Abstract
Background and aims
Twenty-four species of eucalypts were studied regarding their ability to grow under low P and their responsiveness to P inputs.
Methods
Growth and photosynthesis-related parameters were evaluated.
Results
Growth of all species was influenced by low P availability. No significant correlation was found between leaf P concentration and biomass, indicating that P concentrations in leaves cannot be solely considered an indication of the responsiveness to P in eucalypts. Species responsive to P-input (high agronomic P efficiency values, APE) were those with low P use efficiency - PUE (here assessed as relative efficiency of P-use, REP) and low P uptake efficiency (PUpE). But, non-responsive species were related to higher P-efficiency under low soil P-availability. Eucalyptus tereticornis, E. cladocalyx, E. globulus and E. camaldulensis were efficient under low-P availability. Whereas, E. crebra and E acmenoides were the most responsive species, with high APE, suggesting that for these species P-inputs are needed to guarantee plant growth. The root:shoot ratio remained constant at different P availabilities, suggesting that biomass allocation towards the root in response to P and greater investment in roots were not correlated with greater PUE. Under limited P, E. robusta and E. botryoides exhibited low foliar P contents and higher root:shoot ratios than those of other species with higher P contents, indicating that greater root investment does not necessarily result in greater PUE.
Conclusion
The results suggest that the divergence among species is probably related to different mechanisms, which may improve P-use efficiency.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP – Grant number 2016/25498-0). We thank FAPESP, CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – Brasil (CNPq) for post-doctoral, doctoral and research fellowships to FMSO (Grant number 2018/09624-0), RGB and PM, respectively, and FAPESP for undergraduate fellowship to SB (Grant Number 2017/21738-9).
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Bulgarelli, R.G., de Oliveira Silva, F.M., Bichara, S. et al. Eucalypts and low phosphorus availability: between responsiveness and efficiency. Plant Soil 445, 349–368 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04316-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04316-2