Publication Details

Year Published

2022

Publication

Plant and Soil

Abstract

Aims. Nitrogen (N) enrichment from excessive fertilization influences the coupling of nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems, but whether it could alter the scaling relationships between multinutrients [including macronutrients: N, phosphorus (P), potassium, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and micronutrients: manganese (Mn), iron (Fe) and zinc] remains unclear. Methods. We conducted an control experiment using two-year-old Chinese hickory (Carya cathayensis) saplings in hydroponics system, with six levels of N fertilization, to evaluate variations in scaling relationships of multinutrient concentrations in vegetative organs of Chinese hickory under consistent N fertilization. Results. Correlational relationships between multinutrients concentrations were most significant in leaves, while stems and roots were less related. Micronutrients, in particular, were mostly negatively related to macronutrients. Significant allometric relationships were detected among multinutrients, but the response patterns were both organ- and nutrientdependent. For example, positive allometric relationships were detected in N versus other macronutrients while negative allometric relationships were observed with N related to micronutrient response. Leaves generally presented more positive allometric relationships than negative relationships. Beyond expectation, increasing N fertilization minimally altered the scaling exponents between multinutrients, except stem N-Mg, root Mn-Fe, root P-Ca, and leaf P-Ca. Conclusions. Chinese hickory saplings displayed relatively high nutrient homeostasis when excessive N fertilizer was applied. These results will enhance our understanding of organ-dependent allometric relationships between multinutrients in forest trees and may offer new insights into how plants develop adaptive functional traits to increasing N fertilization.

Keywords

Citation

Xie, Hongtao; Xu, Haidong; Li, Xueqin; Pile Knapp, Lauren S.; Lu, Deliang; Jin, Songheng. 2022. Does nitrogen fertilization alter the scaling relationships of multinutrients in tree organs? Evidence from Chinese hickory (Carya cathayensis) saplings. Plant and Soil. 2022. 14 p. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-022-05817-3.