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Scaling the leaf nutrient resorption efficiency: Nitrogen vs phosphorus in global plants
Maosong He1, Zhengbing Yan2, Xiaoqing Cui3
1State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; CAS Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia, Urumqi 830011, China.
The Science of the Total Environment
|May 7, 2020
Summary
Plants reabsorb phosphorus (P) more efficiently than nitrogen (N) from senescent leaves. This nutrient resorption strategy varies across plant types and global environmental factors, impacting nutrient cycling.
Area of Science:
- Plant Ecology
- Nutrient Cycling
- Biogeochemistry
Background:
- Nutrient resorption from senescent leaves is a critical plant strategy for nutrient acquisition.
- Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) allocation patterns are influenced by plant functional types and environmental conditions.
- Limited understanding exists regarding the allometric relationship between N and P resorption efficiencies across diverse plant functional types (PFTs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the allometric relationship between N resorption efficiency (NRE) and P resorption efficiency (PRE) across various PFTs.
- To identify the driving factors, including climate and soil nutrients, influencing the NRE-PRE scaling exponent (b).
- To explore global patterns in differential N and P resorption efficiencies among terrestrial plants.
Main Methods:
- Compiled N and P resorption data from 2541 records, spanning 894 species and 488 global sites.
- Analyzed allometric relationships (NRE ~ PRE^b) between NRE and PRE.
- Explored how scaling exponents vary across different PFTs and environmental factors (latitude, temperature, soil N & P).
Main Results:
- The global scaling exponent for NRE-PRE was 0.88, indicating higher P resorption than N resorption.
- Scaling exponents differed significantly among PFTs, with broadleaved, deciduous, non-leguminous, and woody plants showing higher exponents than coniferous, evergreen, leguminous, and herbaceous plants.
- Scaling exponents increased with latitude and soil nutrient availability but decreased with increasing mean annual temperature.
Conclusions:
- Terrestrial plants generally exhibit higher P resorption efficiency relative to N, suggesting more effective P utilization.
- Differential N and P resorption efficiencies vary distinctly among PFTs and exhibit a global biogeographic pattern.
- These findings enhance understanding of plant nutrient recycling and aid in predicting nutrient balance under global change.
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