Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Leaf nitrogen and phosphorus resorption of woody species in response to climatic conditions and soil nutrients: a meta-analysis

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Forestry Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Nutrient resorption before abscission is an important nutrient conservation mechanism regulated by climatic conditions and soil nutrients. However, our current understanding of leaf nutrient resorption is primarily derived from site-specific studies or from the use of green-leaf nutrient concentrations to represent those in soils. It remains unknown how nutrient resorption responds to natural soil-nutrient concentrations at a global scale. The effects of plant functional groups, climatic conditions, and soil nutrients and their interactions on leaf nutrient resorption are also unknown. In this study, we established a global database derived from 85 published papers, including 547 reports of nitrogen and phosphorus resorption efficiency (NRE and PRE), climatic factors (LAT, latitude; MAT, mean annual temperature; MAP, mean annual precipitation) and soil-nutrient data (STN, soil total nitrogen; STP, soil total phosphorus) across 111 research sites. The results demonstrated that mean NRE and PRE were 48.4 and 53.3%, respectively. NRE of trees was lower than those of shrubs. NRE and PRE of coniferous species were both higher than those of broad-leaved species. Evergreen species had higher PRE than did deciduous species. NRE was negatively related to STN, but PRE and STP were not related. Both NRE and PRE decreased with increasing MAT and MAP but increased with increasing LAT. Plant functional groups, climate and soil nutrients jointly explained 22 and 32% of the variations in NRE and PRE, respectively. It is important to note that climate (especially MAT) explained 12 and 29% of the variations in NRE and PRE, respectively, implying that continuing global warming will exert an increasingly profound influence on plant nutrient cycles.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aerts R (1996) Nutrient resorption from senescing leaves of perennials: are there general patterns? J Ecol 84:597–608

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aerts R (1997) Nitrogen partitioning between resorption and decomposition pathways: a trade-off between nitrogen use efficiency and litter decomposability? Oikos 80:603–606

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aerts R, Chapin FS (2000) The mineral nutrition of wild plants revisited: a re-evaluation of processes and patterns. Adv Ecol Res 30:1–67

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brant AN, Chen HYH (2015) Patterns and mechanisms of nutrient resorption in plants. Crit Rev Plant Sci 34:471–486

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chapin FS, Oechel WC (1983) Photosynthesis, respiration, and phosphate absorption by Carex aquatilis ecotypes along latitudinal and local environmental gradients. Ecology 64:743–751

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen YH, Han WX, Tang LY, Tang ZL, Fang JY (2013) Leaf nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations of woody plants differ in responses to climate, soil and plant growth form. Ecography 36:178–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cramer MD, Hawkins HJ, Verboom GA (2009) The importance of nutritional regulation of plant water flux. Oecologia 161:15–24

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Escudero A, del Arco JM, Sanz IC, Ayala J (1991) Effects of leaf longevity and retranslocation efficiency on the retention time of nutrients in the leaf biomass of different woody species. Oecologia 90:80–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freschet GT, Aerts R, Cornelissen JHC (2012) A plant economics spectrum of litter decomposability. Funct Ecol 26:56–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grime JP, Thompson K, Hunt R, Hodgson JG, Cornelissen JHC, Rorison IH, Hendry GAF, Ashenden TW, Askew AP, Band SR, Booth RE, Bossard CC, Campbell BD, Cooper JEL, Davison AW, Gupta PL, Hall W, Hand DW, Hannah MA, Hillier SH, Hodkinson DJ, Jalili A, Liu Z, Mackey JML, Matthews N, Mowforth MA, Neal AM, Reader RJ, Reiling K, Ross-Fraser W, Spencer RE, Sutton F, Tasker DE, Thorpe PC, Whitehouse J (1997) Integrated screening validates primary axes of specialisation in plants. Oikos 79:259–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han WX, Fang JY, Reich PB, Woodward FI, Wang ZH (2011) Biogeography and variability of eleven mineral elements in plant leaves across gradients of climate, soil and plant functional type in China. Ecol Lett 14:788–796

