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Climate and substrate stoichiometry co-regulate free-living nitrogen fixation at regional and global scales
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  • Haixiao Dai,
  • Zekang Liu,
  • Ali Bahadur,
  • Mianhai Zheng,
  • Jihua Wu
Haixiao Dai
Fudan University School of Life Sciences
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Zekang Liu
Fudan University
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Ali Bahadur
Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources
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Mianhai Zheng
South China Botanical Garden
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Jihua Wu
Lanzhou University

Corresponding Author:wjh@lzu.edu.cn

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Abstract

The traditional view holds that the global distribution of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) in terrestrial ecosystems is primarily driven by climate, associating certain warm, wet low-latitude regions with higher BNF rates. However, this view fails to explain the low free-living BNF rates observed in these regions. Here, we conducted two field experiments and a global synthesis to assess the regulatory patterns of free-living BNF at both regional and global scales. The field experiments showed that the regional distributions of litter free-living BNF did not necessarily peak at warm and wet sites, due to co-regulation by climate and substrate stoichiometry (especially C : [N : P]). Subsequently, the global synthesis demonstrated that these phenomena and co-regulatory patterns persisted in free-living BNF in litter and other substrates (e.g., soil) at global scale. Our findings highlight the important role of substrate stoichiometry in regulating the spatial distribution of free-living BNF.