Early positive biodiversity effects on total biomass in experimental tree seedling assemblages with and without water limitation

Growth and element accumulation in leaves of Pinusstrobus L., Prunusserotina Ehrh., Fraxinusamericana L., and Quercusrubra L. seedlings were investigated using open-top chambers at a site 11 km from an industrial city in Ohio, U.S.A. Treatments consisted of chambers receiving either carbon-filtered air or ambient air, and an ambient-air plot. Height of Pinusstrobus and total biomass and stem diameter of Prumusserotina were significantly greater in the ambient-air chamber than in the filtered-air chamber after 2 years, but leaf biomass was not affected. Compared with the ambient-air plot, chamber environment alone enhanced growth of Prunusserotina. Growth of the other species tested was not affected by any of the treatments. Ambient air did not significantly contribute to the concentrations of most leaf elements, whereas differences between years and between ambient and chamber environment had significant effects on P, K, Ca, Pb, and Zn accumulation. Changes in nutrient status brought about by chamber effect or annual climatic differences could in turn alter plant response to air pollutants.

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Modeling nitrogen and phosphorus interactions in intensively managed nursery soil-plant systems

Canadian Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.4141/cjss96-065 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 76 (4) ◽

pp. 523-530 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Yuanxin Teng ◽

Victor R. Timmer

Keyword(s):

Response Surface ◽

Picea Glauca ◽

Factorial Experiment ◽

Total Biomass ◽

Tree Seedling ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

Response Surface Models ◽

Surface Models ◽

Interaction Modeling ◽

Intensively Managed

Modeling simultaneous response to multinutrient fertilization to take advantage of element interactions is a promising approach in fertilizer prescription, but the practice is relatively unexplored in forestry applications. This paper demonstrates that simultaneous prescription of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizer for tree seedling culture can be facilitated by response surface models generated from a multi-level factorial experiment designed to quantify growth, nutritional response and N × P interactions in white spruce [Picea glauca (Moench) Voss]. Seedlings grown from seeds in potted soil were tested in a 6 (N) × 4 (P) × 3 (replicates) factorial experiment in a greenhouse. Analysis of variance indicated significant quadratic trends in treatment responses and significant N × P interactions, hence quadratic response surface models were generated from the total biomass database. However, model accuracy (R2 = 0.56) was low and the N × P interaction was underestimated when luxury to toxic N levels were included. Since the positive N × P interaction was enhanced by N additions at lower (deficient) levels but diminished at higher (luxury to toxic) levels, a model constructed from a data subset which excluded high N treatments markedly improved accuracy (R2 = 0.88) and significantly increased the regression-coefficient estimate for the interaction term. Verification in a nursery field trial for a 3-yr rotation confirmed that this refined model improved fertilizer prescription by increasing acceptable seedling numbers and fertilizer recovery by plants in bare-root stock production. Key words: Nutrient interaction, modeling, forest nursery, fertilization efficiency

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Tap-root depth of tropical seedlings in relation to species-specific edaphic preferences

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467404002238 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 155-160 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Toshihiro Yamada ◽

Eizi Suzuki ◽

Takuo Yamakura ◽

Sylvester Tan

Keyword(s):

Sandy Soil ◽

Root Biomass ◽

Leaf Biomass ◽

Total Biomass ◽

Root Depth ◽

Water Limitation ◽

Edaphic Conditions ◽

Tap Root ◽

Specialist Species ◽

Species Specific

We compared seedlings of sandy-soil specialist species (Dryobalanops aromatica and Scaphium borneense) and clay-rich-soil specialist congeners (D. lanceolata and S. longipetiolatum) in a tropical rain forest in Lambir Hills National Park, Malaysia, to determine whether variations in belowground seedling architecture and allometry were related to edaphic specialization. A convergent trait that was phylogenetically independent across the two genera was the presence of a deeper tap-root at any height and any root biomass in sandy-soil specialists than in clay-rich-soil specialists. This trait was fixed independently of the edaphic conditions in which the trees actually grew. Finer-textured soils generally have better water-holding capacity; we concluded that seasonal water limitation would be more severe in sandy soils than in clay-rich soils, and that water limitation would provoke convergence in seedling root depth among species with the same edaphic preferences. All significant differences found in interspecific comparison within Dryobalanops were consistent with the water-availability hypothesis; the sandy-soil specialist had larger root biomass at any total biomass and had smaller leaf biomass at any root biomass than the clay-rich-soil specialist. However, for Scaphium this was not the case, suggesting that factors other than water-limitation may also underlie seedling allometric relationships.

