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Growth and nitrogen use in Xanthium canadense grown in an open or in a dense stand
Author(s) -
Watari Ryoji,
Nagashima Hisae,
Hirose Tadaki
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
physiologia plantarum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.351
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1399-3054
pISSN - 0031-9317
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-3054.2011.01563.x
Subject(s) - xanthium , nitrogen , biomass partitioning , dry matter , dry weight , photosynthesis , shading , specific leaf area , agronomy , productivity , biology , leaf area index , biomass (ecology) , botany , chemistry , art , macroeconomics , organic chemistry , economics , visual arts
Plants develop branches profusely when grown solitarily, while less so when grown in a dense stand. Such changes in architecture are associated with changes in dry mass allocation and nitrogen use. Here, we studied what traits in plant growth and nitrogen use were influenced by different light climates in the stand. Annual plants ( Xanthium canadense ) were grown solitarily or in a dense stand. Dry mass growth was analyzed as the product of the net assimilation rate (NAR) and leaf area (LA). Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) was analyzed as the product of nitrogen productivity (NP) and the mean residence time (MRT) of nitrogen. These growth variables were further factorized into their components. Solitary plants maintained a high NAR, whereas plants in the dense stand decreased the NAR due to mutual shading. Plants in the dense stand developed a larger LA with a higher specific leaf area than solitary plants. Solitary plants had higher NUE due to higher NP. A temporal increase in NUE was attributed to the increase in MRT of nitrogen. Light climate was different between solitary and dense‐stand plants, but they took up a comparable amount of nitrogen and used it differently in response to the given light climate. NUE was thus demonstrated to be a useful tool for analyzing the mechanism leading to different N use in plant growth.