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Root-exudate flux variations among four co-existing canopy species in a temperate forest, Japan

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Ecological Research

Abstract

Plants allocate carbon to root exudates to mine nitrogen (N) from soil organic matter (SOM). Little is known about how the root-exudation rate varies among co-existing woody species. We conducted an in situ experiment in a warm temperate forest on two dominant species, Quercus serrata and Ilex pedunculosa, and two of their congeneric species, Quercus glauca and Ilex macropoda, respectively. We hypothesized that the root-exudation rate varies among these species because of their distinct functional traits and N demands. Root-exudation rates were measured using a non-soil culture method during the growing season from June 2013 to May 2014. We also measured foliar N concentrations and the activities of N-degrading enzymes in the rhizosphere soils. The annual demand for N was calculated from the growth rate and allometric equations for biomass. The root-exudation rates of Q. serrata and I. macropoda were consistently greater than those of their congeneric evergreen species on root-length, root-weight, and individual-tree bases. The variations of the annual N demand of these species mirrored this pattern. Within a species, root-exudation rates correlated positively to leaf N contents, suggesting a physiological linkage between photosynthetic capacities and belowground carbon allocation. Root-exudation rates also correlated positively to the activities of polyphenol oxidase, an enzyme that decomposes N from recalcitrant SOM. Our results suggest that the variations of the root-exudation among co-existing species relate to their functional traits and demand for N.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Masako Dannoura, Dr. Keiichi Okada, Dr. Mioko Ataka, Chihiro Ikeda, and Daiki Yokoyama for their invaluable assistance, and Dr. Rebecca Spake, Dr. Ryota Aoyagi, and Dr. Taiki Mori for improving the manuscript. We thank two anonymous reviewers and the handling editor for their constructive comments. This study was financially supported by a Grant-in-Aid 22255002 from the Science Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Technology of Japan to K.K.

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  1. Kenichi Yoshimura

    Present address: Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa Oiwake-Cho, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa Oiwake-Cho, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Lijuan Sun & Kanehiro Kitayama

  2. Kansai Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Kyoto, 612-0855, Japan

    Yuji Kominami & Kenichi Yoshimura

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  1. Lijuan Sun
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Correspondence to Lijuan Sun.

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Electronic supplementary material

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11284_2017_1440_MOESM1_ESM.doc

There is one figure for the pilot experiment and three figures of the seasonal dynamics of the leaf N content, exudation, and enzyme activities in the supplementary material. One table for the girth information of the target trees is included. The method for calculating the annual N demands for building leaves is described in detail. (DOC 458 kb)

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Sun, L., Kominami, Y., Yoshimura, K. et al. Root-exudate flux variations among four co-existing canopy species in a temperate forest, Japan. Ecol Res 32, 331–339 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-017-1440-9

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