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Han WX, Chen YH, Zhao FJ, Tang LY, Jiang RF, Zhang FS (2012) Floral, climatic and soil pH controls on leaf ash content in China’s terrestrial plants. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 21:376–382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han WX, Tang LY, Chen YH, Fang JY (2013) Relationship between the relative limitation and resorption efficiency of nitrogen vs phosphorus in woody plants. PLoS ONE 8:e83366. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0083366

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes P, Turner BL, Lambers H, Laliberté E (2014) Foliar nutrient concentrations and resorption efficiency in plants of contrasting nutrient-acquisition strategies along a 2-million-year dune chronosequence. J Ecol 102:396–410

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Heikkinen R, Luoto M, Kuussaari M, Pöyry J (2005) New insights into butterfly-environment relationships using partitioning methods. Proc Biol Sci 272:2203–2210

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hidaka A, Kitayama K (2011) Allocation of foliar phosphorus fractions and leaf traits of tropical tree species in response to decreased soil phosphorus availability on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. J Ecol 99:849–857

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang JJ, Boerner REJ (2007) Effects of fire alone or combined with thinning on tissue nutrient concentrations and nutrient resorption in Desmodium nudiflorum. Oecologia 153:233–243

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Killingbeck KT (1996) Nutrients in senesced leaves keys to the search for potential resorption and resorption proficiency. Ecology 77:1716–1727

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kobe RK, Lepczyk CA, Iyer M (2005) Resorption efficiency decreases with increasing green leaf nutrients in a global data set. Ecology 86:2780–2792

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Körner C (1999) Alpine plant life: functional plant ecology of high mountain ecosystems. Springer, Berlin, pp 1–338

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lambers H, Chapin FS, Pons TL (2008) Plant physiological ecology, 2nd edn. Springer, New York, pp 212–546

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lü XT, Freschet GT, Flynn DFB, Han XG (2012) Plasticity in leaf and stem nutrient resorption proficiency potentially reinforces plant–soil feedbacks and microscale heterogeneity in a semi-arid grassland. J Ecol 100:144–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maire V, Wright IJ, Prentice C, Batjes NH, Bhaskar R, van Bodegom PM, Cornwell WK, Ellsworth D, Niinemets Ü, Ordonez A, Reich PB, Santiago LS (2015) Global effects of soil and climate on leaf photosynthetic traits and rates. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 24:706–717

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oleksyn J, Reich PB, Zytkowiak R, Karolewski P, Tjoelker MG (2003) Nutrient conservation increases with latitude of origin in European Pinus sylvestris populations. Oecologia 136:220–235

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ordoñez JC, van Bodegom PM, Witte JPM, Wright IJ, Reich PB, Aerts R (2009) A global study of relationships between leaf traits, climate and soil measures of nutrient fertility. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 18:137–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pan RC, Wang XJ, Li NH (2010) Plant physiology. Higher Education Press, Beijing, pp 14–24

    Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2015) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. http://www.r-project.org/

  • Reed SC, Townsend AR, Davidson EA, Cleveland CC (2012) Stoichiometric patterns in foliar nutrient resorption across multiple scales. New Phytol 196:173–180

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reich PB, Oleksyn J (2004) Global patterns of plant leaf N and P in relation to temperature and latitude. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101:11001–11006

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson CH (2002) Controls on decomposition and soil nitrogen availability at high latitudes. Plant Soil 242:65–81

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt MWI, Torn MS, Abiven S, Dittmar T, Guggenberger G, Janssens IA, Kleber M, Kögel-Knabner I, Lehmann J, Manning DAC, Nannipieri P, Rasse DP, Weiner S, Trumbore SE (2011) Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property. Nature 478:48–56

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun X, Kang H, Chen HYH, Björn B, Samuel BF, Liu C (2016) Biogeographic patterns of nutrient resorption from Quercus variabilis Blume leaves across China. Plant Biol 18:505–513

