High variation in foliage and leaf litter chemistry among 45 tree species of a neotropical rainforest community.
Distinct ecosystem level carbon : nitrogen : phosphorus (C : N : P) stoichiometries in forest foliage have been suggested to reflect ecosystem-scale selection for physiological strategies in plant nutrient use. Here, this hypothesis was explored in a nutrient-poor lowland rainforest in French Guiana. Variation in C, N and P concentrations was evaluated in leaf litter and foliage from neighbour trees of 45 different species, and the litter concentrations of major C fractions were also measured. Litter C ranged from 45.3 to 52.4%, litter N varied threefold (0.68-2.01%), and litter P varied seven-fold (0.009-0.062%) among species. Compared with foliage, mean litter N and P concentrations decreased by 30% and 65%, respectively. Accordingly, the range in mass-based N : P shifted from 14 to 55 in foliage to 26 to 105 in litter. Resorption proficiencies indicated maximum P withdrawal in most species, but with a substantial increase in variation in litter P compared with foliage. These data suggest that constrained ecosystem-level C : N : P ratios do not preclude the evolution of highly diversified strategies of nutrient use and conservation among tropical rainforest tree species. The resulting large variation in litter quality will influence stoichiometric constraints within the decomposer food web, with potentially far-ranging consequences on nutrient dynamics and plant-soil feedbacks.
Hättenschwiler
Stephan
S
Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), CNRS, 1919, route de Mende, F-34293 Montpellier cedex 5, France.
Aeschlimann
Beat
B
Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), CNRS, 1919, route de Mende, F-34293 Montpellier cedex 5, France.|Botanisches Institut, Universität Basel, Schönbeinstrasse 6, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland.
Coûteaux
Marie-Madeleine
MM
Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), CNRS, 1919, route de Mende, F-34293 Montpellier cedex 5, France.
Roy
Jacques
J
Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), CNRS, 1919, route de Mende, F-34293 Montpellier cedex 5, France.
Bonal
Damien
D
UMR Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane, INRA Campus Agronomique, BP 709, F-97387 Kourou cedex, French Guiana.
D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis; D017753:Ecosystem; D020387:Food Chain; D005616:French Guiana; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013045:Species Specificity; D014197:Trees / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D014329:Tropical Climate
D010758:Phosphorus; D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen