Open AccessMicro‐site performance of evergreen and deciduous dwarf shrubs in a subarctic heath in relation to nitrogen status
Author(s) -
Karlsson P. S.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
ecography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.973
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1600-0587
pISSN - 0906-7590
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0587.1987.tb00747.x
Subject(s) - evergreen , deciduous , subarctic climate , vegetation (pathology) , vaccinium myrtillus , ericaceae , botany , nitrogen , vaccinium , ecology , biology , chemistry , medicine , organic chemistry , pathology
The relationship between micro‐site nitrogen status (total soil N conc., total vegetation N, and leaf N conc.) and performance (biomass) for two evergreen and two deciduous dwarf shrubs was studied in a subarctic heath. One deciduous species, Vaccinium uliginosum , dominated on sites having the highest vegetation nitrogen content and highest leaf nitrogen concentrations. The evergreen Empetrum hermaphroditum dominated on sites with a low total vegetation nitrogen content and low leaf nitrogen concentrations. Two other species, V. myrtillus (deciduous) and V. vitis‐idaea (evergreen), showed intermediate patterns that were not clearly separated from either V. uliginosum or Empetrum . Soil nitrogen content showed no significant differences between micro‐sites. Possible physiological reasons for the observed patterns are discussed.