The bioelemental blueprint of hygrophytic Bryophytes: Linking composition to function

作者：Eladio Rodríguez-Penedo, Roger Grau, Ana Yáñez, Catherine Preece, Jordi Corbera, Francesc Sabater, Marcos Fernández-Martínez · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.22541/au.177332252.26937290/v1 · 研究领域：Bryophyte Studies and Records、Lichen and fungal ecology、Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms

Chemical elements, as the fundamental components of matter constituting living organisms, play critical roles in physiological processes and metabolic pathways, directly influencing how organisms interact with each other and adapt to their environments. However, the link between traits and elements beyond C, N and P is mostly unknown. By analysing a large set of traits in bryophytes, we here explore the connection between bioelemental and other functional traits and assess their performance in differentiating bryophyte lineages (mosses and liverworts) and growth forms. We demonstrate that the elemental composition of bryophytes is a more effective tool for distinguishing between mosses and liverworts than metabolic traits (e.g., photosynthetic capacity, dark respiration, emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds [BVOCs]) or morphological traits (e.g., cell length and width). Concentrations of key elements such as B, Cu, C, Na, K, S, and N isotope ratio δ15N played pivotal roles in separating these groups. Furthermore, the differentiation of bryophyte growth forms based on bioelemental traits also surpassed the accuracy achieved using other functional traits, highlighting the robustness of the bioelemental approach. Additionally, we identified significant correlations between specific elements and functional traits: C, N, P, S, P, Mg, and Zn were strongly linked to photosynthetic activity, while B, Cr, Fe, and Mn were associated with the production of BVOCs. This study s...