Abstract
This study chose dominant tree species including Picea crassifolia, Pinus armandii and Pinus tabuliformis which are distributed in Qilian Mountains, Xiaolongshan Mountains, and Bailongjiang River. According to the different tree species, ages and components, we sampled leaves, branches, stems, and roots, and measured the contents of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, along with soil fertility. The changes of N, P, and K contents in the different tree species were studied, and the relationship between nutrient content and environmental factors was analyzed. The results indicated that the content of P in all three species was the lowest (0.039–0.28 g kg−1), while N content was the highest (0.095–1.72 g kg−1). As the terminal organ of nutrient transport, the nutrient content of leaves was the highest. P. armandii (0.45 g kg−1) had a higher nutrient concentration than P. tabulaeformis (0.19 g kg−1) and P. crassifolia (0.29 g kg−1). The nutrient content of each species was highest in a young forest, but lowest in a mature forest. The nutrient content of all three tree species was significantly affected by soil nutrient content, and negatively correlated with available soil nutrients.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cernusak LA, Winter K, Turner BL (2010) Leaf nitrogen to phosphorus ratios of tropical trees: experimental assessment of physiological and environmental controls. N Phytol 185(3):770–779
Chapin FS (1980) The mineral nutrition of wild plants. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 11:233–260
Chávez V, Macdonald SE (2010) The influence of canopy patch mosaics on understory plant community composition in boreal mixedwood forest. For Ecol Manag 259(6):1067–1075
Domínguez MT, Marañón T, Murillo JM, Schulin R, Robinson BH (2010) Nutritional status of Mediterranean trees growing in a contaminated and remediated area. Water Air Soil Pollut 205(1–4):305–321
Franzaring J, Holz I, Zipperle J, Fangmeier A (2010) Twenty years of biological monitoring of element concentrations in permanent forest and grassland plots in Baden-Württemberg (SW Germany). Environ Sci Pollut Res 17(1):4–12
Gartzia-Bengoetxea N, Gonzalez-Arias A, Martínez de Arano I (2009) Effects of tree species and clear-cut forestry on forest-floor characteristics in adjacent temperate forests in northern Spain. Can J For Res 39(7):1302–1312
Grubb PJ (1977) Control of forest growth and distribution on wet tropical mountains: with special reference to mineral nutrition. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 8(1):83–107
He JS, Wang L, Flynn DF, Wang XP, Ma WH, Fang JY (2008) Leaf nitrogen: phosphorus stoichiometry across Chinese grassland biomes. Oecologia 155(2):301–310
Hessen DO, Jensen TC, Kyle M, Elser JJ (2007) RNA responses to N- and P-limitation; reciprocal regulation of stoichiometry and growth rate in Brachionus. Funct Ecol 21(5):956–962
IUSS Working Group WRB (2006) World reference base for soil resources 2006, 2nd edn. World Soil Resources Reports No. 203. FAO, Rome
Jones Jr JB, Case VW (1990) Sampling, handling and analyzing plant tissue samples. In: Westerman RL (ed) Soil testing and plant analysis, 3rd edn. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, pp 389–427
Kang HZ, Zhuang HL, Wu LL, Liu QL, Shen GR, Berg B, Man RZ, Liu CJ (2011) Variation in leaf nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry in Picea abies across Europe: an analysis based on local observations. For Ecol Manag 261(2):195–202
Li LI, Xu XW, Sun YQ, Han W, Tu PF (2012) Effects of parasitic plant Cistanche deserticola on chlorophyll a fluorescence and nutrient accumulation of host plant Haloxylon ammodendron in the Taklimakan Desert. J Arid Land 4(3):342–348
Li Y, Jing C, Mao W, Cui D, Wang X, Zhao X (2014) N and P resorption in a pioneer shrub (Artemisia halodendron) inhabiting severely desertified lands of Northern China. J Arid Land 6(2):174–185
Masunaga T, Kubota D, Hotta M, Wakatsuki T (1998a) Nutritional characteristics of mineral elements in leaves of tree species in tropical rain forest, West Sumatra, Indonesia. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 44(3):315–329
Masunaga T, Kubota D, William U (1998b) Spatial distribution pattern of trees in relation to soil edaphic status in tropical rain forest in west Sumatra, Indonesia. I. Distribution of accumulation. Tropics 7:209–222
Mediavilla S, González-Zurdo P, Escudero A (2011) Morphological and chemical leaf composition of Mediterranean evergreen tree species according to leaf age. Trees 25(4):669–677
Michopoulos P, Baloutsos G, Economou A, Samara C, Thomaidis NS, Grigoratos T (2007) Nutrient cycling and foliar status in an urban pine forest in Athens, Greece. Plant Soil 294(1–2):31–39
Minocha R, Long S, Thangavel P, Minocha SC, Eagar C, Driscoll CT (2010) Elevation dependent sensitivity of northern hardwoods to Ca addition at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH, USA. For Ecol Manag 260(12):2115–2124
Murphy J, Riley JP (1962) A modified single solution method for the determination of phosphate in natural waters. Anal Chim Acta 27:31–36
Sariyildiz T, Anderson JM (2005) Variation in the chemical composition of green leaves and leaf litters from three deciduous tree species growing on different soil types. For Ecol Manag 210(1):303–319
Soil Survey Laboratory Staff (1996) Soil Survey Laboratory methods manual. Soil survey investigations report, vol 42. National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, NE, Version 3.0, USDA-NRCS
Susaya JP, Asio VB (2005) Status of phosphorus in the rain forest ecosystem of Mt. Pangasugan, Leyte, Philippines. Annals of Tropical Research
Vitousek PM, Sanford RL (1986) Nutrient cycling in moist tropical forest. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 17:137–167
Vitousek PM, Porder S, Houlton BZ, Chadwick OA (2010) Terrestrial phosphorus limitation: mechanisms, implications, and nitrogen–phosphorus interactions. Ecol Appl 20(1):5–15
Wardle DA, Walker LR, Bardgett RD (2004) Ecosystem properties and forest decline in contrasting long-term chronosequences. Science 305(5683):509–513
Webb CO, Donoghue MJ (2005) Phylomatic: tree assembly for applied phylogenetics. Mol Ecol Notes 5(1):181–183
Wu CC, Tsui CC, Hseih CF, Asio VB, Chen ZS (2007) Mineral nutrient status of tree species in relation to environmental factors in the subtropical rain forest of Taiwan. For Ecol Manag 239(1):81–91
You WZ, Wei WJ, Zhang HD, Yan TW, Xing ZK (2013) Temporal patterns of soil CO2 efflux in a temperate Korean Larch (Larix olgensis Herry.) plantation, Northeast China. Trees 27(5):1417–1428
Yu M, Sun JXO (2013) Effects of forest patch type and site on herb-layer vegetation in a temperate forest ecosystem. For Ecol Manag 300(300):14–20
Zhang YT, Li JM, Chang SL, Li X, Lu JJ (2012) Spatial distribution pattern of Picea schrenkiana population in the Middle Tianshan Mountains and the relationship with topographic attributes. J Arid Land 4(4):457–468
Acknowledgements
We appreciated the reviewer’s comments on the previous version of the manuscript, which helped us greatly improve the quality and readability of the paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Project funding: This study was supported by the Special Fund for Forestry Scientific Research in the Public Interest (No. 201204101-4), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31260141), and CFERN and GENE Award Funds on Ecological Papers.
The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com
Corresponding editor: Tao Xu.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, S., Wang, H. N, P, and K characteristics of different age groups of temperate coniferous tree species in northwestern China. J. For. Res. 29, 471–478 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-017-0442-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-017-0442-3