title: Invariant allometric scaling of nitrogen and phosphorus in leaves, stems, and fine roots of woody plants along an altitudinal gradient.
abstract: Nitrogen (N) to phosphorus (P) allocation in plant organs is of particular interest, as both elements are important to regulate plant growth. We analyzed the scaling relationship of N and P in leaves, stems and fine roots of 224 plant species along an altitudinal transect (500-2,300 m) on the northern slope of Changbai Mountain, China. We tested whether the scaling relationships of N and P were conserved in response to environmental variations. We found that the N and P concentrations of the leaves, stems and fine roots decreased, whereas the N:P ratios increased with increasing altitude. Allometric scaling relationships of N and P were found in the leaves, stems and fine roots, with allometric exponents of 0.78, 0.71 and 0.87, respectively. An invariant allometric scaling of N and P in the leaves, stems and fine roots was detected for woody plants along the altitudinal gradient. These results may advance our understanding of plant responses to climate change, and provide a basis for practical implication of various ecological models.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing of Gansu Province, Heihe Remote Sensing Experimental Research Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China.|Synthesis Research Center of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Synthesis Research Center of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. yugr@igsnrr.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Guirui
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Synthesis Research Center of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. henp@igsnrr.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Nianpeng
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Foresty College of Beihua University, Jilin, 132013, China.
authors.forename: Fucai
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Synthesis Research Center of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Qiufeng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Synthesis Research Center of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Ruili
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Synthesis Research Center of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Zhiwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Synthesis Research Center of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Yanlong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jia
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D002681:China; D016014:Linear Models; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000378:metabolism*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism*; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000378:metabolism*; D013045:Species Specificity; D014934:Wood / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010758:Phosphorus; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Allometry; Elevation; Life history strategy; Nutrient allocation; Plant growth form; Stoichiometry