Potassium(K),calcium(Ca),and magnesium(Mg)are essential elements with important physiological functions in plants.Previous studies showed that leaf K,Ca,and Mg concentrations generally increase with increasing latitud...Potassium(K),calcium(Ca),and magnesium(Mg)are essential elements with important physiological functions in plants.Previous studies showed that leaf K,Ca,and Mg concentrations generally increase with increasing latitudes.However,recent meta-analyses suggested the possibility of a unimodal pattern in the concentrations of these elements along latitudinal gradients.The authenticity of this unimodal latitudinal pattern,however,requires validation through large-scale field experimental data,and exploration of the underlying mechanisms if the pattern is confirmed.Here,we collected leaves of common species of woody plants from 19 montane forests in the north-south transect of eastern China,including 322 species from 160 genera,67 families;and then determined leaf K,Ca,and Mg concentrations to explore their latitudinal patterns and driving mechanisms.Our results support unimodal latitudinal patterns for all three elements in woody plants across eastern China,with peak values at latitude 36.5±1.0°N.The shift of plant-functional-type compositions from evergreen broadleaves to deciduous broadleaves and to conifers along this latitudinal span was the key factor contributing to these patterns.Climatic factors,mainly temperature,and to a lesser extent solar radiation and precipitation,were the main environmental drivers.These factors,by altering the composition of plant communities and regulating plant physiological activities,influence the latitudinal patterns of plant nutrient concentrations.Our findings also suggest that high leaf K,Ca,and Mg concentrations may represent an adaptive strategy for plants to withstand water stress,which might be used to predict plant nutrient responses to climate changes at large scales,and broaden the understanding of biogeochemical cycling of K,Ca,and Mg.展开更多
As a key functional trait affecting many physiological processes,leaf pH is closely related to other leaf traits at the local scale.Nevertheless,whether and how leaf pH is linked with other leaf functional traits acro...As a key functional trait affecting many physiological processes,leaf pH is closely related to other leaf traits at the local scale.Nevertheless,whether and how leaf pH is linked with other leaf functional traits across geographic scales remains unclear.A field survey in northern China was conducted to investigate the relationships between leaf pH and some key leaf structural(specific leaf area,SLA;leaf dry matter content,LDMC)and chemical traits(elemental concentrations;total dissolved solids,TDS;practical salinity),as well as the effects of environmental factors on these relationships.Our results showed that the trait coordination may vary in degree or direction across eco-geographic regions(arid vs.non-arid regions)and life-forms(woody vs.herbaceous plants).Generally,leaf pH was negatively related to SLA,but positively related to TDS and salinity.However,leaf pH and LDMC were negatively correlated in arid regions but positively correlated in non-arid regions;leaf pH covaried with N(similarly,with Ca,Mg and Na)in the same direction for both herbaceous and woody plants in arid regions,but not in non-arid regions.Climatic factors mainly influenced the relationships of leaf pH with leaf Ca and Fe concentrations,while soil factors mostly affected those with leaf P,Ca and Mn concentrations.Our findings highlight the divergent coordination between leaf pH and other leaf traits across life-forms and eco-geographic regions and may shed light on the in-depth understanding of the role of acid-base balance in plant eco-physiological processes and ecological adaptation over biogeographic scales.展开更多
Leaf nitrogen(N) and phosphorus(P) concentrations are critical for photosynthesis, growth, reproduction and other ecological processes of plants. Previous studies on large-scale biogeographic patterns of leaf N and P ...Leaf nitrogen(N) and phosphorus(P) concentrations are critical for photosynthesis, growth, reproduction and other ecological processes of plants. Previous studies on large-scale biogeographic patterns of leaf N and P stoichiometric relationships were mostly conducted using data pooled across taxa, while family/genus-level analyses are rarely reported. Here, we examined global patterns of family-specific leaf N and P stoichiometry using a global data set of 12,716 paired leaf N and P records which includes 204 families, 1,305 genera, and 3,420 species. After determining the minimum size of samples(i.e., 35 records), we analyzed leaf N and P concentrations, N:P ratios and N^P scaling relationships of plants for 62 families with 11,440 records. The numeric values of leaf N and P stoichiometry varied significantly across families and showed diverse trends along gradients of mean annual temperature(MAT) and mean annual precipitation(MAP). The leaf N and P concentrations and N:P ratios of 62 families ranged from 6.11 to 30.30 mg g–1, 0.27 to 2.17 mg g–1, and 10.20 to 35.40, respectively. Approximately 1/3–1/2 of the families(22–35 of 62) showed a decrease in leaf N and P concentrations and N:P ratios with increasing MAT or MAP, while the remainder either did not show a significant trend or presented the opposite pattern. Family-specific leaf N^P scaling exponents did not converge to a certain empirical value, with a range of 0.307–0.991 for 54 out of 62 families which indicated a significant N^P scaling relationship. Our results for the first time revealed large variation in the family-level leaf N and P stoichiometry of global terrestrial plants and that the stoichiometric relationships for at least one-third of the families were not consistent with the global trends reported previously. The numeric values of the family-specific leaf N and P stoichiometry documented in the current study provide critical synthetic parameters for biogeographic modeling and for further studies on the physiological and ecological mechanisms underlying the nutrient use strategies of plants from different phylogenetic taxa.展开更多
Aims To explore resorption efficiency of nitrogen(NrE)and phosphorus(PrE)of woody plants in relation to soil nutrient availability,climate and evolutionary history,in North China.Methods We measured concentrations of ...Aims To explore resorption efficiency of nitrogen(NrE)and phosphorus(PrE)of woody plants in relation to soil nutrient availability,climate and evolutionary history,in North China.Methods We measured concentrations of nitrogen([N])and phosphorus([P])in both full expanded mature green and senescent leaves of the same individuals for 88 woody species from 10 sites of mt.Dongling,beijing,China.We built a phylogenetic tree for all these species and compared NrE and PrE among life forms(trees,shrubs and woody lianas)and between functional groups(N-fixers and non-N-fixers).We then explored patterns of NrE and PrE along gradients of mean annual temperature(MAT),soil inorganic N and available P,and phylogeny using a general linear model.Important Findingsmass-based NrE(NrEm)and PrE(PrEm)averaged 57.4 and 61.4%,respectively,with no significant difference among life forms or functional groups.Neither NrEm nor PrEm exhibited significant phylogenetic signals,indicating that NrEm and PrEm were not phylogenetically conserved.NrEm was not related to[N]in green leaves;PrEm was positively correlated with[P]in green leaves;however,this relationship disappeared for different groups.NrEm decreased with[N]in senescent leaves,PrEm decreased with[P]in senescent leaves,for all species combined and for trees and shrubs.NrEm decreased with soil inorganic N for all species and for shrubs;PrEm did not exhibit a significant trend with soil available P for all species or for different plant groups.Neither NrEm nor PrEm was significantly related to MAT for overall species and for species of different groups.展开更多
基金supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA26040202)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41173083)+1 种基金SL was also supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32001165)the Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province(2022NSFSC1753)。
文摘Potassium(K),calcium(Ca),and magnesium(Mg)are essential elements with important physiological functions in plants.Previous studies showed that leaf K,Ca,and Mg concentrations generally increase with increasing latitudes.However,recent meta-analyses suggested the possibility of a unimodal pattern in the concentrations of these elements along latitudinal gradients.The authenticity of this unimodal latitudinal pattern,however,requires validation through large-scale field experimental data,and exploration of the underlying mechanisms if the pattern is confirmed.Here,we collected leaves of common species of woody plants from 19 montane forests in the north-south transect of eastern China,including 322 species from 160 genera,67 families;and then determined leaf K,Ca,and Mg concentrations to explore their latitudinal patterns and driving mechanisms.Our results support unimodal latitudinal patterns for all three elements in woody plants across eastern China,with peak values at latitude 36.5±1.0°N.The shift of plant-functional-type compositions from evergreen broadleaves to deciduous broadleaves and to conifers along this latitudinal span was the key factor contributing to these patterns.Climatic factors,mainly temperature,and to a lesser extent solar radiation and precipitation,were the main environmental drivers.These factors,by altering the composition of plant communities and regulating plant physiological activities,influence the latitudinal patterns of plant nutrient concentrations.Our findings also suggest that high leaf K,Ca,and Mg concentrations may represent an adaptive strategy for plants to withstand water stress,which might be used to predict plant nutrient responses to climate changes at large scales,and broaden the understanding of biogeochemical cycling of K,Ca,and Mg.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32001165,41473068)the Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province(2022NSFSC1753)+1 种基金the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA26040202)the Free Exploration Project of the Dual Support Plan for Disciplinary Development of Sichuan Agricultural University(2024ZYTS016).
