The role of polyphenols in terrestrial ecosystem nutrient cycling

Interspecific variation in polyphenol production by plants has been interpr eted in terms of defense against herbivores. Several recent lines of eviden ce suggest that polyphenols also influence the pools and fluxes of inorgani c and organic soil nutrients. Such effects could have far-ranging consequen ces for nutrient competition among and between plants and microbes, and for ecosystem nutrient cycling and retention. The significance of polyphenols for nutrient cycling and plant productivity is still uncertain, but it coul d provide an alternative or complementary explanation for the variability i n polyphenol production by plants.