Line Plot from Scientific Research

Tilman’s graphical approach relates nutrient concentrations to population growth34for (D) essential nutrients. Here, the black line shows where microbial population growth is exactly balanced by loss (dilution) to give a zero population growth rate. This black line, known as the zero net growth isocline, then separates regions where nutrients cannot support population growth (white region) and regions where growth is sustained by an increased investment into a given metabolic pathway (pink/green regions). The zero net growth isocline does not cross either axis for two essential nutrients, because the population will crash when either is too low.

DOI