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Testing the effects of species interactions and water limitation on tree seedling biomass allocation and physiology

Tree Physiology ◽

10.1093/treephys/tpab005 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kelly L Kerr ◽

Nicole Zenes ◽

Anna T Trugman ◽

William R L Anderegg

Keyword(s):

Populus Tremuloides ◽

Biomass Allocation ◽

Pinus Ponderosa ◽

Ponderosa Pine ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Water Status ◽

Physiological Traits ◽

Plant Interactions ◽

Tree Seedling ◽

Water Limitation

Abstract Species interactions mediate tree responses to water limitation because competition and/or facilitation alter plant physiology and growth. However, because it is difficult to isolate the effects of plant–plant interactions and water limitation from other environmental factors, the mechanisms underlying tree physiology and growth in coexisting plants under drought are poorly understood. We investigated how species interactions and water limitation impact the physiology and growth of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides), narrowleaf cottonwood (Populus angustifolia) and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) seedlings in a controlled environment growth chamber, using aspen as a focal species. Seedlings were grown in pots alone or with a con- or hetero-specific seedling, and were subjected to a water limitation treatment. Growth, water status and physiological traits were measured before, during and after the treatment. Under well-watered conditions, the presence of another seedling affected growth or biomass allocation in all species, but did not impact the physiological traits we measured. Under water limitation, the presence of a competing seedling had a marginal impact on seedling growth and physiological traits in all species. Throughout the study, the magnitude and direction of seedling responses were complex and often species-specific. Our study serves as an important step toward testing how species’ interactions modify physiological responses and growth in well-watered and water-limited periods.

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Morpho-Anatomical Traits and Soluble Sugar Concentration Largely Explain the Responses of Three Deciduous Tree Species to Progressive Water Stress

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2021.738301 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Jonathan O. Hernandez ◽

Ji Young An ◽

Marilyn S. Combalicer ◽

Jong-Pil Chun ◽

Sang-Keun Oh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Water Content ◽

Soluble Sugar ◽

Principal Component ◽

Sugar Concentration ◽

Deciduous Tree ◽

Total Biomass ◽

Tree Seedling ◽

Quercus Acutissima ◽

Progressive Water Stress

A better understanding of plant drought responses is essential to improve plant water use efficiency, productivity, and resilience to ever-changing climatic conditions. Here, we investigated the growth, morpho-anatomical, physiological, and biochemical responses of Quercus acutissima Carruth., Quercus serrata Murray, and Betula schmidtii Regel to progressive water-stress. Seedlings were subjected to well-watered (WW) and water-stressed (WS) conditions while regularly monitoring the soil volumetric water content, stem diameter (SD), height, biomass, stomatal conductance (gs), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), and leaf relative water content (RWC). We also investigated the variation in stomatal pore (SP) area, specific leaf area (SLA), root xylem vessel diameter (VD), and total soluble sugar (TSS) concentration between treatments. After 2 months, WS significantly suppressed SD growth of Q. acutissima and B. schmidtii but had no impact on Q. serrata. Total biomass significantly declined at WS-treated seedlings in all species. WS resulted in a smaller SLA than WW in all species. The SP of WS-treated seedlings of Q. acutissima and B. schmidtii significantly decreased, whereas it increased significantly with time in Q. serrata. Larger vessels (i.e., >100 to ≤ 130) were more frequent at WS for Q. acutissima and B. schmidtii, whereas smaller vessels (i.e., >40 to ≤ 90) were more frequent at WS than at WW for Q. serrata after 8 weeks. Tylosis was more frequent at WS than WW for Q. serrata and B. schmidtii at eighth week. WS seedlings showed lower gs, Ci, and RWC compared with WW-treated ones in Q. acutissima and B. schmidtii. TSS concentration was also higher at WS-treated seedlings in two Quercus species. Overall, principal component analysis (PCA) showed that SLA and SP are associated with WS seedlings of Q. serrata and B. schmidtii and the tylosis frequency, TSS, and VD are associated with WS seedlings of Q. acutissima. Therefore, water-stressed plants from all species responded positively to water stress with increasing experimental duration and stress intensity, and that is largely explained by morpho-anatomical traits and soluble sugar concentration. The present study should enhance our understanding of drought-induced tree growth and short-term tree-seedling responses to drought.

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