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Production and Diversity of Volatile Terpenes from Plants on Calcareous and Siliceous Soils: Effect of Soil Nutrients

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Abstract

Fertilizer effects on terpene production have been noted in numerous reports. In contrast, only a few studies have studied the response of leaf terpene content to naturally different soil fertility levels. Terpene content, as determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry/flame ionization detector, and growth of Pinus halepensis, Rosmarinus officinalis, and Cistus albidus were studied on calcareous and siliceous soils under field conditions. The effect of nitrogen (N) and extractable phosphorus (PE) from these soils on terpenes was also investigated since calcareous soils mainly differ from siliceous soils in their higher nutrient loadings. Rich terpene mixtures were detected. Twenty-one terpenes appeared in leaf extracts of R. officinalis and C. albidus and 20 in P. halepensis. Growth of all species was enhanced on calcareous soils, while terpene content showed a species-specific response to soil type. The total monoterpene content of P. halepensis and that of some major compounds (e.g., δ-terpinene) were higher on calcareous than on siliceous soils. A significant and positive relationship was found between concentration of N and PE and leaf terpene content of this species. These findings suggest that P. halepensis may respond to an environment characterized by increasing soil deposition, by allocating carbon resources to the synthesis of terpene defense metabolites without growth reduction. Results obtained for R. officinalis showed high concentrations of numerous major monoterpenes (e.g., myrcene, camphor) in plants growing on calcareous soils, while α-pinene, β-caryophyllene, and the total sesquiterpene content were higher on siliceous soils. Finally, only alloaromadendrene and δ-cadinene of C. albidus showed higher concentrations on siliceous soils. Unlike P. halepensis, soil nutrients were not involved in terpene variation in calcareous and siliceous soils of these two shrub species. Possible ecological explanations on the effect of soil type for these latter two species as well as the ecological explanation of rich terpene mixtures are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

This research was primarily funded by the French Agriculture Minister (DERF), the Environmental Agency (ADEME), and the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur (PACA) region. Authors wish Sylvie Dupouyet and Dr. Christiane Rolando for their collaboration in measurement campaigns, Laboratory of Chemistry and Environment (LCE, University of Provence, FRE 2704) for soil analysis, and Stephane Greff for his help using analytical methods. We thank Mr. Michael Paul for improvements to the English. All experiments conducted in this study comply with the French laws.

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  1. Equipe Diversité Fonctionnelle des Communautés Végétales, Institut Méditerranéen d’Ecologie et Paléoécologie (IMEP, UMR CNRS 6116), Aix-Marseille Université, Campus de St Jérôme Case 421. Avenue Escadrille, Normandie Niémen, 13397, Marseille, France

    Elena Ormeño, Virginie Baldy, Christine Ballini & Catherine Fernandez

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  1. Elena Ormeño
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Correspondence to Elena Ormeño.

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Ormeño, E., Baldy, V., Ballini, C. et al. Production and Diversity of Volatile Terpenes from Plants on Calcareous and Siliceous Soils: Effect of Soil Nutrients. J Chem Ecol 34, 1219–1229 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-008-9515-2

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