Resource allocation in high-arctic vascular plants of differing growth form

Maessen, O.; Freedman, Bill; Nams, Mln; Svoboda, Josef

doi:10.1139/b83-181

Cited by 31 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The nitrogen concentrations we found in plants collected over 1 m from the muskox carcasses correspond well with average N concentrations reported for tundra plants Maessen et al, 1983) and for tundra mosses . Our carcasses were thus found in habitats with nitrogen levels typical of the tundra, and our results, although based on a small sample size, may have a general value.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Effect of Muskox Carcasses on Nitrogen Concentration in Tundra Vegetation

Danell¹,

Berteaux²,

Bråthen³

2002

ARCTIC

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ABSTRACT. We observed a steep gradient of nitrogen concentration in plants growing around carcasses of four adult muskoxen that had been lying for five or more years on the tundra in the Canadian Arctic. The gradient reached an asymptote at 2 m distance from the carcasses. The carbon-to-nitrogen ratio increased significantly from 1 to 3 m and then stabilized. These results suggest that the effects of carcasses last for several years on the tundra and create nitrogen-rich plant growth in their immediate surroundings. The lush growth around the carcasses in otherwise grazed areas indicated a low level of grazing on the fertilized plants.Key words: nitrogen, carcass, muskox, Ovibos moschatus, vascular plants, mosses, tundra, Canada RÉSUMÉ. Nous avons observé un fort gradient de concentration en azote dans les plantes poussant autour de 4 carcasses de boeufs musqués gisant depuis 5 ans ou plus dans la toundra de l'Arctique canadien. Le gradient atteignait une asymptote à 2 m des carcasses. Le rapport carbone/azote augmentait de façon significative de 1 à 3 m, puis se stabilisait. Nos résultats suggèrent que les carcasses créent dans la toundra des micro-communautés de plantes riches en azote dans leur environnement immédiat et que cet effet dure plusieurs années. L'abondance de végétation autour des carcasses, dans des endroits autrement broutés, révélait que les herbivores utilisaient peu les communautés végétales fertilisées.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Effect of Muskox Carcasses on Nitrogen Concentration in Tundra Vegetation

Danell¹,

Berteaux²,

Bråthen³

2002

ARCTIC

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“…The N and P concentrations found in the different ramet stages and plant parts were within the range previously found for C. bigelowii (Shaver and Chapin 1980;Carlsson and Callaghan 1990;Jónsdóttir and Callaghan 1990) and other rhizomatous tundra sedges (Massen et al 1983;Shaver et al 1998;Tolvanen and Henry 2000;Welker et al 2003). However, the differences in concentration between the guerrilla and phalanx types demonstrated in this study were not found in another C. bigelowii population close by that was also harvested in August (Carlsson and Callaghan 1990), possibly because different criteria were used to classify the ramet types (i.e., the developmental position of the ramets on their mother ramets, rather than rhizome length).…”