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tang LY, Han WX, Chen YH, Fang JY (2013) Resorption proficiency and efficiency of leaf nutrients in woody plants in eastern China. J Plant Ecol 6:408–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tully KL, Wood TE, Schwantes AM, Lawrence D (2013) Soil nutrient availability and reproductive effort drive patterns in nutrient resorption in Pentaclethra macroloba. Ecology 94:930–940

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Heerwaarden LM, Toet S, Aerts R (2003) Current measures of nutrient resorption efficiency lead to a substantial underestimation of real resorption efficiency: facts and solutions. Oikos 101:664–669

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vergutz L, Manzoni S, Porporato A, Novais RF, Jackson RB (2012) Global resorption efficiencies and concentrations of carbon and nutrients in leaves of terrestrial plants. Ecol Monogr 82:205–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Viers J, Prokushkin AS, Pokrovsky OS, Auda Y, Kirdyanov AV, Beaulieu E, Zouiten C, Oliva P, Dupré B (2013) Seasonal and spatial variability of elemental concentrations in boreal forest larch foliage of Central Siberia on continuous permafrost. Biogeochemistry 113:435–449

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wright IJ, Westoby M (2003) Nutrient concentration, resorption and lifespan: leaf traits of Australian sclerophyll species. Funct Ecol 17:10–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright IJ, Reich PB, Westoby M, Ackerly DD, Baruch Z, Bongers F, Cavender-Bares J, Chapin T, Cornelissen JHC, Diemer M, Flexas J, Garnier E, Groom PK, Gulias J, Hikosaka K, Lamont BB, Lee T, Lee W, Lusk C, Midgley JJ, Navas ML, Niinemets Ü, Oleksyn J, Osada N, Poorter H, Poot P, Prior L, Pyankov VI, Roumet C, Thomas SC, Tjoelker MG, Veneklaas EJ, Villar R (2004) The worldwide leaf economics spectrum. Nature 428:821–827

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yan T, Lü XT, Yang K, Zhu JJ (2016) Leaf nutrient dynamics and nutrient resorption: a comparison between larch plantations and adjacent secondary forests in Northeast China. J Plant Ecol 9:165–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan ZY, Chen YH (2009) Global-scale patterns of nutrient resorption associated with latitude, temperature and precipitation. Global Ecol Biogeogr 18:11–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan ZY, Chen YH (2015) Negative effects of fertilization on plant nutrient resorption. Ecology 96:373–380

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan ZY, Li LH, Han XG, Huang JH, Wan SQ (2005) Foliar nitrogen dynamics and nitrogen resorption of a sandy shrub Salix gordejevii in northern China. Plant Soil 278:183–193

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang SB, Zhang JL, Slik JWF, Cao KF (2012) Leaf element concentrations of terrestrial plants across China are influenced by taxonomy and the environment. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 21:809–818

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang JH, Tang ZY, Luo YK, Chi XL, Chen YH, Fang JY, Shen HH (2015) Resorption efficiency of leaf nutrients in woody plants on Mt. Dongling of Beijing, North China. J Plant Ecol 8:530–538

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Mr. Xu Kuang and Dr. Zuoqiang Yuan for their help to conduct the variation partitioning in R 3.2.0, and we also thank Mr. Guiduo Shang for his help with the production of Fig. 1 by ArcGIS. We are very grateful to the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive comments and suggestions that greatly improved this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Shenyang, 110016, People’s Republic of China

    Tao Yan, Jiaojun Zhu & Kai Yang

  2. Qingyuan Forest CERN, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, People’s Republic of China

    Tao Yan, Jiaojun Zhu & Kai Yang

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Tao Yan

Authors
  1. Tao Yan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jiaojun Zhu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kai Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiaojun Zhu.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Project funding: This study was funded by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (2012CB416906).

The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com

Corresponding editor: Chai Ruihai.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (XLS 211 kb)

Supplementary material 2 (DOC 94 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yan, T., Zhu, J. & Yang, K. Leaf nitrogen and phosphorus resorption of woody species in response to climatic conditions and soil nutrients: a meta-analysis. J. For. Res. 29, 905–913 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-017-0519-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-017-0519-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation