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Terpenes and phenolics in response to nitrogen fertilization: A test of the carbon/nutrient balance hypothesis

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Abstract

Nitrogen fertilization resulted in a linear increase in the growth ofAbies grandis seedlings, but linear decrease in foliage concentrations of phenolic compounds. These data are consistent with the inverse relationship between growth and production of carbonbased secondary chemicals predicted by the carbon/nutrient balance (CNB) hypothesis. However, in contrast to predictions of the CNB hypothesis, nitrogen fertilization had no effect on foliage terpene concentrations. The results suggest that not all carbon-based chemicals respond in the same manner to environmental variation, and that the carbon/nutrient balance hypothesis does not adequately explain all patterns of environmentally-induced variation in secondary metabolism.

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  1. USDA Forest Service, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 180 Canfield Street, 26505, Morgantown, WV, USA

    Rose-Marie Muzika

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  1. Rose-Marie Muzika
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Muzika, RM. Terpenes and phenolics in response to nitrogen fertilization: A test of the carbon/nutrient balance hypothesis. Chemoecology 4, 3–7 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01245890

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