Environmental Constraints on a Global Relationship Among Leaf and Root Traits of Grasses

Craine, Joseph M.; Lee, William G.; Bond, William J.; Williams, Richard J.; Johnson, Loretta C.

doi:10.1890/04-1075

Cited by 213 publications

(233 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Typically, plant leaves are used as an index of whole-plant δ 15 N. Although differences often exist among leaves, roots, and stems (Kolb and Evans 2002), the N isotope ratios generally correlate among plant fractions and any average differences are generally relatively minor. For example, across 90 grass species collected from 67 sites in four grassland regions of the world, the δ 15 N of leaves averaged just 0.3 ‰ less than those of roots compared to a range of 18 ‰ for leaves and 14 ‰ for roots (Craine et al 2005). Similarly, Dijkstra et al (2003) reported differences in δ 15 N of <1 ‰ between leaves and roots of natural meadows and forests in North America, with direction and magnitude of the differences depending on the functional type (forbs, legumes or grasses).…”

Section: Plant N Isotopesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological interpretations of nitrogen isotope ratios of terrestrial plants and soils

et al. 2015

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Background Knowledge of biological and climatic controls in terrestrial nitrogen (N) cycling within and across ecosystems is central to understanding global patterns of key ecosystem processes. The ratios of 15 N: 14 N in plants and soils have been used as indirect indices of N cycling parameters, yet our understanding of controls over N isotope ratios in plants and soils is still developing. Scope In this review, we provide background on the main processes that affect plant and soil N isotope ratios. In a similar manner to partitioning the roles of state factors and interactive controls in determining ecosystem traits, we review N isotopes patterns in plants and soils across a number of proximal factors that influence ecosystem properties as well as mechanisms that affect these patterns. Lastly, some remaining questions that would improve our understanding of N isotopes in terrestrial ecosystems are highlighted. Conclusion Compared to a decade ago, the global patterns of plant and soil N isotope ratios are more resolved. Additionally, we better understand how plant and soil N isotope ratios are affected by such factors as mycorrhizal fungi, climate, and microbial processing. A comprehensive understanding of the N cycle that ascribes different degrees of isotopic fractionation for each step under different conditions is closer to being realized, but a number of process-level questions still remain.

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Section: Plant N Isotopesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological interpretations of nitrogen isotope ratios of terrestrial plants and soils

et al. 2015

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“…However, previous studies have mostly focused on the family or functional group level [Han et al, 2005]. Therefore, more information on the N:P stoichiometry, particularly for plant belowground parts at the genus or species level, is needed for better understanding potential responses and feedback of terrestrial nutrient cycling to climate change [Craine and Lee, 2003;Craine et al, 2005;Liu et al, 2010;Yuan et al, 2011].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant nutrients do not covary with soil nutrients under changing climatic conditions

Luo

Elser

Lü

et al. 2015

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) play vital roles in plant growth and development. Yet how climate regimes and soil fertility influence plant N and P stoichiometry is not well understood, especially in the belowground plant parts. Here we investigated plant aboveground and belowground N and P concentrations ([N] and [P]) and their stoichiometry in three dominant genera along a 2200 km long climatic gradient in northern China. Results showed that temperature explained more variation of [N] [P]. Plant N:P ratios were unrelated with all climate and soil variables. Plant aboveground and belowground [N] followed an allometric scaling relationship, but the allocation of [P] was isometric. These results imply that internal processes stabilize plant N:P ratios and hence tissue N:P ratios may not be an effective parameter for predicting plant nutrient limitation. Our results also imply that past positive relationships between plant and nutrient stocks may be challenged under changing climatic conditions. While any modeling would need to be able to replicate currently observed relationships, it is conceivable that some relationships, such as those between temperature or rainfall and carbon:nutrient ratios, should be different under changing climatic conditions.

