Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Biomass allocation patterns in forests growing different climatic zones of China

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

Abstract

Key message

Temperature generally explained variation in branch and leaf biomasses, whereas stem and root biomasses–temperature relationships restricted certain age stages may not hold at broader age ranges.

Abstract

In this study, biomass data for alpine temperate Larix forest, alpine Picea-Abies forest, temperate typical deciduous broadleaved forest, temperate Pinus tabulaeformis forest, temperate mixed coniferous-broadleaved forest, montane Populus-Betula deciduous forest, subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest, subtropical montane Cupressus and Sabina forest, subtropical Pinus massoniana forest and subtropical Cunninghamia lanceolata forest were used to examine the effect of temperature on biomass allocations between organs. The data of the ten forests were classified as ≤30, 31–60 and >60 years, to test whether biomass allocations of these age group forests vary systematically in their responses to temperature. With increasing mean annual temperature, branch and leaf biomasses significantly increased in ≤30, 31–60 and >60 years and all age groups; stem biomass significantly increased in ≤30-, 31–60- and >60-year groups, but no significant trend in all age groups; Root biomass significantly increased in 31–60, >60 years and all age groups, but had no response to mean annual temperature in the 30-year group, which suggest that root biomass allocation in response to temperature is dependent upon forest age. We conclude that temperature generally explained variation in branch and leaf biomasses, whereas stem and root biomasses–temperature relationships restricted certain age stages may not hold at broader age ranges.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aerts R, Chapin FS (2000) The mineral nutrition of wild plants revisited: a re-evaluation of processes and patterns. Adv Ecol Res 30:1–67

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Atkin OK, Scheurwater I, Pons TL (2007) Respiration as a percentage of daily photosynthesis in whole plants is homeostatic at moderate, but not high, growth temperatures. N Phytol 174:367–380

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Canadell JG, Le Quéré C, Raupach MR, Field CB, Buitenhuis ET, Ciais P, Conway TJ, Gillett NP, Houghton RA, Marland G (2007) Contributions to accelerating atmospheric CO2 growth from economic activity, carbon intensity, and efficiency of natural sinks. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104:18866–18870

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Chaves MM, Pereira JS, Maroco J, Rodrigues ML, Ricardo CPP, Osorio ML, Carvalho I, Faria T, Pinheiro C (2002) How plants cope with water stress in the field. Photosynthesis and growth. Ann Bot 89:907–916

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Clark DA (2004) Tropical forests and global warming, slowing it down or speeding it up? Front Ecol Environ 2:73–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman JS, McConnaughay KDM, Ackerly DD (1994) Interpreting phenotypic variation in plants. Trends Ecol Evol 9:187–191

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Boeck HJ, Lemmens CMHM, Vicca S, den Berge JV, Dongen SV, Janssens IA, Ceulemans R, Nijs I (2007) How do climate warming and species richness affect CO2 fluxes in experimental grasslands? N Phytol 175:512–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Boeck HJ, Lemmens CMHM, Zavalloni C, Gielen B, Malchair S, Carnol M, Merckx R, Den Berge JV, Ceulemans R, Nijs I (2008) Biomass production in experimental grasslands of different species richness during three years of climate warming. Biogeosciences 5:585–594

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Enquist BJ, Niklas KJ (2002) Global allocation rules for patterns of biomass partitioning in seed plants. Science 295:1517–1520

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Falster D, Warton D, Wright I (2006) User’s guide to SMATR: standardised major axis tests and routines version 2.0, copyright 2006. http://www.bio.mq.edu.au/ecology/SMATR/

  • Fan JW, Wang K, Harris W, Zhong HP, Hu ZM, Han B, Zhang WY, Wang JB (2009) Allocation of vegetation biomass across a climate-related gradient in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. J Arid Environ 73:521–528

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fung IY, Doney SC, Lindsay K, John J (2005) Evolution of carbon sinks in a changing climate. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102:11201–11206

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbie SE, Schimel JP, Trumbore SE, Randerson JR (2000) Controls over carbon storage and turnover in high-latitude soils. Glob Change Biol 6(S1):196–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keith H, Mackey BG, Lindenmayer DB (2009) Reevaluation of forest biomass carbon stocks and lessons from the world’s most carbon-dense forests. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 106:11635–11640

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Körner C (1999) Alpine plant life: functional plant ecology of high mountain ecosystems. Springer, Berlin, pp 1–338

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Körner C (2012) Alpine treelines. Springer, Basel

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lambers H, Chapin FS, Pons TL (2008) Plant physiological ecology. Springer, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lin DL, Xia JY, Wan SQ (2010) Climate warming and biomass accumulation of terrestrial plants: a meta-analysis. N Phytol 188:187–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo TX (1996) Patterns of net primary productivity for Chinese major forest types and their mathematical models. Ph. D. Dissertation. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing

  • Majdi H, Ohrvik J (2004) Interactive effects of soil warming and fertilization on root production, mortality, and longevity in a Norway spruce stand in Northern Sweden. Glob Change Biol 10:182–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy MC, Enquist BJ (2007) Consistency between an allometric approach and optimal partitioning theory in global patterns of plant biomass allocation. Funct Ecol 21:713–720

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michaletz ST, Cheng DL, Kerkhoff AJ, Enquist BJ (2014) Convergence of terrestrial plant production across global climate gradients. Nature 512:39–43

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller AE, Schimel JP, Sickman JO, Meixner T, Doyle AP, Melack JM (2007) Mineralization responses at near-zero temperatures in three alpine soils. Biogeochemistry 84:233–245

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Niklas KJ (2005) Modelling below- and above-ground biomass for non-woody and woody plants. Ann Bot 95:315–321

