Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Spatial patterns of leaf nutrient traits of the plants in the Loess Plateau of China

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Trees Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The spatial patterns of leaf nutrient traits of plants in seven sites, Yangling, Yongshou, Tongchuan, Fuxian, Ansai, Mizhi and Shenmu, standing from south to north in the Loess Plateau of China, were studied. The results showed that of the 126 plant samples in the Loess Plateau, the mean leaf organic carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) were 43.8, 2.41, 0.16 and 1.67%, respectively, and ranked in the order of C > N > K > P. Leaf C, N, P and K ranged from 32.6 to 54.8%, 0.82 to 4.58%, 0.06 to 0.35%, and 0.24 to 4.21%, respectively. The mean leaf C/N, C/P and N/P ratios were 21.2, 312 and 15.4, respectively. It is indicated that leaf N in the Loess Plateau was significantly higher than those in Chinese and global flora, but leaf P was significantly lower than that in global flora, which resulted in a higher N/P ratio in the Loess Plateau. The results also showed that leaf C, N, P, K, C/N and C/P ratios varied significantly among the seven life-form groups, which were trees, shrubs, herbages, evergreen trees, deciduous trees, C3 and C4 herbages, but leaf N/P ratio differed little among the seven life-forms. In the sampled species in the Loess Plateau, leaf C was negatively correlated with leaf N, P and K, while leaf N, P and K were positively correlated with one another. In general, leaf N/P ratio increased as the latitude and annual solar radiation increased and the mean annual rainfall and mean annual temperature decreased.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Chadwick OA, Derry LA, Vitousek PM, Huebert BJ, Hedin LO (1999) Changing sources of nutrients during four million years of ecosystem development. Nature 397:491–497

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland CC, Townsend AR, Schimel DS, Fisher H, Howarth RW, Hedin LO, Perakis SS, Latty EF, Von Fisher JC, Elseroad A, Wassan MF (1999) Global patterns of terrestrial biological nitrogen (N2) fixation in natural ecosystems. Global Biogeochem Cycles 13:623–645

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crews TE, Kitayama K, Fownes JH, Riley RH, Herbert DA, Mueller-Dombois D, Vitousek PM (1995) Changes in soil phosphorus fractions and ecosystem dynamics across a long chronosequence in Hawaii. Ecology 76:1407–1424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elser JJ, Fagan WF, Denno RF, Dobberfuhl DR, Folarin A, Huberty A, Interlandi S, Kilham SS, McCauley E, Schulz KL, Siemann EH, Sterner RW (2000) Nutritional constraints in terrestrial and freshwater food webs. Nature 408:578–580

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Emmett BA, Boxman D, Bredemeier M, Gundersen P, Kjønaas OJ, Moldan F, Schleppi P, Tietema A, Wright RF (1998) Predicting the effects of atmospheric nitrogen deposition in conifer stands: evidence from the nitrex ecosystem-scale experiments. Ecosystems 1:352–360

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Falkengren-Grerup U, Diekmann M (2003) Use of a gradient of N-deposition to calculate effect-related soil and vegetation measures in deciduous forests. For Ecol Manage 180:113–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fang JY, Song YC, Liu HY, Piao SL (2002) Vegetation–climate relationship and its application in the division of vegetation zone in China. Acta Bot Sin 44:1105–1122

    Google Scholar 

  • Güsewell S (2004) N: P ratios in terrestrial plants: variation and functional significance. New Phytol 164:243–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han WX, Fang JY, Guo DL, Zhang Y (2005) Leaf nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry across 753 terrestrial plant species in China. New Phytol 168:377–385

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • He JS, Fang JY, Wang ZH, Guo D, Flynn DFB, Geng Z (2006) Stoichiometry and largescale patterns of leaf carbon and nitrogen in the grassland biomes of China. Oecologia 149:115–122

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hedin LO (2004) Global organization of terrestrial plant–nutrient interactions. PNAS 101:10849–10850

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hedin LO, Armesto JJ, Johnson AH (1995) Patterns of nutrient loss from unpolluted, old-growth, temperate forests: evaluation of biogeochemical theory. Ecology 76:493–509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hedin LO, Vitousek PM, Matson PA (2003) Nutrient losses over four million years of tropical forest development. Ecology 84:2231–2255

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerkhoff AJ, Enquist BJ, Elser JJ, Fagan WF (2005) Plant allometry, stoichiometry and the temperature-dependence of primary productivity. Global Ecol Biogeogr 14:585–598

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koerselman W, Meuleman AFM (1996) The vegetation N: P ratio: a new tool to detect the nature of nutrient limitation. J Appl Ecol 33(6):1441–1450

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo T, Luo J, Pan Y (2005) Leaf traits and associated ecosystem characteristics across subtropical and timberline forests in the Gongga Mountains, Eastern Tibetan Plateau. Oecologia 142:261–273

