Journal
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH
Volume 45, Issue 12, Pages 1827-1834Publisher
CANADIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING, NRC RESEARCH PRESS
DOI: 10.1139/cjfr-2015-0110
Keywords
climatic factors; intraspecific variability; latitudinal pattern; leaf stoichiometry; soil nutrients; leaf mass per area
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [NSFC 31270640, 71333010]
- National Key Technology R and D Program [2013BAD11B01]
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The variability of leaf stoichiometry has been studied at different taxonomic levels across various geographic ranges. However, the intraspecific variations in leaf stoichiometry of widely distributed species are poorly understood. We characterize the biogeographical patterns and environmental controls of leaf nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S) concentrations of Quercus variabilis Blume, a widely distributed tree species of significant economic and ecological value in China. The stoichiometry of Q. variabilis leaves exhibited substantial variation, which was strongly affected by climatic factors and respective concentrations of soil nutrients but had little association with leaf mass per area. Climate was the dominant driver, apart from P and Ca, which were also strongly related to soil P and Ca, respectively. Concentrations of leaf N, P, K, and Mg decreased significantly with mean annual temperature and increased with aridity, albeit at different magnitudes, resulting in positive latitudinal trends of all elements except for Ca and S. The results indicate that Q. variabilis leaf stoichiometry shows a relevant degree of flexibility and that alterations in climatic factors and soil nutrient availability have diverse influences on patterns of the different elements. Our findings provide an important contribution toward an understanding of how widespread species regulate their stoichiometry to adapt to heterogeneous environments.
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