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Species patterns in foliar nitrogen concentration, nitrogen content and 13C abundance for understory saplings across light gradients

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Abstract

Soil nitrogen (N) supply and uptake by regenerating trees is an important ecosystem attribute but difficult to quantify in partial-cut forests where light availability varies. The foliar attributes of N concentration (N%) and N per unit area (Na) may help characterize the influence of soil nutrition, but ideally the relationship between soils and foliage would be tested separately by species across well-defined light gradients. To do this, we examined foliar attributes of four tree species across gradients of light availability in 12 year-old partially-cut forests in northwest British Columbia, Canada. There were no differences in forest floor or mineral soil N mineralization rates across the light gradients, and for western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and hybrid white spruce (Picea glauca x sitchensis), this consistent level of soil N supply corresponded with unchanging foliar N%. In contrast, foliar N% of Betula papyrifera (paper birch) and Thuja plicata (western redcedar) declined with shading, perhaps due to shifts in root-shoot biomass allocation for B. papyrifera, and climatic constraints on shade tolerance for T. plicata. Leaf δ13C approached an asymptote at approx. 40% full light for the coniferous species, but increased linearly with light for B. papyrifera. Foliar Na was linearly correlated with leaf δ13C for three species, reflecting the dual effect of light and nutrition on photosynthesis processes, and suggesting that foliar Na may be a simple parameter to integrate both resource constraints on regenerating saplings. These results demonstrate both support for and limits to foliar attributes among species in isolating soil N effects against light constraints in partial-cut forests.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Marcel Lavigne for assisting in the field sampling and preparation of soils and foliage for analysis. Clive Dawson and Dave Dunn from the B.C. Ministry of Forests Analytical laboratory undertook the foliar and soil chemical analysis. Peter Ott of the B.C. Ministry of Forests was consulted on the statistical analysis. Kathy Gordon from the University of British Columbia provided foliar isotope analysis. Roy Turkington, Cindy Prescott and the anonymous reviewers provided useful comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript. Funds for the research project were provided by the B.C. Ministry of Forests and the Forest Investment Account of British Columbia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. B.C. Ministry of Forests, BAG 6000, Smithers, BC, V0J 2N0, Canada

    J. M. Kranabetter & K. D. Coates

  2. University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    S. W. Simard & R. D. Guy

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  1. J. M. Kranabetter
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Kranabetter, J.M., Simard, S.W., Guy, R.D. et al. Species patterns in foliar nitrogen concentration, nitrogen content and 13C abundance for understory saplings across light gradients. Plant Soil 327, 389–401 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-0062-6

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