leaf stoichiometry
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2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizhu Guo ◽  
Li Liu ◽  
Huizhen Meng ◽  
Li Zhang ◽  
Valdson José Silva ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Plant leaf stoichiometry reflect its adaptations to environments. Leaf stoichiometry variations across different environments have been extensively studied among grassland plants, but little is known about intraspecific leaf stoichiometry, especially for widely distributed species, such as Stellera chamaejasme L. We present the first study on the leaf stoichiometry of S. chamaejasme, and evaluate their relationships with environmental variables by collecting S. chamaejasme leaf and soil samples from 29 invaded sites in the two plateaus of distinct environments [the Inner Mongolian Plateau (IM) and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QT)] in Northern China. Leaf C, N, P, and K and their stoichiometric ratios, and soil physicochemical properties were determined, together with climate information from each sampling sites. Results: Results showed that mean leaf C, N, P, and K concentrations were 498.60, 19.95, 2.15, and 6.57 g · kg-1, respectively; the C/N, C/P, and N/P ratios were 25.46, 246.22, and 9.84, respectively. Soil physicochemical properties of S. chamaejasme invaded area varied wildly, and few significant correlations between S. chamaejasme leaf ecological stoichiometry and soil physicochemical properties were observed. Except for C and N in leaves, the P and K had higher homeostasis than 1, between 4.17 and 13.21. Moreover, C and N content of S. chamaejasme leaves were unaffected by any climate factors. However, the correlation between leaf P and climate factors was significant in IM only, while leaf K in QT. Finally, partial least squares path modeling suggested that leaf P or leaf K were affected by different mechanisms in QT and IM regions. Conclusions: Our results indicated that S. chamaejasme tend to be insensitive to variation in soil nutrient availability, resulting in their broad distributions in China grasslands. Moreover, S. chamaejasme adapt to changing environments by adjusting its relationships with climate or soil factors to improve their chances of survival and spread in degraded grasslands.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2420
Author(s):  
Zhao Fang ◽  
Xiaoyu Han ◽  
Mingyang Xie ◽  
Feng Jiao

Understanding the geographic patterns and potential drivers of leaf stoichiometry and plant biomass is critical for modeling the biogeochemical cycling of ecosystems and to forecast the responses of ecosystems to global changes. Therefore, we studied the spatial patterns and potential drivers of leaf stoichiometry and herb biomass from 15 sites spanning from south to north along a 500 km latitudinal gradient of the Loess Plateau. We found that leaf N and P stoichiometry and the biomass of herb plants varied greatly on the Loess Plateau, showing spatial patterns, and there were significant differences among the four vegetation zones. With increasing latitude (decreasing mean annual temperature and decreasing mean precipitation), aboveground and belowground biomass displayed an opening downward parabolic trend, while the root–shoot ratio gradually decreased. Furthermore, there were significant linear relationships between the leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents and latitude and climate (mean annual rainfall and mean annual temperature). However, the leaf N/P ratio showed no significant latitudinal or climatic trends. Redundancy analysis and stepwise regression analysis revealed herb biomass and leaf N and P contents were strongly related to environmental driving factors (slope, soil P content and latitude, altitude, mean annual rainfall and mean annual temperature). Compared with global scale results, herb plants on the Loess Plateau are characterized by relatively lower biomass, higher N content, lower P content and a higher N/P ratio, and vegetative growth may be more susceptible to P limitation. These findings indicated that the remarkable spatial distribution patterns of leaf N and P stoichiometry and herb biomass were jointly regulated by the climate, soil properties and topographic properties, providing new insights into potential vegetation restoration strategies.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1325
Author(s):  
Yalin Niu ◽  
Jianfang Kang ◽  
Haohai Su ◽  
Jan F. Adamowski ◽  
Asim Biswas ◽  
...  

