Abstract
We compared above-ground allocation patterns in mature shrubs of Banksia hookeriana from three 13-year-old populations, growing on nutrient-impoverished sands to determine whether C (dry mass) could be a substitute for mineral nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg and NA). The percentage of reproductive structures to total above-ground growth (reproductive effort; RE) was integrated over nine successive reproductive cycles. Only 0.5% of above-ground dry mass was allocated to seeds compared with 31% to total RE. Allocations of N (24%) and P (48%) to seeds, and N (44%) and P (65%) to RE were much higher. Allocations of K, Ca, Mg and Na to seeds (<1–3%), and RE (21–35%) were closer to that of dry mass. Relative allocation (RA) is defined as the proportion of a nutrient element allocated to a structure relative to its dry mass. RA of P to seeds was 91 and N was 44, but for K, Ca, Mg and Na ranged from only 6 for K to<1 for Na. Thus P, and to a lesser extent N, provide a much more sensitive measure of the relative cost of reproduction than C in this nutrient-limited system.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abrahamson WG, Caswell H (1982) On the comparative allocation of biomass, energy, and nutrients in plants. Ecology 63:982–991
Andel J van, Vera F (1977) Reproductive allocation in Senecio sylvaticus and Chamaenerion angustifolium in relation to mineral nutrition. J Ecol 65:747–758
Antos JA, Allen GA (1990) A comparison of reproductive effort in the dioecious shrub Oemleria cerasiformis using nitrogen, energy and biomass as currencies. Am Midl Nat 124:254–262
Bazzaz FA, Reekie EG (1985) The meaning and measurement of reproductive effort in plants. In: White J (ed) Studies on plant demography: a festchrift for John L. Harper. Academic Press, London, pp 373–387
Beadle NCW (1966) Soil phosphate and its role in molding segments of the Australian flora and vegetation with special reference to xeromorphy and scleromorphy. Ecology 47:992–1007
Chapin FS (1989) The cost of tundra plant structures: evaluation of concepts and currencies. Am Nat 133:1–19
Foulds W (1993) Nutrient concentrations of foliage and soil in southwestern Australia. New Phytol 125:529–546
Gadgil M, Solbrig OT (1972) The concept of r- and K-selection: evidence from wild flowers and some theoretical considerations. Am Nat 106:14–31
Hansen A, Pate JS, Hansen AP (1992) Growth, reproductive performance and resource allocation of the herbaceous obligate seeder Gompholobium marginatum R.Br. (Fabaceae). Oecologia 90:158–166
Harper JL, Ogden J (1970) The reproductive strategy of higher plants. I. The concept of strategy with special reference to Senecio vulgaris L. J Ecol 58:681–698
Heddle EM, Specht RL (1975) Dark Island heath (Ninety-Mile Plain, South Australia). VIII. The effects of fertilizers on composition and growth 1950–1972. Aust J Bot 23:151–164
Jongens-Roberts SM, Mitchell DT (1986) The distribution of dry mass and phosphorus in an evergreen fynbos shrub species, Leucospermum parile (Salisb. ex J. Knight) Sweet (Proteaceae), at different stages of development. New Phytol 103:669–683
Kuo J, Hocking PJ, Pate JS (1982) Nutrient reserves in seeds of selected proteaceous species from southwestern Australia. Aust J Bot 30:231–249
Lamont BB (1994) Mineral nutrient relations in mediterranean regions of California, Chile and Australia. In: Arroya MT, Zedler PH, Fox MD (eds) Ecology and biogeography of mediterranean ecosystems in Chile, California and Australia. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 211–235
Lamont BB, Rees RG, Witkowski ETF, Whitten VA (1994) Comparative size, fecundity and ecophysiology of roadside plants of Banksia hookeriana. J Appl Ecol 31:137–144
Lovett Doust J (1980a) A comparative study of life history and resource allocation in selected Umbelliferae. Biol J Linn Soc 13:139–154
Lovett Doust J (1980b) Experimental manipulation of patterns of resource allocation in the growth and reproduction of Smyrnium olusatrum L. Biol J Linn Soc 13:155–166
Pate JS, Casson NE, Rullo J, Kuo J (1985) Biology of fire ephemerals of the sandplains of the Kwongan of South-western Australia. Aust J Plant Physiol 12:641–655
Pate JS, Froend RH, Bowen BJ, Hansen A, Kuo J (1990) Seedling growth and storage characteristics of seeder and resprouter species of mediterranean-type ecosystems of S.W. Australia. Ann Bot 65:585–601
Pritts MP, Hancock JF (1985) Lifetime biomass partitioning and yield components in the highbush blueberry Vaccinium corymbosum L. (Ericaceae). Am J Bot 72:446–452
Reekie EG, Bazzaz FA (1987a) Reproductive effort in plants. 1. Carbon allocation to reproduction. Am Nat 129:876–896
Reekie EG, Bazzaz FA (1987b) Reproductive effort in plants. 2. Does carbon reflect the allocation of other resources? Am Nat 129:897–906
Rohl LJ, Fuss AM, Dhaliwal JA, Webb MG, Lamont BB (1994) Investigation of flowering in Banksia baxteri R.Br. and Banksia hookeriana Meissner for improving pruning practices. Aust J Exp Agric 34:1209–1216
Specht RL (1963) Dark Island health (Ninety-Mile Plain, South Australia). VIII. The effects of fertilizers on composition and growth 1950–1960. Aust J Bot 11:67–94
Stock WD, Sommerville JEM, Lewis OAM (1987) Seasonal allocation of dry mass and nitrogen in a fynbos endemic Restionaceae species, Thamnochortus punctatus Pill. Oecologia 72:315–320
Stock WD, Pate JS, Delfs J (1990) Influence of seed size and quality on seedling development under low nutrient conditions in five Australian and South Africa members of the Proteaceae. J Ecol 78:1005–1020
Thompson K, Stewart AJA (1981) The measurement and meanining of reproductive effort in plants. Am Nat 117:205–211
Wild A (1958) The phosphate content of Australian soils. Aust J Agric Res 9:193–204
Witkowski ETF (1991) Growth and competition between seedlings of Protea repens (L.) L. and the alien invasive, Acacia saligna (Labil.) Wendl. in relation to nutrient availability. Funct Ecol 5:101–110
Witkowski ETF, Lamont BB (1995) Nutrient losses from commercial picking and cockatoo removal of Banksia hookeriana blooms at the organ, plant and site scales. J Appl Ecol (in press)
Witkowski ETF, Mitchell DT, Stock WJ (1990) Response of a Cape fynbos ecosystem to nutrient additionos: shoot growth and nutrient contents of a proteoid (Leucospermum parile) and an ericoid (Phylica cephalantha) evergreen shrub. Acta Oecol 11:311–326
Witkowski ETF, Lamont BB, Obbens FJ (1994) Commercial picking of Banksia hookeriana in the wild reduces subsequent shoot, flower and seed production. J Appl Ecol 31:508–520
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Witkowski, E.T.F., Lamont, B.B. Disproportionate allocation of mineral nutrients and carbon between vegetative and reproductive structures in Banksia hookeriana . Oecologia 105, 38–42 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00328789
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00328789