Nutrient allocation strategies of four conifers from semiarid to extremely arid environments

Abstract

Although the contents of limiting elements in plants, such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), have been widely studied from subtropical to humid-temperate zones, the strategies used by coniferous species to allocation N and P in arid and semiarid forests remain unclear. In this study, samples of 545 leaves, 194 twigs, and 78 fine roots were collected from four coniferous species (Pinus tabuliformis, Picea wilsonii, Juniperus przewalskii, and Picea crassifolia) of three genera (Pinus, Picea, and Juniperus) in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, and the contents of C, N, and P were analyzed. Two key parameters, namely the allometric exponent and coefficient of variation, were calculated to illustrate the relative investment of plants to N and P uptake and plasticity (variation of N and P), respectively. The contents of N and P and the N:P ratios were the highest in leaves, but their plasticity was the lowest. This confirmed the hypothesis that the leaves of coniferous species have a high content of limiting nutrients and homeostasis. At the regional level, the allometric exponent of N and P in leaves was 0.68, 0.74 in twigs, and 0.78 in fine roots, which is consistent with the results on a global scale. Thus, this invariant allometric relationship suggests the existence of an important mechanism that constrains the allocation of plant nutrients across broad environmental gradients. However, the allocation strategies for N and P shifted with the species, climate, and soil nutrients. Namely: their preferred nutrient uptake was P when the trees had a better nutritional status (semiarid environments, mean annual precipitations (MAP) > 300 mm), but the investment of N was strengthened when the habitat conditions become more severe (extremely arid environments, MAP <100 mm). Thus, our results can provide a novel perspective to understand the strategies of plant nutrient uptake in arid and semiarid forests.