Scaling of nitrogen and phosphorus across plant organs in shrubland biomes across Northern China

Abstract

Allocation of limiting resources, such as nutrients, is an important adaptation strategy for plants. Plants may allocate different nutrients within a specific organ or the same nutrient among different organs. In this study, we investigated the allocation strategies of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in leaves, stems and roots of 126 shrub species from 172 shrubland communities in Northern China using scaling analyses. Results showed that N and P have different scaling relationships among plant organs. The scaling relationships of N concentration across different plant organs tended to be allometric between leaves and non-leaf organs, and isometric between non-leaf organs. Whilst the scaling relationships of P concentration tended to be allometric between roots and non-root organs, and isometric between non-root organs. In arid environments, plant tend to have higher nutrient concentration in leaves at given root or stem nutrient concentration. Evolutionary history affected the scaling relationships of N concentration slightly, but not affected those of P concentration. Despite fairly consistent nutrients allocation strategies existed in independently evolving lineages, evolutionary history and environments still led to variations on these strategies.

A Multiscale Approach to Plant Disease Using the Metacommunity Concept

“…Tissues within an individual plant can vary strongly in the content and ratio of growth-limiting nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus (102,144), and plants can reallocate nutrients among tissues in response to infection (e.g., 4,80,95). In light of this within-host nutrient heterogeneity and because different pathogens differ in their nutrient requirements (41), occupy different plant tissues, and can have different within-host growth strategies, a single host individual may provide a suitable habitat for a wide range of pathogens.…”

Invariant allometric scaling of nitrogen and phosphorus in leaves, stems, and fine roots of woody plants along an altitudinal gradient

“…Leaf functioning depends on the water and nutrients absorbed by the roots, while root growth, in turn, depends on the carbohydrates produced by the leaves. Despite of the uncertainty and inconsistency of the trade-offs among leaf-and root-trait syndromes, existing evidence indicated that there can be certain positive correlations of N and P concentrations among the leaf, stem and root (Geng et al 2014;Kerkhoff et al 2006;Liu et al 2010;Yang et al 2014). This positive correlation, in some extent, reflected a coordination of leaf, stem and root tissue resource capture strategies.…”

“…Leaves and roots are major plant organs that implement carbon assimilation and nutrient uptake, respectively, while stems are important intermediaries used to link the leaves and roots. The nutrient concentrations of leaves, stems and roots are related to organ function, organ growth and turnover rates, and plant growth form (Kerkhoff et al 2006;Minden and Kleyer 2014;Westoby et al 2002;Yang et al 2014). Understanding the partitioning of nutrients among plant organs and how this mechanism responds to environmental gradients is, therefore, crucial for predicting how nutrient fluxes and ecosystem functions will respond to the change of temperature and precipitation.…”

“…Scaling relationships are widely used to explain the observed patterns of various plant traits, including metabolic and physical traits (Brown et al 2004;Price et al 2012;Wright et al 2004;Xiang et al 2013;Yang et al 2014). These relationships may be defined by 'characteristic slopes and intercepts on a log-log scale, based on the general scaling Abstract Nitrogen (N) to phosphorus (P) allocation in plant organs is of particular interest, as both elements are important to regulate plant growth.…”

C:N:P stoichiometry in China's forests: From organs to ecosystems

“…The C:N:P ratio can be used to estimate the growth rate of some organisms (Elser, Sterner, et al. ), determine limiting elements (Koerselman & Meuleman, ) and demonstrate the allometric growth and distribution of mineral elements (Yang et al., ; Zhao, Yu, He, Xia, et al. ).…”