Use of nitrogen to phosphorus ratios in plant tissue as an indicator of nutrient limitation and nitrogen saturation

Summary 1Ratios of nitrogen to phosphorus (N:P) in plant foliage have been used to assess nutrient limitation in wetland ecosystems and to indicate nitrogen saturation. Extension of this application to ecosystems other than wetlands remains to be evaluated. 2We compared published N:P ratios as thresholds of nutrient limitation with published accounts from nutrient-addition experiments and the N:P ratios of understorey vegetation (Acer spp., Dryopteris intermedia, Erythronium americanum, Lycopodium lucidulum, Oxalis acetosella and Viola macloskeyi) from the Catskill Mountains of New York State, USA. We also performed a nutrient-addition experiment to test the response of these understorey plant species to inputs of N and P. 3N:P ratios of Catskill understorey species indicated they were at or near P limitation relative to N:P ratios from other upland ecosystems. Our experiment supported this finding in that none of the species responded to N addition but all increased in P concentration and one increased in biomass with added P. Collectively, these results suggest that the understorey vegetation of the Catskill Mountains is not nitrogen limited, providing further evidence that hardwood forests in this area are nitrogen-saturated. 4Synthesis and applications. This study demonstrates that N:P ratios can be effective predictors of nutrient limitation in upland ecosystems. Therefore N:P ratios can be used for management and monitoring purposes in considering the nutrient status of upland ecosystems with particular relevance to the continued deposition of elevated atmospheric N and to the diagnosis of nitrogen saturation.

[1]  M. Clarholm,et al.  Phosphorus and nitrogen fertilization of a Norway spruce forest-effects on needle concentrations and acid phosphatase activity in the humus layer , 1995, Plant and Soil.

[2]  T. Näsholm,et al.  Mineral nutrient imbalances and arginine concentrations in needles of Picea abies (L.) Karst. from two areas with different levels of airborne deposition , 1993, Trees.

[3]  R. Aerts,et al.  The effect of increased nutrient availability on vegetation dynamics in wet heathlands , 1988, Vegetatio.

[4]  S. Güsewell,et al.  Variation in nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations of wetland plants , 2002 .

[5]  Ronald D. Jones,et al.  Phosphorus Biogeochemistry and the Impact of Phosphorus Enrichment: Why Is the Everglades so Unique? , 2001, Ecosystems.

[6]  S. Schiff,et al.  Tracing the Sources of Exported Nitrate in the Turkey Lakes Watershed Using 15N/14N and 18O/16O isotopic ratios , 2001, Ecosystems.

[7]  S. Jacobson,et al.  Growth responses following nitrogen and N-P-K-Mg additions to previously N-fertilized Scot pine and Norway spruce stands on mineral soils in Sweden , 2001 .

[8]  T. Seastedt,et al.  Plant Species Richness, Productivity, and Nitrogen and Phosphorus Limitations across a Snowpack Gradient in Alpine Tundra, Colorado, U.S.A. , 2001 .

[9]  William F. Fagan,et al.  Biological stoichiometry from genes to ecosystems. , 2000 .

[10]  P. Smethurst.  Soil solution and other soil analyses as indicators of nutrient supply: a review. , 2000 .

[11]  K. Weathers,et al.  NITROGEN SATURATION AND RETENTION IN FORESTED WATERSHEDS OF THE CATSKILL MOUNTAINS, NEW YORK , 2000 .

[12]  P. Allan,et al.  Fertilization of 'Solo' papayas with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. , 2000 .

[13]  K. Huss-Danell,et al.  Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and the Ratio Between them Affect Nodulation in Alnus incana and Trifolium pratense , 2000 .

[14]  Knute J. Nadelhoffer,et al.  EFFECTS OF CHRONIC NITROGEN ADDITIONS ON UNDERSTORY SPECIES IN A RED PINE PLANTATION , 1999 .

[15]  F. S. Chapin,et al.  The Mineral Nutrition of Wild Plants Revisited: A Re-evaluation of Processes and Patterns , 1999 .

[16]  J. P. Grime,et al.  Benefits of plant diversity to ecosystems: immediate, filter and founder effects , 1998 .

[17]  J. Aber,et al.  Nitrogen Excess in North American Ecosystems: Predisposing Factors, Ecosystem Responses, and Management Strategies , 1998 .

[18]  D. Raynal,et al.  Response of understory vegetation of Adirondack forests to nitrogen additions , 1998 .

[19]  H. L. Allen,et al.  Leaf Area and Above- and Belowground Growth Responses of Loblolly Pine to Nutrient and Water Additions , 1998, Forest Science.

[20]  Pamela A. Matson,et al.  Within-System Element Cycles, Input-Output Budgets, and Nutrient Limitation , 1998 .

[21]  William D. Bowman,et al.  Nutrient availability, plant abundance, and species diversity in two alpine tundra communities. , 1997 .

[22]  D. Boeye,et al.  Nutrient limitation in species‐rich lowland fens , 1997 .

