scholarly journals Leaf N resorption efficiency and litter N mineralization rate have a genotypic tradeoff in a silver birch population

Ecology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 99 (5) ◽  
pp. 1227-1235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juha Mikola ◽  
Tarja Silfver ◽  
Ulla Paaso ◽  
Boy J. M. H. Possen ◽  
Matti Rousi
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilong Wang ◽  
Yulin Li ◽  
Yulong Duan ◽  
Jie Lian ◽  
Yongqing Luo ◽  
...  

Caragana microphylla is a sand-fixing leguminous shrub with strong resistance to drought, cold, and low soil fertility. As a result, it plays an essential role in combating desertification in northern China, but little is known about its nutrient budget. Nutrient resorption is a key process in plant nutrient conservation and has marked ecological implications for plant fitness and ecosystem nutrient cycling. We studied the effects of both nitrogen (N) addition and reproductive effort on leaf N resorption of C. microphylla in a temperate semi-arid sandy land in China. The results showed that sprouting of the early leaves from over-wintered buds employs a strategy for slow returns on nutrient investment with smaller specific leaf area (SLA) and higher N resorption efficiency, whereas the late leaves, which sprout from current-year buds, employ a strategy for quick returns on nutrient investment with higher SLA and lower N resorption efficiency. N addition significantly increased the N resorption efficiency from early leaves while exerting no impact on late leaves, suggesting that the increased N recovery from early leaves is done to sustain the high N demands of late leaves. Reproductive effort did not affect the N resorption from early or late leaves due to the temporal separation between fruit production and leaf senescence. Taken together, our results demonstrate that C. microphylla has evolved different investment strategies for leaf N in early and late leaves to conserve nutrients and facilitate its growth in desertified environments.


2015 ◽  
Vol 394 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 87-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia González-Zurdo ◽  
Alfonso Escudero ◽  
Sonia Mediavilla

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9915
Author(s):  
Zhen Wang ◽  
Saheed Olaide Jimoh ◽  
Xiliang Li ◽  
Baoming Ji ◽  
Paul C. Struik ◽  
...  

Nutrient resorption from senesced leaves is an important mechanism for nutrient conservation in plants. However, little is known about the effect of grazing on plant nutrient resorption from senesced leaves, especially in semiarid ecosystems. Here, we evaluated the effects of grazing on N and P resorption in the three most dominant grass species in a typical steppe in northern China. We identified the key pathways of grazing-induced effects on N and P resorption efficiency. Grazing increased N and P concentrations in the green leaves of Leymus chinensis and Stipa grandis but not in Cleistogenes squarossa. Both L. chinensis and S. grandis exhibited an increasing trend of leaf N resorption, whereas C. squarrosa recorded a decline in both leaf N and P resorption efficiency under grazing. Structural equation models showed that grazing is the primary driver of the changes in N resorption efficiency of the three dominant grass species. For L. chinensis, the P concentration in green and senesced leaves increased the P resorption efficiency, whereas the senesced leaf P concentration played an important role in the P resorption efficiency of C. squarrosa. Grazing directly drove the change in P resorption efficiency of S. grandis. Our results suggest that large variations in nutrient resorption patterns among plant species depend on leaf nutritional status and nutrient-use strategies under overgrazing, and indicate that overgrazing may have indirect effects on plant-mediated nutrient cycling via inducing shifts in the dominance of the three plant species.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaxi Wang ◽  
Mercedes Uscola ◽  
Guolei Li

Abstract Aims Soil fertility and resorption of leaf compounds in the fall can influence resource buildup in plants. However, whether intraspecific differences in seedling size can affect nutrient reserve buildup is unknown. This study examined the effects of seedling size and fall fertilization on the uptake and resorption of nitrogen (N), as well as the allocation of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) and N in cultivated Quercus variabilis Blume. Methods After the formation of terminal buds (T1), seedlings were stratified into small (shoot height < 30 cm) and large seedlings. During the hardening period, seedlings were treated with three different rates of 15N-enriched fertilizer (0, 12, or 24 mg N seedling− 1) and monitored until leaf fall (T2). Results Small seedlings had lower N resorption efficiency and resorbed proportionally less N than large seedlings. Fall fertilization notably improved N and NSC reserves, without reducing N resorption efficiency. Large seedlings allocated proportionally less N to leaves than small seedlings although both sizes seedlings absorbed similar amounts of N from fall fertilization. The priority perennial organ for NSC allocation was roots, while N allocation was dependent on the phenological growth stage of the seedling. Roots were prioritized during the rapid growth phase, while stems were prioritized during the hardening period. Conclusions Under same fertilizer regime during the growth phase, large seedlings tends to have lower N concentration and have higher resorption efficiency compare to small seedlings, fall fertilization can increase N storage in large seedlings and NSC levels in both seedling sizes, without affecting growth.


Trees ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 785-793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silla Fernando ◽  
Fleury Marina ◽  
Mediavilla Sonia ◽  
Escudero Alfonso

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 601-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang-Min Fang ◽  
Lynn M. Christenson ◽  
Fang-Chao Wang ◽  
Ju-Ping Zeng ◽  
Fu-Sheng Chen

Masson pine caterpillar (MPC, Dendrolimus punctatus Walker) outbreaks periodically occur in Masson pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.) plantations in southern China; however, their effects on nutrient cycling remain unclear. In 2011, an MPC outbreak occurred in pine plantations with different stand densities, which facilitated a comparison of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycling dynamics. Monitoring of soil and foliar nutrients from pre- to post-outbreak years (i.e., from 2010 to approximately 2012) indicated that soil NO3–-N concentration and fluxes were higher after the outbreak in low-density plantations, whereas soil NH4+-N and P availability varied minimally and were not different between the high- and low-density sites. Pine foliage responses to the MPC outbreak were dependent on stand density. At the high-density site, foliar N increased by 40% with an increase of 25% in N resorption efficiency and by approximately 200%–300% in P resorption efficiency, whereas there was an increase of 50% N concentration, a 65% increase in N resorption efficiency, and a >500% increase in P resorption efficiency at the low-density site. Overall, soil nutrients were higher in low-density than high-density plantations, whereas leaf nutrient resorption had the opposite results after an MPC outbreak. The effects of a periodic MPC outbreak could increase plant N:P stoichiometry in these plantations, particularly in the denser stands.


2004 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 462-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Regina Baptista Haddad ◽  
Damiani Pereira Lemos ◽  
Paulo Mazzafera

In comparison to deciduous species, evergreen plants have lower leaf nutrient contents and higher leaf life span, important mechanisms for nutrient economy, allowing the colonization of low fertility soils. Strategies to conserve nitrogen in two semideciduous tropical forest tree species, with different leaf life spans were analyzed. The hypothesis was the fact that the two species would present different nitrogen conservation mechanisms in relation to chemical (total nitrogen, protein, chlorophyll, and proteolytic activity), functional (leaf life span, N-use efficiency, and N-resorption efficiency), morphological (specific leaf mass) leaf characteristics, and total nitrogen in the soil. Hymenaea courbaril L. presented lower nitrogen compounds in leaves, longer leaf life span, higher N-use efficiency, and higher specific leaf mass, while absorbing proportionally less nitrogen from the soil than Croton priscus Croizat. These characteristics can contribute for a better nitrogen economy strategy of H. courbaril. No relationship was found between leaf life span and N resorption efficiency, nor between leaf life span, protease activity and nitrogen mobilization. The electrophoretic profiles of proteolytic enzymes in young leaves of the two species presented more bands with enzymatic activity than other kinds of leaves.


Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 894
Author(s):  
Xiaoqian Dan ◽  
Zhaoxiong Chen ◽  
Shenyan Dai ◽  
Xiaoxiang He ◽  
Zucong Cai ◽  
...  

Soil temperature change caused by global warming could affect microbial-mediated soil nitrogen (N) transformations. Gross N transformation rates can provide process-based information about abiotic–biotic relationships, but most previous studies have focused on net rates. This study aimed to investigate the responses of gross rates of soil N transformation to temperature change in a subtropical acidic coniferous forest soil. A 15N tracing experiment with a temperature gradient was carried out. The results showed that gross mineralization rate of the labile organic N pool significantly increased with increasing temperature from 5 °C to 45 °C, yet the mineralization rate of the recalcitrant organic N pool showed a smaller response. An exponential response function described well the relationship between the gross rates of total N mineralization and temperature. Compared with N mineralization, the functional relationship between gross NH4+ immobilization and temperature was not so distinct, resulting in an overall significant increase in net N mineralization at higher temperatures. Heterotrophic nitrification rates increased from 5 °C to 25 °C but declined at higher temperatures. By contrast, the rate of autotrophic nitrification was very low, responding only slightly to the range of temperature change in the most temperature treatments, except for that at 35 °C to 45 °C, when autotrophic nitrification rates were found to be significantly increased. Higher rates of NO3− immobilization than gross nitrification rates resulted in negative net nitrification rates that decreased with increasing temperature. Our results suggested that, with higher temperature, the availability of soil N produced from N mineralization would significantly increase, potentially promoting plant growth and stimulating microbial activity, and that the increased NO3− retention capacity may reduce the risk of leaching and denitrification losses in this studied subtropical acidic forest.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document