Altitudinal patterns of leaf stoichiometry and nutrient resorption in Quercus variabilis in the Baotianman Mountains, China

Background Most studies focus on macronutrient of C, N and P and ignore other elements, which restrict our understanding on the strategy of plant nutrient adaption and nutrient cycling. Methods We investigated 14 element (C, N, P, S, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Na, Al, and Ba) concentrations of green...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant and soil 2017-04, Vol.413 (1/2), p.193-202
Main Authors: Du, Baoming, Ji, Huawei, Peng, Chuan, Liu, Xiaojing, Liu, Chunjiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Altitude
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Chemical properties
Climate
Climate change
Ecology
Flowers & plants
Growing season
Influence
Leaves
Life Sciences
Mountains
Nucleic acids
Nutrient cycles
Nutrients
Oaks
Physiological aspects
Plant nutrition
Plant Physiology
Plant Sciences
Quercus
Soil Science & Conservation
Soils
Stoichiometry
Studies
Zinc
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Summary:Background Most studies focus on macronutrient of C, N and P and ignore other elements, which restrict our understanding on the strategy of plant nutrient adaption and nutrient cycling. Methods We investigated 14 element (C, N, P, S, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Na, Al, and Ba) concentrations of green and senesced leaves in Quercus variabilis along the altitude in the Baotianman Mountains, China, and assessed their relationships with climate, soil, and plant functional traits. Results Leaf N, S and increased with, C, Ca, Na, Fe, Mn, Cu and Ba decreased with, and P, Mg, Al, Zn and N:P did not change significantly with altitude. NRE and SRE increased with, and CRE decreased with altitude (p < 0.05). Among the 14 elements, nucleic acid-protein elements (N, K, S and P) were resorbed preferentially, compare to structural (Ca, Mn, and B) and enzymatic (C, Cu, Mg and Zn) that were discriminated against, and toxic (Al and Fe) elements that were totally excluded. Conclusions Q. variabilis can synergetically regulate green leaf multielement stoichiometry and nutrient résorption in responses to environment change. Deciduous plants may have a trade-off mechanism at the end of growing season to rebalance somatic nutrients.
ISSN:0032-079X
1573-5036
DOI:10.1007/s11104-016-3093-9