Compartmentalized Homeostasis Drives High Bamboo Forest Productivity under Nutrient Imbalance

TY - JOUR

T1 - Compartmentalized Homeostasis Drives High Bamboo Forest Productivity under Nutrient Imbalance

AU - Wang, Zhikang

AU - Shi, Man

AU - Li, Quan

AU - F.A. Leite, Marcio

AU - Chen, Xinli

AU - Kuramae, Eiko

AU - Cordovez, V.

AU - Cao, Tingting

AU - Zhu, Chenglei

AU - Zhou, Libin

AU - Yu, Wenjuan

AU - Tang, Zhiyao

AU - Peng, Changhui

AU - Song, Xinzhang

PY - 2025/12/12

Y1 - 2025/12/12

N2 - Stoichiometric homeostasis, the ability to maintain internal nutrient balance, is central to plant fitness under soil nutrient variability. While traditionally viewed as static, emerging theory posits that it is a conditionally flexible trait, though empirical evidence is scarce. Through large-scale field investigations, nutrient additions, and data synthesis, this study shows that Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis), a fast-growing plant species, employs a unique compartmentalized homeostasis strategy by decoupling nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) regulation across tissues. It achieves strict N:P homeostasis in leaves while allowing P flexibility in woody tissues to serve as reservoirs that buffer leaves from soil P limitation and microbial competition. This mechanism, consistently observed in bamboo across wide geographical and soil nutrient gradients, yields lower leaf N:P variability than 75 out of 91 co-occurring tree species, can be one of the critical factors for sustaining ≈25% higher annual productivity than other forests (including evergreen-broadleaf, deciduous-broadleaf, and coniferous forests). These findings reconcile classical views of stoichiometric homeostasis and plasticity by demonstrating a flexible, compartmentalized mechanism that resolves growth-stability conflicts. Recognizing such flexible strategy advances the understanding of eco-evolutionary feedbacks in ecosystem stoichiometry and improves predictions of species adaptability, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration under global change.

AB - Stoichiometric homeostasis, the ability to maintain internal nutrient balance, is central to plant fitness under soil nutrient variability. While traditionally viewed as static, emerging theory posits that it is a conditionally flexible trait, though empirical evidence is scarce. Through large-scale field investigations, nutrient additions, and data synthesis, this study shows that Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis), a fast-growing plant species, employs a unique compartmentalized homeostasis strategy by decoupling nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) regulation across tissues. It achieves strict N:P homeostasis in leaves while allowing P flexibility in woody tissues to serve as reservoirs that buffer leaves from soil P limitation and microbial competition. This mechanism, consistently observed in bamboo across wide geographical and soil nutrient gradients, yields lower leaf N:P variability than 75 out of 91 co-occurring tree species, can be one of the critical factors for sustaining ≈25% higher annual productivity than other forests (including evergreen-broadleaf, deciduous-broadleaf, and coniferous forests). These findings reconcile classical views of stoichiometric homeostasis and plasticity by demonstrating a flexible, compartmentalized mechanism that resolves growth-stability conflicts. Recognizing such flexible strategy advances the understanding of eco-evolutionary feedbacks in ecosystem stoichiometry and improves predictions of species adaptability, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration under global change.

U2 - 10.1002/advs.202517442

DO - 10.1002/advs.202517442

M3 - Article

SN - 2198-3844

JO - Advanced Science

JF - Advanced Science

M1 - e17442

ER -