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Differences in nitrogen use efficiency between leaves from canopy and subcanopy trees
Author(s) -
Tateno Ryunosuke,
Kawaguchi Hideyuki
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
ecological research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1440-1703
pISSN - 0912-3814
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1703.2002.00526.x
Subject(s) - canopy , evergreen , tree canopy , nitrogen cycle , botany , nitrogen , biology , chemistry , organic chemistry
We examined the effects of increasing light availability along a vertical gradient within a forest community on the efficiency of leaf nitrogen (N) use in individual trees. The N contents of green and senescent leaves in canopy and subcanopy trees of an evergreen coniferous species, Podocarpus nagi , and an evergreen hardwood species, Neolitsea aciculata , were analyzed in a mixed forest community at Mt Mikasa, Nara City, Japan. The inverse of N concentration (N C ) in senescent leaves was used as an index of N use efficiency (NUE) at the leaf‐level. The leaf‐level NUE was higher in canopy trees than in subcanopy trees in both P. nagi and N. aciculata , although soil N mineralization rates around canopy and subcanopy trees did not differ significantly. The N C in green leaves was lower in canopy trees than in subcanopy trees. The ratio of resorbed N in senescent leaves to the N content in green leaves was higher in canopy trees than in subcanopy trees. The higher leaf‐level NUE of canopy trees was partly a result of lower N C in living tissues and partly because of greater N resorption during senescence. The present study suggested that the leaf‐level NUE could be increased in response to an imbalance between soil N and light availability caused by spatial community structure.