phylogenetically conserved. Differences in individual and species-specific elementomes increased with coexistence between species. Our results provide an evolutionary bridge between the ecological stoichiometries of algae and vascular plants and suggest that differences in elementomes could be used to understand community assemblages and functional diversity.

中文翻译：

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苔藓植物 C:N:P 化学计量学、生物地球化学生态位和由环境和共存驱动的元素组可塑性

生态化学计量学和生物地球化学生态位的研究主要集中在浮游生物和维管植物上，但早期植物表型最近的现代近亲苔藓植物在很大程度上被忽视了。我们分析了栖息在泉水中的 35 种广泛分布的苔藓植物物种的 C:N:P 化学计量和元素组成（K、Na、Mg、Ca、S、Fe）。我们估计了苔藓植物的 C:N:P 比率及其生物地球化学生态位，研究了元素组如何对环境做出反应，并确定它们是否倾向于比不共存的个体和物种更倾向于共存。C:N:P 的中位数为 145:8:1，介于海洋浮游生物的雷德菲尔德比率和维管植物的比率之间。生物地球化学生态位在物种之间是有区别的，并且在系统发育上是保守的。个体和物种特异性元素组的差异随着物种之间的共存而增加。我们的结果提供了藻类和维管植物的生态化学计量之间的进化桥梁，并表明元素组的差异可用于了解群落组合和功能多样性。