title: Biogeographical patterns of biomass allocation in leaves, stems, and roots in China's forests.
abstract: To test whether there are general patterns in biomass partitioning in relation to environmental variation when stand biomass is considered, we investigated biomass allocation in leaves, stems, and roots in China's forests using both the national forest inventory data (2004-2008) and our field measurements (2011-2012). Distribution patterns of leaf, stem, and root biomass showed significantly different trends according to latitude, longitude, and altitude, and were positively and significantly correlated with stand age and mean annual precipitation. Trade-offs among leaves, stems, and roots varied with forest type and origin and were mainly explained by stand biomass. Based on the constraints of stand biomass, biomass allocation was also influenced by forest type, origin, stand age, stand density, mean annual temperature, precipitation, and maximum temperature in the growing season. Therefore, after stand biomass was accounted for, the residual variation in biomass allocation could be partially explained by stand characteristics and environmental factors, which may aid in quantifying carbon cycling in forest ecosystems and assessing the impacts of climate change on forest carbon dynamics in China.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125, China.|Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystem, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, 547100, China.|State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125, China.|Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystem, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, 547100, China.
authors.forename: Kelin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125, China.|Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystem, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, 547100, China.
authors.forename: Xianli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125, China.|Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystem, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, 547100, China.
authors.forename: Tongqing
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125, China.|Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystem, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, 547100, China.
authors.forename: Yanfang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125, China.|Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystem, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, 547100, China.
authors.forename: Fuping
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zeng
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D002681:China; D065928:Forests; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D010944:Plants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012044:Regression Analysis