Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mineral nutrition and leaf longevity in Ledum palustre: the role of individual nutrients and the timing of leaf mortality

  • Original Papers
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The effects of fertilization on leaf longevity and leaf mortality in the Alaskan evergreen shrub, Ledum palustre (Ait.) Hult., were investigated in a field experiment. The fertilization treatments included N alone, P alone, N plus P, and N plus P plus K. After 5 years all treatments had the same effect on leaf longevity, decreasing life expectancy from about 2 years in controls to 1–1.5 years in the fertilized plants. In the NPK-fertilized plants, most of the decrease in leaf longevity was due to increased winter leaf mortality; fertilization actually decreased leaf losses during the growing season. The results are consistent with previous research suggesting that one function of overwintering evergreen leaves is to serve as nutrient storage organs, a function that is superfluous when nutrient supplies for new growth can be obtained from current uptake.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Britton ME (1966) Vegetation of the arctic tundra. Arctic Biology Hanson HP (ed) Oregon State Univ. Press, Corvallis, p 67–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapin FS (1980) The mineral nutrition of wild plants. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 11:233–260

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapin FS III, Cleve K Van, Chapin MC (1979) Soil temperature and nutrient cycling in the tussock growth form of Eriophorum vaginatum L. J Ecol 67:169–189

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapin FS, Johnson DA, McKendrick JD (1980) Seasonal nutrient allocation patterns in various tundra plant life forms in northern Alaska: Implications for herbivory. J Ecol 68:189–209

    Google Scholar 

  • Ewers FW, Schmid R (1981) Longevity of needle fascicles of Pinus longaeva (Bristlecone pine) and other North American pines. Oecologia (Berlin) 51:107–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman GT, Perkins DF (1968) The role of mineral nutrients in Eriophorum communities, III. Growth response to added inorganic elements in two Eriophorum vaginatum communities. J Ecol 56:667–683

    Google Scholar 

  • Hadley EB, Bliss LC (1964) Energy relationships of alpine plants on Mt. Washington, New Hampshire. Ecol Monogr 34:331–357

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DA, Tieszen LL (1976) Aboveground biomass allocation, leaf growth and photosynthesis patterns in tundra plant forms in arctic Alaska. Oecologia (Berlin) 24:159–173

    Google Scholar 

  • Krebs CJ (1972) Ecology. Harper and Row, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Monk CD (1966) An ecological significance of evergreenness. Ecology 47:504–505

    Google Scholar 

  • Mooney HA, Gulman SL (1982) Constraints on leaf structure and function in reference to herbivory. BioScience 32:198–206

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore P (1980) The advantages of being evergreen. Nature 285:535

    Google Scholar 

  • Piclou EC (1977) Mathematical Ecology. John Wiley and Sons, New York, pp. 384

    Google Scholar 

  • Poole RW (1974) An Introduction to Quantitative Ecology. McGraw-Hill, New York, pp 532

    Google Scholar 

  • Reader RJ (1978) Contribution of overwintering leaves to the growth of three broad-leaved, evergreen shrubs belonging to the Ericaceae family. Can J Bot 56:1248–1261

    Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger WH, Chabot BF (1977) The use of water and minerals by evergreen and deciduous shrubs in Okefenokee Swamp. Bot Gaz 138:490–497

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaver GR (1981) Mineral nutrition and leaf longevity in an evergreen shrub, Ledum palustre ssp. decumbens. Oecologia (Berlin) 49:362–365

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaver GR, Chapin FS (1980) Response to fertilization by various plant growth forms in an Alaskan tundra: Nutrient accumulation and growth. Ecology 61:662–675

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaver GR, Cutler J (1979) The vertical distribution of phytomass in cottongrass-tussock tundra. Arct Alp Res 11:335–342

    Google Scholar 

  • Small E (1977) Photosynthetic rates in relation to nutrient recycling as an adaptation to nutrient deficiency in peat bog plants. Can J Bot 50:2227–2233

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoner WA, Miller PC, Richards SP, Barkley SA (1978) Internal nutrient recycling as related to plant life form — a simulation approach. In: Brisbin IL, Adrianos D (eds) Proc Environmental Chemistry and Cycling Processes Symposium, 28–30 April 1976, Athens, Georgia. US Dept of Energy. CONF 60429, pp 165–181

  • Tamm CO (1954) Some observations on nutrient turnover in a bog community dominated by Eriophorum vaginatum L. Oikos 5:189–194

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner J, Olsen PR (1976) Nitrogen relations in a Douglas fir plantation. Ann Bot 40:1185–1193

    Google Scholar 

  • Wein RW, Bliss LC (1974) Primary production in arctic cotton-grass tussock tundra communities. Arctic and Alpine Res. 6:261–274

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Biological Laboratory, The Ecosystems Center, 02543, Woods Hole, MA, USA

    Gaius R. Shaver

Authors
  1. Gaius R. Shaver
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Shaver, G.R. Mineral nutrition and leaf longevity in Ledum palustre: the role of individual nutrients and the timing of leaf mortality. Oecologia 56, 160–165 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00379686

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00379686

Keywords

Search

Navigation