文摘As a key functional trait affecting many physiological processes,leaf pH is closely related to other leaf traits at the local scale.Nevertheless,whether and how leaf pH is linked with other leaf functional traits across geographic scales remains unclear.A field survey in northern China was conducted to investigate the relationships between leaf pH and some key leaf structural(specific leaf area,SLA;leaf dry matter content,LDMC)and chemical traits(elemental concentrations;total dissolved solids,TDS;practical salinity),as well as the effects of environmental factors on these relationships.Our results showed that the trait coordination may vary in degree or direction across eco-geographic regions(arid vs.non-arid regions)and life-forms(woody vs.herbaceous plants).Generally,leaf pH was negatively related to SLA,but positively related to TDS and salinity.However,leaf pH and LDMC were negatively correlated in arid regions but positively correlated in non-arid regions;leaf pH covaried with N(similarly,with Ca,Mg and Na)in the same direction for both herbaceous and woody plants in arid regions,but not in non-arid regions.Climatic factors mainly influenced the relationships of leaf pH with leaf Ca and Fe concentrations,while soil factors mostly affected those with leaf P,Ca and Mn concentrations.Our findings highlight the divergent coordination between leaf pH and other leaf traits across life-forms and eco-geographic regions and may shed light on the in-depth understanding of the role of acid-base balance in plant eco-physiological processes and ecological adaptation over biogeographic scales.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31800397)National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC0503900)+2 种基金the TRY initiative on plant traits (http://www.try-db.org)The TRY database is hosted at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (Jena, Germany)supported by DIVERSITAS/Future Earth, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig and EU project BACI (640176)
文摘Leaf nitrogen(N) and phosphorus(P) concentrations are critical for photosynthesis, growth, reproduction and other ecological processes of plants. Previous studies on large-scale biogeographic patterns of leaf N and P stoichiometric relationships were mostly conducted using data pooled across taxa, while family/genus-level analyses are rarely reported. Here, we examined global patterns of family-specific leaf N and P stoichiometry using a global data set of 12,716 paired leaf N and P records which includes 204 families, 1,305 genera, and 3,420 species. After determining the minimum size of samples(i.e., 35 records), we analyzed leaf N and P concentrations, N:P ratios and N^P scaling relationships of plants for 62 families with 11,440 records. The numeric values of leaf N and P stoichiometry varied significantly across families and showed diverse trends along gradients of mean annual temperature(MAT) and mean annual precipitation(MAP). The leaf N and P concentrations and N:P ratios of 62 families ranged from 6.11 to 30.30 mg g–1, 0.27 to 2.17 mg g–1, and 10.20 to 35.40, respectively. Approximately 1/3–1/2 of the families(22–35 of 62) showed a decrease in leaf N and P concentrations and N:P ratios with increasing MAT or MAP, while the remainder either did not show a significant trend or presented the opposite pattern. Family-specific leaf N^P scaling exponents did not converge to a certain empirical value, with a range of 0.307–0.991 for 54 out of 62 families which indicated a significant N^P scaling relationship. Our results for the first time revealed large variation in the family-level leaf N and P stoichiometry of global terrestrial plants and that the stoichiometric relationships for at least one-third of the families were not consistent with the global trends reported previously. The numeric values of the family-specific leaf N and P stoichiometry documented in the current study provide critical synthetic parameters for biogeographic modeling and for further studies on the physiological and ecological mechanisms underlying the nutrient use strategies of plants from different phylogenetic taxa.
基金National Basic Research Program of China on Global Change(2010CB950600 and 2014CB954004)National Natural Science Foundation of China(31321061 and 31330012)the‘Strategic Priority Research Program’of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA05050300).
文摘Aims To explore resorption efficiency of nitrogen(NrE)and phosphorus(PrE)of woody plants in relation to soil nutrient availability,climate and evolutionary history,in North China.Methods We measured concentrations of nitrogen([N])and phosphorus([P])in both full expanded mature green and senescent leaves of the same individuals for 88 woody species from 10 sites of mt.Dongling,beijing,China.We built a phylogenetic tree for all these species and compared NrE and PrE among life forms(trees,shrubs and woody lianas)and between functional groups(N-fixers and non-N-fixers).We then explored patterns of NrE and PrE along gradients of mean annual temperature(MAT),soil inorganic N and available P,and phylogeny using a general linear model.Important Findingsmass-based NrE(NrEm)and PrE(PrEm)averaged 57.4 and 61.4%,respectively,with no significant difference among life forms or functional groups.Neither NrEm nor PrEm exhibited significant phylogenetic signals,indicating that NrEm and PrEm were not phylogenetically conserved.NrEm was not related to[N]in green leaves;PrEm was positively correlated with[P]in green leaves;however,this relationship disappeared for different groups.NrEm decreased with[N]in senescent leaves,PrEm decreased with[P]in senescent leaves,for all species combined and for trees and shrubs.NrEm decreased with soil inorganic N for all species and for shrubs;PrEm did not exhibit a significant trend with soil available P for all species or for different plant groups.Neither NrEm nor PrEm was significantly related to MAT for overall species and for species of different groups.
