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Stoichiometric traits of oriental oak (Quercus variabilis) acorns and their variations in relation to environmental variables across temperate to subtropical China

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Ecological Research

Abstract

The stoichiometric composition of plant reproductive organs varies with environmental conditions at a large geographical scale, which has potentially important consequences both for plant reproductive success and for the nutrition of consumers. In the study reported here, we investigated variations in the concentrations of macronutrients in acorns of the oriental oak (Quercus variabilis) in relation to environmental variables across a geographic gradient spanning temperate and subtropical latitudes. Across this gradient, nitrogen (N) and calcium (Ca) concentrations of the acorns had higher coefficients of variance (CV 18–23 %) than the other elements (CV 8–14 %). With increasing latitude (LAT), acorn N, potassium (K), and magnesium (Mg) concentrations increased, whereas those of sulfur (S) and Ca and the carbon:nitrogen (C:N) and S:N ratios decreased. The K and Mg concentrations of the acorns were positively correlated with the concentrations of these elements in the soil, whereas N and Ca concentrations were inversely correlated with soil concentrations. The C:N:P (phosphorus) molar ratio of the acorns was 1,008:17:1. A low temperature and short growing season stimulated seeds to accumulate more macronutrient elements in the north to ensure reproductive success, while high soil Ca in the north led plants to allocate less Ca to their acorns. The pattern of variation in acorn stoichiometric traits along LAT may be the result of interacting effects of plant reproduction strategy and environmental factors. Our results can help improve our understanding of the effects of global changes on the chemical compositions of plant reproductive organs and advance our knowledge of global patterns of ecological stoichiometry in reproductive organs.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 31070532, 30671674), National Key Technology R&D Program, (10DZ1960102), and STCSM (10JC1407000, 10DZ1960102). The chemical analysis was conducted in the Instrumental Analysis Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. We thank Peter Wragg and Gaston E. Small for their helpful comments and discussions on the earlier draft of the manuscript, and we are grateful to Shi Xu and Yajuan Zou for their assistance in the chemical analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Agriculture and Biology and SJTU Research Center for Low Carbon Agriculture, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Dongchuan Rd. 800, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Xiao Sun, Hongzhang Kang, Hongmei Du, Xuan Zhou & Chunjiang Liu

  2. Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (South), Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, Dongchuan Rd. 800, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Hongzhang Kang & Chunjiang Liu

  3. College of Forestry and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Longpan Rd. 159, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Haibo Hu

  4. Department of Resources and Environment, Anhui Vocational and Technical College of Forestry, Yulan Rd. 99, Hefei, 230031, China

    Jingbo Zhou

  5. Instrumental Analysis Center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Dongchuan Rd. 800, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Jingli Hou

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  1. Xiao Sun
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  2. Hongzhang Kang
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  3. Hongmei Du
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  7. Xuan Zhou
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Correspondence to Chunjiang Liu.

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Sun, X., Kang, H., Du, H. et al. Stoichiometric traits of oriental oak (Quercus variabilis) acorns and their variations in relation to environmental variables across temperate to subtropical China. Ecol Res 27, 765–773 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-012-0953-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-012-0953-5

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