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New insights into leaf and fine-root trait relationships: implications of resource acquisition among 23 xerophytic woody species.

ABSTRACT: Functional traits of leaves and fine root vary broadly among different species, but little is known about how these interspecific variations are coordinated between the two organs. This study aims to determine the interspecific relationships between corresponding leaf and fine-root traits to better understand plant strategies of resource acquisition. SLA (Specific leaf area), SRL (specific root length), mass-based N (nitrogen) and P (phosphorus) concentrations of leaves and fine roots, root system, and plant sizes were measured in 23 woody species grown together in a common garden setting. SLA and SRL exhibited a strong negative relationship. There were no significant relationships between corresponding leaf and fine-root nutrient concentrations. The interspecific variations in plant height and biomass were tightly correlated with root system size characteristics, including root depth and total root length. These results demonstrate a coordinated plant size-dependent variation between shoots and roots, but for efficiency, plant resource acquisition appears to be uncoupled between the leaves and fine roots. The different patterns of leaf and fine-root traits suggest different strategies for resource acquisition between the two organs. This provides insights into the linkage between above- and belowground subsystems in carbon and nutrient economy.

SUBMITTER: Li FL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6102526 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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New insights into leaf and fine-root trait relationships: implications of resource acquisition among 23 xerophytic woody species.

Li Fang Lan FL Bao Wei Kai WK

Ecology and evolution 20151029 22

Functional traits of leaves and fine root vary broadly among different species, but little is known about how these interspecific variations are coordinated between the two organs. This study aims to determine the interspecific relationships between corresponding leaf and fine-root traits to better understand plant strategies of resource acquisition. SLA (Specific leaf area), SRL (specific root length), mass-based N (nitrogen) and P (phosphorus) concentrations of leaves and fine roots, root syst ...[more]

PMID: 30151136

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Project description:Stoichiometry of leaf macronutrients can provide insight into the tradeoffs between leaf structural and metabolic investments. Structural carbon (C) in cell walls is contained in lignin and polysaccharides (cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectins). Much of leaf calcium (Ca) and a fraction of magnesium (Mg) were further bounded with cell wall pectins. The macronutrients phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and nitrogen (N) are primarily involved in cell metabolic functions. There is limited information on the functional interrelations among leaf C and macronutrients, and the functional dimensions characterizing the leaf structural and metabolic tradeoffs are not widely appreciated. We investigated the relationships between leaf C and macronutrient (N, P, K, Ca, Mg) concentrations in two widespread broad-leaved deciduous woody species Quercus wutaishanica (90 individuals) and Betula platyphylla (47 individuals), and further tested the generality of the observed relationships in 222 woody eudicots from 15 forest ecosystems. In a subsample of 20 broad-leaved species, we also analyzed the relationships among C, Ca, lignin, and pectin concentrations in leaf cell walls. We found a significant leaf C-Ca tradeoff operating within and across species and across ecosystems. This basic relationship was explained by variations in the share of cell wall lignin and pectin investments at the cell scale. The C-Ca tradeoffs were mainly driven by soil pH and mean annual temperature and precipitation, suggesting that leaves were more economically built with less C and more Ca as soil pH increased and at lower temperature and lower precipitation. However, we did not detect consistent patterns among C-N, and C-Mg at different levels of biological organization, suggesting substantial plasticity in N and Mg distribution among cell organelles and cell protoplast and cell wall. We observed two major axes of macronutrient differentiation: the cell-wall structural axis consisting of protein-free C and Ca and the protoplasm metabolic axis consisting of P and K, underscoring the decoupling of structural and metabolic elements inherently linked with cell wall from protoplasm investment strategies. We conclude that the tradeoffs between leaf C and Ca highlight how carbon is allocated to leaf structural function and suggest that this might indicate biogeochemical niche differentiation of species.

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Dataset Information

New insights into leaf and fine-root trait relationships: implications of resource acquisition among 23 xerophytic woody species.

Publications

New insights into leaf and fine-root trait relationships: implications of resource acquisition among 23 xerophytic woody species.

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