Skip to main content
. 2014 Apr 16;5:3694. doi: 10.1038/ncomms4694

Figure 1. Conceptual diagram illustrating the regulation of NUE in a homeostatic heterotrophic microbial community.

Figure 1

The threshold elemental ratio denotes the threshold of the resource C:N below which N will be in excess in relation to the demand of the microbial community (C limitation). Excess N is expected to be released causing a reduction in microbial NUE. In contrast, above this threshold the microbial community is expected to be limited by N. Consequently, microbial NUE reaches a maximum value.