Leaf stoichiometry of plants can respond to variation in environments such as elevation ranging from low to high and success in establishing itself in a given montane ecosystem. An evaluation of the leaf stoichiometry of Qinghai Spruce (Picea crassifolia Kom.) growing at different elevations (2400 m, 2600 m, 2800 m, 3000 m, and 3200 m) in eastern China’s Qilian Mountains, showed that leaf carbon (LC) and leaf phosphorus (LP) were similar among elevations, with ranges of 502.76–518.02 g·kg−1, and 1.00–1.43 g·kg−1, respectively. Leaf nitrogen (LN) varied with changes of elevation, with a maxima of 12.82 g·kg−1 at 2600 m and a minima of 10.74 g·kg−1 at 2800 m. The LC:LN under 2400 m and 2600 m was lower than that under other elevations, while LC:LP and LN:LP were not different among these elevations. Except for LN and LC:LN, P. crassifolia’s other leaf stoichiometries remained relatively stable across elevations, partly supporting the homeostasis hypothesis. Variations in leaf stoichiometry across elevations were mainly linked to mean annual precipitation, mean annual temperature, soil pH, and the soil organic C to soil total N ratio. P. crassifolia growth within the study area was more susceptible to P limitation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yutong Lin ◽  
Yuan Lai ◽  
Songbo Tang ◽  
Zhangfen Qin ◽  
Jianfeng Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Leaf stoichiometry of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) is indicative of plant nutrient limitation, community composition, ecosystem function. Understanding leaf stoichiometry patterns of C, N, P of eurytopic species at genus-level across large-scale geographic regions and identifying their driven factors are of great importance to assess and to predict species’ distribution range shifts affected by climate change. Methods Here, we determined the patterns of leaf C, N, P stoichiometry of five deciduous oaks species (Quercus) across China covering ~ 20 latitude (~ 21–41˚ N) and longitude (~ 99–119˚ E) degrees, and detected their relationships with climatic, edaphic variables. Results We found that the concentrations ([ ]) of leaf C, N and the ratios ( / ) of N: P, C: P significantly increased, while leaf [P] and C/N decreased with the increasing latitude. However, leaf stoichiometry had no significant trends along the longitudinal gradient with an exception of leaf [C] which decreased with increasing longitude. The climatic variables, i.e. mean annual temperature precipitation (MAP), the max temperature of the warmest month (Tmax), temperature seasonality (TS), aridity index (AI) were the determinants on the geographic patterns of leaf C, N, P stoichiometry. The studied deciduous Quercus species growing in warm and wet environments tended to increase leaf [C], [N], C/P, and N/P, but to decrease leaf [P] and C/N, which maybe their nutritional strategies to improve adaptability. Conclusion The adaptative mechanisms of leaf stoichiometry should be further studied to assess the fate of deciduous Quercus species affected by climate change.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizhu Guo ◽  
Li Liu ◽  
Huizhen Meng ◽  
Li Zhang ◽  
Valdson José Silva ◽  
...  

Abstract Plant leaf stoichiometry reflect its adaptations to environments. Leaf stoichiometry variations across different environments have been extensively studied among grassland plants, but little is known about intraspecific leaf stoichiometry, especially for widely distributed species, such as Stellera chamaejasme L. In order to evaluate the biogeographical drivers for leaf elemental stoichiometry in S. chamaejasme, leaf and soil samples were collected from 29 invaded sites in the two plateaus of distinct environments [the Inner Mongolian Plateau (IM) and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QT)] in Northern China. Leaf C, N, P, and K and their stoichiometric ratios, and soil physicochemical properties were determined. Results showed that mean leaf C, N, P, and K concentrations were 498.60, 19.95, 2.15, and 6.57 g kg-1, respectively; the C/N, C/P, and N/P ratios were 25.46, 246.22, and 9.84, respectively. Only leaf K was significantly different between the two environments studied. Soil physicochemical properties of S. chamaejasme invaded area varied wildly, suggesting this wide ranging species tend to be insensitive to variation in soil nutrient availability. C and N content of S. chamaejasme leaves were unaffected by any environmental factors. However, the stoichiometric homeostasis of P and K was observed. The correlation between leaf P and climate factors was significant only in IM, while leaf K was significantly related to climate factors only in QT. Partial least squares path modeling suggested that soil exerted a significant effect on LP and climate affected leaf P and K both directly and indirectly in QT, while LP appeared to be limited mainly by climatic factors via direct ways and LK was not affected significantly by any environmental factors in IM. This study evaluated the S. chamaejasme leaf elemental stoichiometry and their relationships with environmental variables, which can help understand the plant biogeographic patterns and adaption strategy in degraded grasslands in China.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syazwan Pengiran Sulaiman ◽  
Daniele Cicuzza

