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Nutrient resorption of two evergreen shrubs in response to long-term fertilization in a bog

  • Physiological ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Plant resorption of multiple nutrients during leaf senescence has been established but stoichiometric changes among N, P and K during resorption and after fertilization are poorly understood. We anticipated that increased N supply would lead to further P limitation or co-limitation with N or K [i.e. P-(co)limitation], decrease N resorption and increase P and K resorption, while P and K addition would decrease P and K resorption and increase N resorption. Furthermore, Ca would accumulate while Mg would be resorbed during leaf senescence, irrespective of fertilization. We investigated the effect of N, P and K addition on resorption in two evergreen shrubs (Chamaedaphne calyculata and Rhododendron groenlandicum) in a long-term fertilization experiment at Mer Bleue bog, Ontario, Canada. In general, N addition caused further P-(co)limitation, increased P and K resorption efficiency but did not affect N resorption. P and K addition did not shift the system to N limitation and affect K resorption, but reduced P resorption proficiency. C. calyculata resorbed both Ca and Mg while R. groenlandicum resorbed neither. C. calyculata showed a higher resorption than R. groenlandicum, suggesting it is better adapted to nutrient deficiency than R. groenlandicum. Resorption during leaf senescence decreased N:P, N:K and K:P ratios. The limited response of N and K and the response of P resorption to fertilization reflect the stoichiometric coupling of nutrient cycling, which varies among the two shrub species; changes in species composition may affect nutrient cycling in bogs.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the field and/or laboratory assistance of Angela Grant, Agnieszka Adamowicz-Walczak, Hélène Lalande and Mike Dalva and the comments of Jill Bubier. M. W. was financially supported by the Chinese Scholarship Council for his Ph.D. study and the research was funded by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Discovery Grant to T. R. M.

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  1. Department of Geography and Global Environmental and Climate Change Centre, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 0B9, Canada

    Meng Wang, Meaghan T. Murphy & Tim R. Moore

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  1. Meng Wang
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  2. Meaghan T. Murphy
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Correspondence to Meng Wang.

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Wang, M., Murphy, M.T. & Moore, T.R. Nutrient resorption of two evergreen shrubs in response to long-term fertilization in a bog. Oecologia 174, 365–377 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-013-2784-7

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