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“…It was not clear whether multicollinearity was controlled but they found that after controlling for variations in N, foliar δ 15 N decreased with an increase in P and in N × P. We used the same model to fit our intra-plant dataset without consideration of multicollinearity and found that foliar δ 15 N decreased with both N and P but increased with N × P. Thus controlling multicollinearity is important for ascertaining relationships between δ 15 N and nutrient contents due to correlations between contents of different nutrients. Positive foliar correlations of δ 15 N with N have been reported in studies at smaller scales as well (e.g., Martinelli et al, 1999;Hobbie et al, 2000;Craine et al, 2005). In addition, reported a positive correlation for root tips.…”

Section: Comparison With Reported Inter-plant Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 56%

“…As a result, the variations in the relative abundance of 15 N to 14 N, quantified as δ 15 N, of plants contain rich information about these processes (Högberg, 1997;Robinson, 2001;Evans, 2001;Dawson et al, 2002). For this reason, δ 15 N is often considered an integrator of terrestrial N cycling, and numerous studies have analyzed natural variations in plant δ 15 N across disturbance and successional stages (e.g., Hobbie et al, 2000;Wang et al, 2007;Resco et al, 2011;Hyodo et al, 2013), climate and topoedaphic gradients (e.g., Austin and Sala, 1999;Schulze et al, 1998;Martinelli et al, 1999;Amundson et al, 2003;Craine et al, 2005Craine et al, , 2009Bai et al, 2009), species (e.g., Cernusak et al, 2009;Gubsch et al, 2011), and types of mycorrhizal fungi Hobbie and Hög-berg, 2012). Other studies have used δ 15 N as an indicator of relative N and phosphorus (P) availability and limitation on plant growth (McKee et al, 2002;Wigand et al, 2007;Inglett et al, 2007;Mayor et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The interaction between nitrogen and phosphorous is a strong predictor of intra-plant variation in nitrogen isotope composition in a desert species

Zhang

et al. 2017

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. Understanding intra-plant variations in δ 15 N is essential for fully utilizing the potential of δ 15 N as an integrator of the terrestrial nitrogen (N) cycle and as an indicator of the relative limitation of N and phosphorous (P) on plant growth. Studying such variations can also yield insights into N metabolism by plant as a whole or by specific organs. However, few researchers have systematically evaluated intra-plant variations in δ 15 N and their relationships with organ nutrient contents. We excavated whole plant architectures of Nitraria tangutorum Bobrov, a C 3 species of vital regional ecological importance, in two deserts in northwestern China. We systematically and simultaneously measured N isotope ratios and N and P contents of different parts of the excavated plants. We found that intra-plant variations in δ 15 N of N. tangutorum were positively correlated with corresponding organ N and P contents. However, it was the N × P interaction, not N and P individually or their linear combination, that was the strongest predictor of intra-plant δ 15 N. Additionally, we showed that root δ 15 N increased with depth into soil, a pattern similar to profiles of soil δ 15 N reported by previous studies in different ecosystems. We hypothesized that the strong positive intra-plant δ 15 N-N and P relationships are caused by three processes acting in conjunction: (1) N and P content-driven fractionating exchanges of ammonia between leaves and the atmosphere (volatilization) during photorespiration, (2) resorption and remobilization of N and P from senescing leaves, and (3) mixture of the retranslocated foliar N and P with existing pools in stems and roots. To test our hypothesis, future studies should investigate plant N volatilization and associated isotope fractionation and intra-plant variations in δ 15 N in different species across ecosystems and climates.

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Environmental Constraints on a Global Relationship Among Leaf and Root Traits of Grasses

Cited by 213 publications

References 24 publications

Ecological interpretations of nitrogen isotope ratios of terrestrial plants and soils

Ecological interpretations of nitrogen isotope ratios of terrestrial plants and soils

Plant nutrients do not covary with soil nutrients under changing climatic conditions

The interaction between nitrogen and phosphorous is a strong predictor of intra-plant variation in nitrogen isotope composition in a desert species

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