Abstract Terrestrial and epiphytic herbaceous forest species have different ecology and leaf stoichiometry. In tropical regions, a great component of herbaceous forest species is represented by ferns with different lifeforms. However, little is known about the differences in leaf stoichiometry between the lifeforms. We account for the concentrations of leaf elements (N, P, K, Ca and Mg) between terrestrial and epiphyte lifeforms and evolutionary clades. The fern species were sampled from the forest of Brunei Darussalam. Five leaves were collected from 5 individuals from 16 terrestrial and 4 epiphytic ferns. The leaves were then acid-digested and analyzed. Epiphytic species had higher concentration of most of the leaf elements. The N:P ratio showed that the epiphytic species being much more nutrient-limited, relying on stochastic events, compared to the terrestrial species which have a constant availability of soil elements. Epiphytes showed a higher concentration of P, which could be explained by their luxury consumption. Epiphytes accumulate elements in a higher concentration than is needed by their normal metabolic activity. Furthermore, epiphyte species have a significantly higher concentration of Ca which could be interpreted as necessity of coping with severe habitat conditions with schlerophyll leaves. The results bring in more information on the poorly studied stoichiometry of tropical Asian fern species. Important in understanding the eco-physiology of terrestrial and epiphytic ferns and determining which species are sensitive to the different forest management and the effect of climate change. This, is in addition to the associated mechanisms.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunchao Zhu ◽  
Minhua Zhang ◽  
Yongfa Chen ◽  
Deyi Yin ◽  
Dong He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Liu ◽  
yanyan Qin ◽  
Zhang Xiaofang ◽  
Jan F. Adamowski ◽  
Asim Biswas

Abstract Background: Plant species have developed their individual leaf stoichiometries to adapt to changes in the environment. Changes in plant leaf stoichiometry with elevation are largely undocumented, but could provide information critical to protecting or enhancing a species’ growth and development and manage the ecosystem housing it. We investigate the leaf stoichiometry of Potentilla fruticosa L. along with different elevations in China’s Qilian mountains (Northeast Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau). This study aims to reveal how elevations effect of the leaf stoichiometry of Potentilla fruticosa L. along with various soil properties in China’s Qilian mountains .Results: In our study, we selected seven elevations 2,400 m, 2,600 m, 2,800 m, 3,000 m, 3,200 m, 3,500 m, and 3,800 m elevation. We sampled leaves at top and middle of P. fruticosa from each of seven elevations. Maximum and minimum leaf carbon (C) concentrations ([C]leaf) of 523.59 g kg-1 and 402.56 g kg-1 were measured at 2,600 m and 3,500 m, respectively. Showing a generally increasing trend with elevation, leaf nitrogen (N) concentration ([N]leaf) peaked at 3,500 m (27.33 g kg-1). Leaf phosphorus (P) concentration ([P]leaf) varied slightly over elevations of 2,400 m to 3,200 m, then dropped to a minimum (0.60 g kg-1) at 3800 m. While [C]leaf:[N]leaf, [C]leaf:[P]leaf and [N]leaf:[P]leaf varied little between 2,400 m and 3,000 m, at higher elevations they fluctuated somewhat, the latter two showing a decrease at 3,200 m followed by an increase at higher elevations. The soil organic C, pH, and soil total P were the main factors influencing P. fruticosa leaf stoichiometry. The limiting nutrients were P. Conclusions: We highlight the dependency of leaf stoichiometry on slope aspect and elevation. As P. fruticosa is a major alpine shrub in this region and plays an important role in maintaining ecological functions and services on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, measures should be adopted to improve P. fruticosa growth by preventing P loss, especially at higher elevations where significant P losses occur due to high precipitation and sparse vegetation.


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