Nutrient allocation strategies of woody plants: an approach from the scaling of nitrogen and phosphorus between twig stems and leaves

Yan, Zhengbing; Li, Peng; Chen, Yahan; Han, Wenxuan; Fang, Jingyun

doi:10.1038/srep20099

Cited by 70 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(76 reference statements)

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“…The three tissues showed consistent relationships under greenhouse conditions, which could be the result of their interdependent nutrient acquisition. However, the values of the scaling exponents found by us are quantitatively distinct from those previously reported (Kerkhoff et al 2006, Yuan et al , Zhao et al ), partly because the needles, stems and roots of spruce seedlings generally exhibit high metabolic activity and require high nutrient investments to meet the demands of important physiological processes in the early juvenile phase of development. For example, the N and P in needles are crucial components in the photosynthetic apparatus, whereas the N and P in stems and roots have important roles in phloem loading and the export of photosynthates (Marschner and Marschner ), internal nutrient recycling (Marschner et al ), and respiration (Reich et al ).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 88%

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Allocation of nitrogen and phosphorus within and between needles, stems and roots of Picea seedlings

Wang

Huang

et al. 2018

Nordic Journal of Botany

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The allocation of nutrients links ecosystem supply services to the functional traits and development of plants. This is particularly true for nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), which are important limiting resources in natural systems and are related to many aspects of plant biology. We investigated the scaling relationships associated with the N and P contents within specific organ types (needles, stems and roots) and among the different organs of Picea seedlings from nine taxa grown under greenhouse conditions. Our results showed that N and P contents were highly correlated within and between plant organs. A common isometric scaling relationship (scaling exponent ≈ 1) between N and P was observed in needles, stems, and roots. Howver, the N and P contents had different scaling exponents in different plant organs. The scaling relationships of the N content across different organ types tended to be allometric (scaling exponent < 1) between stems and non‐stem organs, and isometric between needles and roots. For P contents, similar scaling relationships were found among the three organs. These results improve our understanding of nutrient allocation strategies within and between major plant organs.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 88%

“…It has been found that the scaling exponent ( α ) of N to P is significantly smaller than 1 within organs (an allometric scaling relation) (Niklas et al 2005, Elser et al , Han et al ). The allometric scaling exponent of N and P has also been studied across organs (Yuan et al , Yan et al ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Allocation of nitrogen and phosphorus within and between needles, stems and roots of Picea seedlings

Wang

Huang

et al. 2018

Nordic Journal of Botany

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“…The strategies of the rate of allocating the limiting elements in different organs are vital for them to respond to the environmental changes. However, most of studies (Garten 1976, Wright et al 2004, Reich et al 2010, Yang et al 2014, Yan et al 2016) have focused on specific organs, especially leaves and roots. There are still big gaps in understanding the strategies employed by the whole plants to allocate these limiting elements.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Allocation strategies for nitrogen and phosphorus in forest plants

Zhang

Liu

et al. 2018

Oikos

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The allocation of limiting elements, such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), in plants is an important basis for structural stability and functional optimization in natural plant communities. However, because of the lack of systematic investigation data, the mechanisms of optimal nutrient allocation in plants in natural forests are still unclear. Using consistent measurements of N and P contents in 930 plant species, we explored the allocation strategies for N and P in different plant organs and plant functional groups (PFGs) in natural communities. The N and P contents and N:P ratio were the highest in the leaf (the most active organ) at the organ level. At the PFG level, the N and P contents were higher in herbs than in woody plants, but the trend was opposite for the N:P ratio. The elemental plasticity of root was higher than that of leaf. Furthermore, at the large scale, the allometric exponents of N and P were less than 1 and showed no difference, indicating strong conservatism of the scaling relationship in plants. In summary, higher element content in more active organs, higher element plasticity in underground organs, and conservative allometric allocation among different organs and among different PFGs jointly constitute the optimal strategies for the allocation of limiting elements.

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“…Other factors are likely involved. For example, the length of the growing season, and thus leaf longevity tend to decrease from the tropics to boreal regions, resulting in higher leaf growth rates and higher P demands, particularly in the growing season, with increasing latitude [41,46]. Furthermore, soil P availability relative to N availability tends to increase with increasing latitude or from the humid to arid regions, resulting in decreasing leaf N:P ratios [10,31,32,47].…”

Section: Possible Mechanisms Of the Different N-p Scaling Exponentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global leaf nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry and their scaling exponent

Tian

Yan

Niklas

et al. 2017

National Science Review

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142

113

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Leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations constrain photosynthetic and metabolic processes, growth and the productivity of plants. Their stoichiometry and scaling relationships regulate the allocation of N and P from subcellular to organism, and even ecosystem levels, and are crucial to the modelling of plant growth and nutrient cycles in terrestrial ecosystems. Prior work has revealed a general biogeographic pattern of leaf N and P stoichiometric relationships and shown that leaf N scales roughly as two-thirds the power of P. However, determining whether and how leaf N and P stoichiometries, especially their scaling exponents, change with functional groups and environmental conditions requires further verification. In this study, we compiled a global data set and documented the global leaf N and P concentrations and the N:P ratios by functional group, climate zone and continent. The global overall mean leaf N and P concentrations were 18.9 mg g −1 and 1.2 mg g −1 , respectively, with significantly higher concentrations in herbaceous than woody plants (21.72 mg g −1 vs. 18.22 mg g −1 for N; and 1.64 mg g −1 vs. 1.10 mg g −1 for P). Both leaf N and P showed higher concentrations at high latitudes than low latitudes. Among six continents, Europe had the highest N and P concentrations (20.79 and 1.54 mg g −1 ) and Oceania had the smallest values (10.01 and 0.46 mg g −1 ). These numerical values may be used as a basis for the comparison of other individual studies. Further, we found that the scaling exponent varied significantly across different functional groups, latitudinal zones, ecoregions and sites. The exponents of herbaceous and woody plants were 0.659 and 0.705, respectively, with significant latitudinal patterns decreasing from tropical to temperate to boreal zones. At sites with a sample size ≥10, the values fluctuated from 0.366 to 1.928, with an average of 0.841. Several factors including the intrinsic attributes of different life forms, P-related growth rates and relative nutrient availability of soils likely account for the inconstant exponents of leaf N vs. P scaling relationships.

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Nutrient allocation strategies of woody plants: an approach from the scaling of nitrogen and phosphorus between twig stems and leaves

Cited by 70 publications

References 45 publications

Allocation of nitrogen and phosphorus within and between needles, stems and roots of Picea seedlings

Allocation of nitrogen and phosphorus within and between needles, stems and roots of Picea seedlings

Allocation strategies for nitrogen and phosphorus in forest plants

Global leaf nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry and their scaling exponent

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