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marschner H (1995) Mineral nutrition of higher plants. Academic, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Mcgroddy ME, Daufresne T, Hedin LO (2004) Scaling of C: N: P stoichiometry in forests worldwide: implications of terrestrial red field-type ratios. Ecology 85(9):2390–2401

    Google Scholar 

  • National Soil Survey Office of China (1998) Soils of China. Chinese Agriculture Press, Beijing, pp 483–486

  • Niklas KJ, Owens T, Reich PB, Cobb ED (2005) Nitrogen/phosphorus leaf stoichiometry and the scaling of plant growth. Ecol Lett 8:636–642

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Onoda Y, Hikosaka K, Hirose T (2004) Allocation of nitrogen to cell walls decreases photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiency. Funct Ecol 18:419–425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Page A L, Miller RH, Keeney DR (1982) Methods of soil analysis. Part 2. Chemical and microbiological properties (2nd). American Society of Agronomy Press, Madison

  • Perakis SS, Hedin LO (2002) Nitrogen loss from unpolluted South American forests by dissolved organic compounds. Nature 415:416–419

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reich PB (2005) Global biogeography of plant chemistry: filling in the blanks. New Phytol 168:263–266

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reich PB, Oleksyn J (2004) Global patterns of plant leaf N and P in relation to temperature and latitude. PNAS 101:11001–11006

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reich PB, Ellsworth DS, Walters MB, Vose JM, Gresham C, Volin JC, Bowman WD (1999) Generality of leaf trait relationships: a test across six biomes. Ecology 80:1955–1969

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger WH (1997) Biogeochemistry: an analysis of Global change, Academic, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Sollins P (1998) Factors influencing species composition in tropical lowland rain forest: does soil matter? Ecology 79:23–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sterner RW, Elser JJ (2002) Ecological stoichiometry: the biology of elements from molecules to the biosphere. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Takashima T, Hikosake K, Hirose T (2004) Photosynthesis or persistence: nitrogen allocation in leaves of evergreen and deciduous Quercus species. Plant Cell Environ 27:1047–1054

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson K, Parkinson JA, Band SR, Spencer RE (1997) A comparative study of leaf nutrient concentrations in a regional herbaceous flora. New Phytol 136:679–689

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM, Farrington H (1997) Nutrient limitation and soil development: experimental test of a biogeochemical theory. Biogeochemistry 37:63–75

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walker B, Steffen WL, Canadell J, Ingram J (1999) The terrestrial biosphere and Global change—implication for natural and managed ecosystems. Cambridge University Press, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Warren CR, Adams MA (2004) Evergreen trees do not maximize instantaneous photosynthesis. Trends Plant Sci 9:270–274

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wright IJ, Reich PB, Westoby M, Ackerly DD, Baruch Z, Bongers F, Cavender-Bares J, Chapin T, Cornelissen JHC, Diemer M, Flexas J, Garnier E, Groom PK, Gulias J, Hikosaka K, Lamont BB, Lee T, Lee W, Lusk C, Midgley JJ, Navas M, Niinemets B, Oleksyn J, Osada N, Poorter H, Poot P, Prior L, Pyankov VI, Roumet C, Thomas SC, Tjoelker MG, Veneklaas EJ, Villar R (2004) The worldwide leaf economics spectrum. Nature 428:821–827

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wright IJ, Reich PB, Cornelissen JHC, Falster DS, Garnier E, Hikosaka K, Lamont BB, Lee W, Oleksyn J, Osada N, Poorter H, Villar R, Warton DI, Westoby M (2005a) Assessing the generality of global leaf trait relationships. New Phytol 166:485–496

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright IJ, Reich PB, Cornelissen JHC, Falster DS, Groom PK, Hikosaka K, Lee W, Lusk CH, Niinemets Ü, Oleksyn J, Osada N, Poorter H, Warton DI, Westoby M (2005b) Modulation of leaf economic traits and trait relationships by climate. Global Ecol Biogeogr 14:411–421

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the West-action Program in Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX2-XB2-05), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30230290), the United Scholar’s Item of Talent Training Program in West China of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. 2005LH01), and the Program for Outstanding Talents and Team in Northwest A & F University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, People’s Republic of China

    Shuxia Zheng & Zhouping Shangguan

  2. Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, People’s Republic of China

    Zhouping Shangguan

Authors
  1. Shuxia Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zhouping Shangguan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhouping Shangguan.

Additional information

Communicated by R. Häsler.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 4

Table 4 List of plant species in the seven sampling sites of the Loess Plateau and Ningshan County in the southern part of Qinling Mountain of China
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zheng, S., Shangguan, Z. Spatial patterns of leaf nutrient traits of the plants in the Loess Plateau of China. Trees 21, 357–370 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-007-0129-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-007-0129-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation