Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Biomass allocation and nitrogen limitation in a Cryptomeria japonica plantation chronosequence

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Forest Research

Abstract

We investigated soil net nitrogen mineralization rate, above- and belowground biomass allocation, and nitrogen use in a Cryptomeria japonica plantation chronosequence. Total biomass accumulation showed an asymptotic accretion pattern, and the peak total biomass accumulation rate occurred approximately 30 years after afforestation. Soil net nitrogen mineralization rate was lowest 30 years after afforestation. Between years 30 and 88, net nitrogen mineralization increased again. These results indicate that an imbalance in soil nitrogen supply and plant nitrogen demand occurred approximately 30 years after afforestation. Furthermore, leaf nitrogen concentration, which was used as an index of plant nitrogen status, was lower in mature forest than in young forest, suggesting that mature stands did not take up nitrogen as successfully. If soil resources such as nitrogen limit plant growth, plants may increase biomass allocation to fine root structure; however, fine root biomass was not higher in 30- and 88-year-old stands than in younger stands, suggesting that changes in biomass allocation may not be effective against nitrogen deficiency in a C. japonica plantation chronosequence.

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.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams PW, Flint AL, Fredriksen RL (1991) Long-term patterns in soil moisture and revegetation after a clearcut of a Douglas-Fir Forest in Oregon. For Ecol Manag 41:249–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Binkley D, Hart SC (1989) The components of nitrogen availability assessments in forest soils. Adv Soil Sci 10:57–112

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Binkley D, Smith FW, Son Y (1995) Nutrient supply and declines in leaf area and production in lodgepole pine. Can J For Res 25:621–628

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bormann FH, Likens GE (1979) Pattern and process in a forested ecosystem. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Hart SC, Firestone MK (1992) Internal cycling of nitrte in soils of a mature coniferous forest. Ecology 73:1148–1156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eno CF (1960) Nitrate production in the field by incubating the soil in polyethylene bags. Soil Sci Soc Am J 24:277–279

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fujimaki R, Tateno R, Tokuchi N (2007) Root development across a chronosequence in a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) plantation. J For Res 12(9):6–102

    Google Scholar 

  • Fukushima K, Tokuchi N (2008) Effects of forest clearcut and afforestation on streamwater chemistry in Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) forests: comparison among watersheds of various stand ages. J Jpn For Soc 90:6–16 (in Japanese with English summary)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fukushima K, Tokuchi N (2009) Factors controlling the acid-neutralizing capacity of Japanese cedar forest watersheds in stands of various ages and topographic characteristics. Hydrol Process 23:259–271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fukushima K, Tokuchi N, Tateno R, Katsuyama M (2009) Water yield and nitrogen loss during regrowth of Japanese cedar forests after clearcutting. In: Taniguchi M, Fukushima Y, Burnett WC, Haigh M, Umezawa Y (eds) From headwaters to the ocean: hydrological change and watershed management. Taylor & Francis, London, pp. 97–104

  • Garten CT (1993) Variation in foliar 15N abundance and the availability of soil nitrogen on Walker Branch Watershed. Ecology 74:2098–2113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gower ST, Vogt KA, Grier CC (1992) Carbon dynamics of Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir: influence of water and nutrient availability. Ecol Monogr 62:43–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hart SC, Nason GE, Myrold DD, Perry DA (1994) Dynamics of gross nitrogen mineralizations in an old-growth forest: the carbon connection. Ecology 75:880–891

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helmisaari HS, Makkonen K, Kellomaki S, Valtonen E, Malkonen E (2002) Below- and above-ground biomass, production and nitrogen use in Scots pine stands in eastern Finland. For Ecol Manag 165:317–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hendricks JJ, Hendrick RL, Wilson CA, Mitchell RJ, Pecot SD, Guo D (2006) Assessing the patterns and controls of fine root dynamics: an empirical test and methodological review. J Ecol 94:40–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirobe M, Tokuchi N, Iwatsubo G (1998) Spatial variability of soil nitrogen transformation patterns along a forest slope in a Cryptomeria japonica D. Don plantation. Eur J Soil Biol 34:123–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodge A, Robinson D, Fitter A (2000) Are microorganisms more effective than plants at competing for nitrogen? Trends Ecol Evol 5:304–308

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Högberg P (1997) Tansley review No. 95 15N natural abundance in soil-plant systems. New Phytol 137:179–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson LE, Schimel JP, Firestone MK (1989) Short-term partitioning of ammonium and nitrate between plants and microbes in an annual grassland. Soil Biol Biochem 21:409–415

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karizumi N (1974) The mechanism and function of tree root in the process of forest production. I: method of investigation and estimation of the root biomass. Bull Gov For Exp Stn 259:1–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Keyes MR, Grier CC (1981) Above- and below-ground net production in 40-year-old Douglas-fir stands on low and high productivity sites. Can J For Res 11:599–605

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kira T, Shidei T (1967) Primary production and turnover of organic matter in different forest ecosystems of the western pacific. Jpn J Ecol 17:70–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Koba K, Tokuchi N, Yoshioka T, Hobbie EA, Iwatsubo G (1998) Natural abundance of nitrogen-15 in a forest soil. Soil Sci Soc Am J 62:778–781

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koba K, Hirobe M, Koyama L, Kohzu A, Tokuchi N, Nadelhoffer KJ, Wada E, Takeda H (2003) Natural 15N abundance of plants and soil N in a temperate coniferous forest. Ecosystems 6:457–469

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Law BE, Sun OJ, Campbell J, Van Tuyl S, Thornton PE (2003) Changes in carbon storage and fluxes in a chronosequence of ponderosa pine. Glob Chang Biol 9:510–524

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martinez-Vilalta J, Vanderklein D, Mencuccin M (2007) Tree height and age-related decline in growth in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Oecologia 150:529–544

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nadelhoffer K, Shaver G, Fry B, Giblin A, Johnson L, McKane R (1996) 15N natural abundances and N use by tundra plants. Oecologia 107:386–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Odum EP (1969) The strategy of ecosystem development. Science 164:262–270

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pastor J, Aber JD, McClaugherty CA (1984) Aboveground production and N and P cycling along a nitrogen mineralization gradient on Blackhawk Island, Wisconsin. Ecology 65:256–268

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reich PB, Grigal DF, Aber JD, Gower ST (1997) Nitrogen mineralization and productivity in 50 hardwood and conifer stands on diverse soils. Ecology 78:335–347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan MG, Waring RH (1992) Maintenance respiration and stand development in a subalpine lodgepole pine forest. Ecology 73:2100–2108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan MG, Hubbard RM, Pongracic S, Raison RJ, McMurtrie RE (1996) Foliage, fine-root, woody-tissue and stand respiration in Pinus radiata in relation to nitrogen status. Tree Physiol 16:333–343

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan MG, Binkley D, Fownes JH (1997) Age-related decline in forest productivity: pattern and process. Adv Ecol Res 27:213–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan MG, Binkley D, Fownes JH, Giardina CP, Senock RS (2004) An experimental test of the causes of forest growth decline with stand age. Ecol Monogr 74:393–414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaver GR, Melillo JM (1984) Nutrient budgets of marsh plants: efficiency concepts and relation to availability. Ecology 65:1491–1510

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shigenaga H, Takahashi M, Nagakura J, Akama A (2008) Spatial variations in needle nitrogen content in sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) plantations across Japan. J Jpn For Soc 90:182–189 (in Japanese with English summary)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tateno R, Takeda H (2003) Forest structure and tree species distribution in relation to topography-mediated heterogeneity of soil nitrogen and light at forest floor. Ecol Res 18:559–571

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tateno R, Katagiri S, Kawaguchi H, Nagayama Y, Li C, Sugimoto A, Koba K (2003) The use of foliar 15N and 13C abundance to evaluate effects of microbiotic crust on nitrogen and water utilization of Pinus massoniana in deteriorated pine stands of south China. Ecol Res 18:279–286

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tateno R, Hishi T, Takeda H (2004) Above- and belowground biomass and net primary production in a cool-temperate deciduous forest in relation to topographical changes in soil nitrogen. For Ecol Manag 193:297–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tateno R, Osada N, Terai M, Tokuchi N, Takeda H (2005) Inorganic nitrogen source utilization by Fagus crenata on different soil types. Trees 19:477–481

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas SC (1996) Asymptotic height as a predictor of growth and allometric characteristics in Malaysian rain forest trees. Am J Bot 83:556–566

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D (1988) Plant strategies and the dynamics and structure of plant communities. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanninen P, Mäkelä A (1999) Fine root biomass of scots pine stands differing in age and soil fertility in southern Finland. Tree Physiol 19:823–830

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vanninen P, Ylitalo H, Sievanen R, Mäkelä A (1996) Effects of age and site quality on the distribution of biomass in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Trees 10:231–238

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM, Matson PA, Van Cleve K (1989) Nitrogen availability and nitrification during succession: primary, secondary, and old-field seres. Plant Soil 115:229–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogt KA, Grier CC, Vogt DJ (1986) Production, turnover, and nutrient dynamics of above- and belowground detritus of world forests. Adv Ecol Res 15:303–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogt KA, Vogt DJ, Palmiotto PA, Boon P, O’Hara J, Asbjornsen H (1996) Review of root dynamics in forest ecosystems grouped by climate, climatic forest type and species. Plant Soil 187:159–219

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • White LL, Zak DR, Barnes BV (2004) Biomass accumulation and soil nitrogen availability in an 87-year-old Populus grandidentata chronosequence. For Ecol Manag 191:121–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank technical staffs of Wakayama Forest Research Station, Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University for support of fieldworks. We owe thanks to Sei-ichi Oohata for arranging for us to participate in this study. We wish to thank Muneto Hirobe and Keisuke Koba, Takuo Hishi, Miki Ueda, and Ken-ichiro Osaki for suggestions and for assistance with field and laboratory work. This study was financially supported by Research Program (No. 5-2) of Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN). This study was also partly supported by a grant of (17710019 and 20780120) from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture of Japan.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Ryunosuke Tateno

    Present address: Faculty of Agriculture, Kagoshima University, 1-21-24 Korimoto, Kagoshima, 890-0065, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan

    Ryunosuke Tateno & Takahito Yoshioka

  2. Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 6068502, Japan

    Keitaro Fukushima, Reiji Fujimaki, Tetsuya Shimamura, Masami Ohgi, Hirotsugu Arai & Nobuhito Ohte

  3. Yokohama National University, 79-7 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya, Yokohama, 240-8501, Japan

    Reiji Fujimaki

  4. Faculty of Agriculture, Ehime University, 3-5-7 Tarumi, Matsuyama, 790-8566, Japan

    Tetsuya Shimamura

  5. Graduate School of Agriculture and Agricultural Life Sciences, Tokyo University 1-1-1, Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan

    Nobuhito Ohte

  6. Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 6068502, Japan

    Naoko Tokuchi & Takahito Yoshioka

Authors
  1. Ryunosuke Tateno
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Keitaro Fukushima
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Reiji Fujimaki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tetsuya Shimamura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Masami Ohgi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Hirotsugu Arai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Nobuhito Ohte
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Naoko Tokuchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Takahito Yoshioka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ryunosuke Tateno.

About this article

Cite this article

Tateno, R., Fukushima, K., Fujimaki, R. et al. Biomass allocation and nitrogen limitation in a Cryptomeria japonica plantation chronosequence. J For Res 14, 276–285 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-009-0135-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-009-0135-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation