RESORPTION EFFICIENCY DECREASES WITH INCREASING GREEN LEAF NUTRIENTS IN A GLOBAL DATA SET

To investigate effects of green-leaf nutrient status on senesced-leaf nutrient concentrations and resorption efficiency, we developed a database of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in green and senesced leaves from 92 published studies. We fit power functions (i.e., [nutrient]sen = A [nutrient]grB) separately for N and P. The database encompassed 297 perennial species of different life-forms. Across these divergent species and conditions, a major control on senesced-leaf nutrient concentration was green-leaf nutrient status; nutrient concentrations in senesced leaves were positively associated with green-leaf nutrient concentrations (r2 values from 51% to 84%). Within-species variation as well as species differences contributed to the overall variation in nutrient concentrations. Moreover, N and P resorption efficiency decreased, respectively, with increased N and P green-leaf status; fitted power functions indicated that a disproportionate amount of nutrient remained in senesced leaves of h...

[1]  M. Walters,et al.  Tree seedling growth, survival, and morphology in response to landscape-level variation in soil resource availability in northern Michigan , 2005 .

[2]  C. Vogel,et al.  Autumnal changes in tissue nitrogen of autumn olive, black alder and eastern cottonwood , 1989, Plant and Soil.

[3]  J. Knops,et al.  Site fertility and leaf nutrients of sympatric evergreen and deciduous species of Quercus in central coastal California , 1997, Plant Ecology.

[4]  W. Bowman,et al.  Shoot growth dynamics and photosynthetic response to increased nitrogen availability in the alpine willow Salix glauca , 1994, Oecologia.

[5]  A. Escudero,et al.  The efficiency of nitrogen retranslocation from leaf biomass in Quercus ilex ecosystems , 2004, Vegetatio.

[6]  X. Mayor,et al.  Is primary production in holm oak forests nutrient limited? , 2004, Vegetatio.

[7]  A. Escudero,et al.  Effects of leaf longevity and retranslocation efficiency on the retention time of nutrients in the leaf biomass of different woody species , 1992, Oecologia.

[8]  K. Lajtha,et al.  The effect of varying nitrogen and phosphorus availability on nutrient use by Larrea tridentata, a desert evergreen shrub , 1988, Oecologia.

[9]  F. Berendse,et al.  A comparative study on nutrient cycling in wet heathland ecosystems , 2004 .

[10]  R. Aerts,et al.  Current measures of nutrient resorption efficiency lead to a substantial underestimation of real resorption efficiency: facts and solutions. , 2003 .

[11]  M. Westoby,et al.  Nutrient concentration, resorption and lifespan: leaf traits of Australian sclerophyll species , 2003 .

[12]  L. Comas,et al.  Linking root traits to potential growth rate in six temperate tree species , 2002, Oecologia.

[13]  Karl J Niklas,et al.  Global Allocation Rules for Patterns of Biomass Partitioning in Seed Plants , 2002, Science.

[14]  T. Ericsson,et al.  Seasonal variation of macronutrients in leaves, stems and roots of Salix dasyclados Wimm. grown at two nutrient levels , 2001 .

[15]  D. Ellsworth,et al.  Forest litter production, chemistry and decomposition following two years of Free-Air CO2 Enrichment , 2001 .

[16]  A. Ares,et al.  Productivity, resource use, and competitive interactions of Fraxinus uhdei in Hawaii uplands , 2001 .

[17]  J. Cavender-Bares,et al.  Consequences of CO2 and light interactions for leaf phenology, growth, and senescence in Quercus rubra , 2000 .

[18]  B. G. Lockaby,et al.  Aboveground production and nutrient circulation along a flooding gradient in a South Carolina Coastal Plain forest , 1999 .

[19]  P. S. Karlsson,et al.  Leaf life span and nutrient resorption as determinants of plant nutrient conservation in temperate‐arctic regions , 1999 .

[20]  T. Enoki,et al.  Nitrogen resorption from needles of Pinus thunbergii Parl. growing along a topographic gradient of soil nutrient availability , 1999, Ecological research.

[21]  Ian J. Wright,et al.  Differences in seedling growth behaviour among species: trait correlations across species, and trait shifts along nutrient compared to rainfall gradients , 1999 .

[22]  T. Grizzard.  Seasonal Nutrient Dynamics of Foliage and Litterfall on Walker Branch Watershed, a Deciduous Forest Ecosystem , 1999 .

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

[24]  F. Laos,et al.  Indicators of nitrogen conservation in Austrocedrus chilensis forests along a moisture gradient in Argentina , 1998 .

[25]  P. Vitousek.  Foliar and Litter Nutrients, Nutrient Resorption, and Decomposition in Hawaiian Metrosideros polymorpha , 1998, Ecosystems.

[26]  P. Reich,et al.  Photosynthesis and respiration rates depend on leaf and root morphology and nitrogen concentration in nine boreal tree species differing in relative growth rate , 1998 .

[27]  P. Reich,et al.  From tropics to tundra: global convergence in plant functioning. , 1997, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[28]  R. Kobe.  Carbohydrate allocation to storage as a basis of interspecific variation in sapling survivorship and growth , 1997 .

[29]  I. S. Regina,et al.  Seasonal variation in nutrient concentration in leaves and branches of Quercus pyrenaica , 1997 .

[30]  R. Hilborn,et al.  The Ecological Detective: Confronting Models with Data , 1997 .

[31]  R. Boerner,et al.  Foliar nutrient dynamics and resorption in naturalized Lonicera Maackii (Caprifoliaceae) populations in Ohio, USA , 1997 .

[32]  K. Killingbeck.  Nutrients in Senesced Leaves: Keys to the Search for Potential Resorption and Resorption Proficiency , 1996 .

[33]  J. McArthur,et al.  SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL PATTERNS OF NUTRIENT CONCENTRATIONS IN FOLIAGE OF RIPARIAN SPECIES , 1996 .

[34]  R. Aerts.  Nutrient resorption from senescing leaves of perennials: are there general patterns? , 1996 .

[35]  K. Killingbeck,et al.  Effects of herbivore-induced nutrient stress on correlates of fitness and on nutrient resorption in scrub oak (Quercusilicifolia) , 1995 .

[36]  M. G. Shelton,et al.  The influence of nitrogen applications on the resorption of foliar nutrients in sweetgum , 1995 .

[37]  S. Singh,et al.  Productivity and nutrient cycling in poplar stands in central Himalaya, India , 1994 .

[38]  R. Boerner,et al.  Drought and site fertility effects on foliar nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics and nutrient resorption by the forest understory shrub Viburnum acerifolium L. , 1994 .

[39]  S. Singh,et al.  leaf nitrogen dynamics with particular reference to retranslocation in evergreen and deciduous tree species of Kumaun Himalaya , 1993 .

[40]  F. Chapin,et al.  Controls over Nutrient Resorption from Leaves of Evergreen Mediterranean Species , 1993 .

[41]  M. Walbridge.  Phosphorus Availability in Acid Organic Soils of the Lower North Carolina Coastal Plain , 1991 .

[42]  F. Chapin,et al.  Nutritional Controls Over Nitrogen and Phosphorus Resorption From Alaskan Birch Leaves , 1991 .

[43]  K. Killingbeck,et al.  Foliar senescence in an aspen (Populus tremuloides) clone: the response of element resorption to interramet variation and timing of abscission. , 1990 .

[44]  R. Aerts.  Aboveground biomass and nutrient dynamics of Calluna vulgaris and Molinia caerulea in a dry heathland. , 1989 .

[45]  R. Aerts,et al.  Above-ground nutrient turnover and net primary production of an evergreen and a deciduous species in a heathland ecosystem. , 1989 .

[46]  W. Schlesinger,et al.  Nutrient-use efficiency of woody plants on contrasting soils in the western Great Basin, Nevada , 1989 .

[47]  F. Chapin,et al.  Differences in growth and nutrient use among arctic plant growth forms , 1989 .

[48]  S. A. Costigan,et al.  Element resorption in a guild of understory shrub species: niche differentiation and resorption thresholds , 1988 .

[49]  S. Singh,et al.  Dynamics of Nutrients and Leaf Mass in Central Himalayan Forest Trees and Shrubs. , 1987, Ecology.

[50]  R. Aerts,et al.  Nitrogen-use efficiency : a biologically meaningful definition? , 1987 .

[51]  K. Lajtha.  Nutrient reabsorption efficiency and the response to phosphorus fertilization in the desert shrubLarrea tridentata (DC.) Cov. , 1987 .

[52]  J. Dawson,et al.  Autumnal changes in total nitrogen, salt-extractable proteins and amino acids in leaves and adjacent bark of black alder, eastern cottonwood and white basswood , 1986 .

[53]  P. Vitousek,et al.  Nitrogen Availability and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Loblolly Pine Stands , 1986 .

[54]  Christopher B. Field,et al.  photosynthesis--nitrogen relationship in wild plants , 1986 .

[55]  R. Boerner.  Foliar nutrient dynamics and nutrient use efficiency of four deciduous tree species in relation to site fertility , 1984 .

[56]  J. Melillo,et al.  Nutrient Budgets of Marsh Plants: Efficiency Concepts and Relation to Availability , 1984 .

[57]  K. Cleve,et al.  Nutrient cycling in relation to decomposition and organic-matter quality in taiga ecosystems , 1983 .

[58]  F. Stuart Chapin,et al.  Seasonal Changes in Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fractions and Autumn Retranslocation in Evergreen and Deciduous Taiga Trees , 1983 .

[59]  Peter M. Vitousek,et al.  Nutrient Cycling and Nutrient Use Efficiency , 1982, The American Naturalist.

[60]  H. Staaf.  Plant nutrient changes in beech leaves during senescence as influenced by site characteristics [Fagus sylvatica] , 1982 .

[61]  J. Dawson,et al.  Seasonal Change in Foliar Nitrogen Concentration of Alnus Glutinosa , 1981 .

[62]  D. Anderson,et al.  On the effect of using ratios in the analysis of variance , 1977 .

[63]  A. Morton.  MINERAL NUTRIENT PATHWAYS IN A MOLINIETUM IN AUTUMN AND WINTER , 1977 .

[64]  J. B. Baker,et al.  Biomass and Nutrient Accumulation in a Cottonwood Plantation—the First Growing Season , 1977 .

[65]  D. R. Timmons,et al.  Elements in leaves of a trembling aspen clone by crown position and season , 1976 .

[66]  E. Small.  Photosynthetic rates in relation to nitrogen recycling as an adaptation to nutrient deficiency in peat bog plants , 1972 .