Section: Nutrient Concentrationsupporting

confidence: 86%

Biomass and nutrient responses of a clonal tundra sedge to climate warming

2005

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We explored how climate change affects biomass, nutrient status, and late-season resource-allocation patterns in a rhizomatous tundra sedge, and how differentiation and development of ramets may constrain plant responses. We simulated climate warming for 5 years at a subarctic-alpine tundra site by using open-top chambers before destructively sampling clonal fragments of the dominant and widespread sedge, Carex bigelowii Torr. ex Schwein. We found differential growth response among ramets to experimental warming, but reduced aboveground tissue nutrient concentrations across entire clonal systems. Warming did not affect biomass allocation within ramets, but it did change biomass allocation among developmental stages and ramet types (i.e., long-and short-rhizome ramets, termed guerrilla and phalanx). A positive warming effect on biomass was mostly confined to mature vegetative ramets and the response of individual plant parts was significantly greater for guerrilla ramets than for phalanx ramets. Despite the differential biomass response, warming significantly reduced nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in aboveground tissues across all developmental stages within the integrated clonal system (10% decrease in green leaf nitrogen concentration, 18%-25% decrease in phosphorus concentration). However, late-season nutrient concentrations in storage organs (rhizomes) were not affected. Nutrient pools significantly increased in mature vegetative ramets, especially those of the guerrilla type, apparently as a result of both redistribution of nutrients among ramets and increased nutrient uptake. At the community level, estimated aboveground biomass per unit area was similar in warmed and control plots. Rhizome and dead-leaf mass and all nutrient pools per unit area were 10%-20% less in warmed plots than in controls. The ecosystem implications of the responses of C. bigelowii, a forage species favoured by a range of herbivores, to warming are a reduction in forage quality without compensation in terms of quantity and, eventually, a reduction in litter quality. Résumé :Les auteurs ont étudié comment les changements climatiques affectent la biomasse et le statut nutritif, ainsi que les patrons d'allocation en fin de saison, chez un carex rhizomateux de la toundra, et comment le développement et la différenciation des ramètes peuvent en restreindre les réactions. Ils ont simulé un réchauffement climatique, pendant cinq ans, sur un site de toundra sub-arctique alpin, en utilisant des chambres à dessus ouvert, avant d'échantillonner de façon destructive des fragments clonaux du jonc dominant et largement distribué, le Carex bigelowii Torr. ex Schwein.. Ils ont observé des réactions différentielles de croissance entre les ramètes, suite au réchauffement expérimental, et une diminution de la teneur en nutriments des parties épigées, sur l'ensemble des systèmes clonaux. Le réchauffement n'affecte pas l'allocation de biomasse au niveau de la ramète, mais modifie l'allocation de biomasse selon les stades de développement et les ty...

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“…Due to these limitations in surface N availability, S. arctica may rely on subsurface N patches to satisfy midseason demands such as photosynthetic system maintenance, stem growth, and/or leaf storage (Maessen et al. , Baddeley et al. , Campioli et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salix arctica changes root distribution and nutrient uptake in response to subsurface nutrients in High Arctic deserts

Muller

Hardy

Mamet

et al. 2017

Ecology

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Moisture is critical for plant success in polar deserts but not by the obvious pathway of reduced water stress. We hypothesized that an indirect, nutrient-linked, pathway resulting from unique water/frozen soil interactions in polar deserts creates nutrient-rich patches critical for plant growth. These nutrient-rich patches (diapirs) form deep in High Arctic polar deserts soils from water accumulating at the permafrost freezing front and ultimately rising into the upper soil horizons through cryoturbated convective landforms (frost boils). To determine if diapirs provide an enhanced source of plant-available N for Salix arctica (Arctic willow), we characterized soil, root, stem, and leaf N natural abundance across 24 diapir and non-diapir frost boils in a High Arctic granitic semi-desert. When diapir horizons were available, S. arctica increased its subsurface (i.e., diapir) N uptake and plant root biomass doubled within diapir. Plant uptake of enriched N injected into organic rich soil patches was 2.5-fold greater in diapir than in non-diapir frost boils. S. arctica percent cover was often higher (7.3 ± 1.0 [mean ± SE]) on diapiric frost boils, compared to frost boils without diapirs (4.4 ± 0.7), potentially reflecting the additional 20% nitrogen available in the subsurface of diapiric frost boils. Selective N acquisition from diapirs is a mechanism by which soil moisture indirectly enhances plant growth. Our work suggests that diapirs may be one mechanism contributing to Arctic greening by shrub expansion.

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Resource allocation in high-arctic vascular plants of differing growth form

Cited by 31 publications

References 11 publications

Effect of Muskox Carcasses on Nitrogen Concentration in Tundra Vegetation

Effect of Muskox Carcasses on Nitrogen Concentration in Tundra Vegetation

Biomass and nutrient responses of a clonal tundra sedge to climate warming

Salix arctica changes root distribution and nutrient uptake in response to subsurface nutrients in High Arctic deserts

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