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Niklas KJ, Enquist BJ (2002) On the vegetative biomass partitioning of seed plant leaves, stems, and roots. Am Nat 159:482–497

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Niu SL, Wu MY, Han Y, Xia JY, Li LH, Wan SQ (2008) Water-mediated responses of ecosystem carbon fluxes to climatic change in a temperate steppe. N Phytol 177:209–219

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Norbyr RJ, Jackson RB (2000) Root dynamics and global change: seeking an ecosystem perspective. N Phytol 147:3–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peichl M, Arain MA (2007) Allometry and partitioning of above- and belowground tree biomass in an age-sequence of white pine forests. For Ecol Manage 253:68–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peñuelas J, Gordon C, Llorens L, Nielsen T, Tietema A, Beier C, Bruna P, Emmett B, Estiarte M, Gorissen A (2004) Nonintrusive field experiments show different plant responses to warming and drought among sites, seasons, and species in a north-south European gradient. Ecosystems 7:598–612

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poorter H, Sack L (2012) Pitfalls and possibilities in the analysis of biomass allocation patterns in plants. Front Plant Sci 3:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poorter H, Niklas KJ, Reich PB, Oleksyn J, Poot P, Mommer L (2012) Biomass allocation to leaves, stems and roots: meta-analyses of interspecific variation and environmental control. N Phytol 193:30–50

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raich JW, Russell AE, Kitayama K, Parton WJ, Vitousek PM (2006) Temperature influences carbon accumulation in moist tropical forests. Ecology 87:76–87

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reich PB, Luo YJ, Bradford JB, Poorter H, Perry CH, Oleksyn J (2014) Temperature drives global patterns in forest biomass distribution in leaves, stems, and roots. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 111:13721–13726

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Roa-Fuentes LL, Campo J, Parra-Tabla V (2012) Plant biomass allocation across a precipitation gradient: an approach to seasonally dry tropical forest at Yucatán, Mexico. Ecosystems 15:1234–1244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rustad LE, Campbell JL, Marion GM, Norby RJ, Michell MJ, Hartley AE, Cornelissen JHC, Gurevitch J, GCTE-NEWS (2000) A meta-analysis of the response of soil respiration, net nitrogen mineralization, and aboveground plant growth to experimental ecosystem warming. Oecologia 126:543–562

    Google Scholar 

  • Sebastià M-T (2007) Plant guilds drive biomass response to global warming and water availability in subalpine grassland. J Appl Ecol 44:158–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stegen JC, Swenson NG, Enquist BJ, White EP, Phillips OL, Jørgensen PM, Weiser MD, Mendoza AM, Vargas PN (2011) Variation in above-ground forest biomass across broad climatic gradients. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 20:744–754

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan S, Luo Y, Wallace LL (2002) Changes in microclimate induced by experimental warming and clipping in tallgrass prairie. Glob Change Biol 8:754–768

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan SQ, Hui DF, Wallace L, Luo YQ (2005) Direct and indirect effects of experimental warming on ecosystem carbon processes in a tallgrass prairie. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 19:GB2014. doi:10.1029/2004GB002315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang RZ, Gao Q (2003) Climate-driven changes in shoot density and shoot biomass in Leymus chinensis (Poaceae) on the North-east China Transect (NECT). Glob Ecol Biogeogr 12:249–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang B, Liu MC, Zhang B (2009) Dynamics of net production of Chinese forest vegetation based on forest inventory data. For Resour Manag 1:35–43 (Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Warton DI, Wright IJ, Falster DS, Westoby M (2006) Bivariate line-fitting methods for allometry. Biol Rev 81:259–291

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wu ZT, Dijkstra P, Koch GW, Peñuelasa J, Hungate BA (2011) Responses of terrestrial ecosystems to temperature and precipitation change: a meta-analysis of experimental manipulation. Glob Change Biol 17:927–942

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xia JY, Wan SQ (2008) Global response patterns of terrestrial plant species to nitrogen addition. N Phytol 179:428–439

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xue L, Feng HF, Chen FX (2010) Time-trajectory of mean component weight and density in self-thinning Pinus densiflora stands. Eur J For Res 129:1027–1035

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xue L, Pan L, Zhang R, Xu PB (2011) Density effects on the growth of self-thinning Eucalyptus urophylla stands. Trees 25:1021–1031

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xue L, Jacobs DF, Zeng SC, Liu B, Yang ZY, Gu SH (2012) Relationship between aboveground biomass allocation and stand density index in Populus × euramericana stands. Forestry 85:611–619

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xue L, Lie GW, Lu GC, Shao YR (2013) Allometric scaling among tree components in Pinus massoniana stands with different sites. Ecol Res 28:327–333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang WP, Jia X, Morris EC, Bai YY, Wang GX (2012) Stem, branch and leaf biomass–density relationships in forest communities. Ecol Res 27:819–825

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou XH, Fei SF, Sherry R, Luo YQ (2012) Root biomass dynamics under experimental warming and doubled precipitation in a tallgrass prairie. Ecosystems 15:542–554

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful that Dr. Luo provided the precious information for our study. This research was partially supported by Foundation of Guangdong Forestry Bureau (Nos. 4400-F11031, 4400-F11055).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zhujiang College, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, People’s Republic of China

    Ganwen Lie

  2. College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, People’s Republic of China

    Li Xue

Authors
  1. Ganwen Lie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Li Xue
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Li Xue.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Communicated by R. Matyssek.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lie, G., Xue, L. Biomass allocation patterns in forests growing different climatic zones of China. Trees 30, 639–646 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1306-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1306-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation