Seasonal nitrogen partitioning in Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica, D. Don) tissues

Aims Nitrogen withdrawal from senescing leaves in evergreen trees is assumed to be stored mainly in the remaining leaves at the end of the growing season. However, there is evidence that roots as well as stem tissues play a significant role in nitrogen and other nutrients storage. Therefore, the obj...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant and soil 2019-09, Vol.442 (1/2), p.511-529
Main Authors: Seidel, Felix, Lopez C., M. Larry, Oikawa, Akira, Yamanaka, Toshiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abscission
Amino acids
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Branches
Cedar
Cellular telephone equipment industry
Cryptomeria japonica
Ecology
Evergreen trees
Fractionation
Growing season
Isotope fractionation
Isotope ratios
Leaves
Life Sciences
Nitrification
Nitrogen
Nitrogen cycle
Nutrients
Plant Physiology
Plant Sciences
Plant tissues
REGULAR ARTICLE
Roots
Soil Science & Conservation
Storage
Trees
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Summary:Aims Nitrogen withdrawal from senescing leaves in evergreen trees is assumed to be stored mainly in the remaining leaves at the end of the growing season. However, there is evidence that roots as well as stem tissues play a significant role in nitrogen and other nutrients storage. Therefore, the objective of this study is to clarify the seasonal nitrogen cycle in Japanese cedar trees in order to elucidate its N storage strategy. Methods N content, isotope ratio and amino acids content were measured in coarse roots, sapwood, leaves (separated by age), litter and buds along the growing season. Results Nitrogen content increased from the shoot growth to the post-abscission period with younger leaves storing more N than older ones. N from senescent leaves was reabsorbed to roots in October and to sapwood and the remaining leaves in November accounting for only 5% of whole-tree stored N. No temporal N isotopic fractionation was observed in plant tissues except for leaf enrichment during storage. The variation of amino acids in leaf tissues explained internal N transport. Conclusions Japanese cedar trees reabsorbed leaf N and soil N in the pre-abscission period and stored most N in roots (54%) and sapwood (20%) followed by leaves (18%) and branches (8%), respectively.
ISSN:0032-079X
1573-5036
DOI:10.1007/s11104-019-04178-8