[23]  Gregory P. Asner,et al.  The Decoupling of Terrestrial Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles , 1997 .

[24]  W. Koerselman,et al.  The vegetation N:P ratio: a new tool to detect the nature of nutrient limitation , 1996 .

[25]  J. Verhoeven,et al.  Nitrogen- or phosphorus-limited growth in herbaceous, wet vegetation: relations with atmospheric inputs and management regimes. , 1996, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[26]  Lawrence E. Band,et al.  Regulation of Nitrate‐N Release from Temperate Forests: A Test of the N Flushing Hypothesis , 1996 .

[27]  M. Fenn,et al.  Evidence for nitrogen saturation in the San Bernardino Mountains in southern California , 1996 .

[28]  E. Chaneton,et al.  Nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in grazed and ungrazed plots in a temperate subhumid grassland in Argentina , 1996 .

[29]  J. Baron,et al.  Nitrogen saturation in the Rocky Mountains , 1996 .

[30]  P. Doering,et al.  Phosphorus and nitrogen limitation of primary production in a simulated estuarine gradient , 1995 .

[31]  J. Fownes,et al.  Phosphorus limitation of forest leaf area and net primary production on a highly weathered soil , 1995 .

[32]  B. Nihlgård,et al.  Effects of lime and phosphate additions on nutrient status and growth of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seedlings , 1995 .

[33]  M. Wassen,et al.  Nutrient concentrations in mire vegetation as a measure of nutrient limitation in mire ecosystems , 1995 .

[34]  M. Mitchell,et al.  Phosphorus cycling in a hardwood forest in the Adirondack Mountains, New York , 1995 .

[35]  C. Beier,et al.  Biological response of five forest ecosystems in the EXMAN project to input changes of water, nutrients and atmospheric loads. , 1994 .

[36]  W. Bowman.  Accumulation and use of nitrogen and phosphorus following fertilization in two alpine tundra communities , 1994 .

[37]  James C. Schardt,et al.  CONSTRAINTS OF NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY ON PRIMARY PRODUCTION IN TWO ALPINE TUNDRA COMMUNITIES , 1993 .

[38]  J. M. Ellis,et al.  A Spatial Model of Atmospheric Deposition for the Northeastern U.S. , 1993, Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America.

[39]  W. Dennison,et al.  Nitrogen versus phosphorus limitation for growth of an estuarine population of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) , 1992 .

[40]  R. Aerts,et al.  Growth-Limiting Nutrients in Sphagnum-Dominated Bogs Subject to Low and High Atmospheric Nitrogen Supply , 1992 .

[41]  R. Bobbink.  Effects of nutrient enrichment in dutch chalk grassland , 1991 .

[42]  J. Verhoeven,et al.  Control of plant growth by nitrogen and phosphorus in mesotrophic fens , 1991 .

[43]  Robert W. Howarth,et al.  Nitrogen limitation on land and in the sea: How can it occur? , 1991 .

[44]  Lake Springfield,et al.  Illinois State Water Survey , 1991 .

[45]  C. Driscoll,et al.  Soil solution chemistry of an Adirondack Spodosol: lysimetry and N dynamics , 1990 .

[46]  H. L. Allen,et al.  Foliar responses to fertilization identify nutrient limitation in loblolly pine , 1990 .

[47]  M. L. H. Boyer,et al.  VEGETATION PATTERNS IN SPRING-FED CALCAREOUS FENS: CALCITE PRECIPITATION AND CONSTRAINTS ON FERTILITY , 1989 .

[48]  J. Aber,et al.  Nitrogen saturation in northern forest ecosystems , 1989 .

[49]  T. Ingestad,et al.  Nutrition and growth of birch seedlings at varied relative phosphorus addition rates , 1988 .

[50]  J. Vermeer.  The effect of nutrient addition and lowering of the water table on shoot biomass and species composition of a wet grassland community (Cirsio-Molinietum Siss. et de Vries, 1942) , 1986 .

[51]  J. Vermeer.  The effect of nutrients on shoot biomass and species composition of wetland and hayfield communities. , 1986 .

[52]  H. Keulen,et al.  Productivity of Sahelian rangelands in relation to the availability of nitrogen and phosphorus from the soil. , 1980 .

[53]  D. Schindler,et al.  Eutrophication and Recovery in Experimental Lakes: Implications for Lake Management , 1974, Science.

[54]  K. Loach.  Relations Between Soil Nutrients and Vegetation in Wet-Heaths: II. Nutrient Uptake by the Major Species in the Field and in Controlled Conditions , 1968 .

[55]  Arthur Cronquist,et al.  Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada , 2004 .

[56]  Walter J. Murphy,et al.  ADVANCES IN CHEMISTRY SERIES: Numbers 15 and 17 Demonstrate Rapidly Crowing Interest in Documentation; International Conference To Be Held in 1958 , 1956 .

[57]  C. Tamm.  Some Observations on the Nutrient Turn-Over in a Bog Community Dominated by Eriophorum vaginatum L. , 1954 .