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Tissue nutrient signatures predict herbaceous‐wetland community responses to nutrient availability
Author(s) -
Willby N. J.,
Pulford I. D.,
Flowers T. H.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1046/j.0028-646x.2001.00274.x
Subject(s) - ruderal species , nutrient , wetland , herbaceous plant , vegetation (pathology) , ecology , biology , plant community , environmental science , species richness , habitat , medicine , pathology
Summary• An extensive survey of European wetlands was undertaken to compare the importance of growing conditions vs functional characteristics of vegetation in determining N, P and K contents. • Stress‐tolerator dominated stands (S) had consistently lower nutrient contents and higher N : P ratios whereas ruderal‐dominated (R) stands displayed the opposite pattern. Competitor (C) and competitor‐stress tolerator (CS) stands were intermediate to R and S. • These patterns were mostly preserved after removing covariation between vegetation and environment, thus indicating constitutional differences in nutrient signatures between functionally differentiated vegetation. C and R stands were least likely to be nutrient limited. Half of the S stands were probably P‐limited but C, CS and R stands rarely or never experienced P limitation. Inferred colimitation by K was twice as frequent in S stands compared with other vegetation. • This study extends the evidence for syndromes of traits closely linked to nutrient use efficiency that increase fitness under particular growing conditions. It also highlights patterns at a community level across a wide range of wetland types and suggests that tissue nutrient signatures will have diagnostic value in predicting community responses to perturbation in nutrient availability.