Open AccessChanges in the stoichiometry of Castanopsis fargesii along an elevation gradient in a Chinese subtropical forest
Author(s) -
Danping Liu,
Dong Zheng,
Yan Xu,
Yifei Chen,
Hesong Wang,
Wang Ku,
Xiaoli Liu,
Changxiong Chen,
Jun Xia,
Shaofei Jin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
peerj
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.927
H-Index - 70
ISSN - 2167-8359
DOI - 10.7717/peerj.11553
Subject(s) - biogeochemical cycle , nutrient , phosphorus , population , ecology , biomass (ecology) , elevation (ballistics) , evergreen , ecological stoichiometry , biology , subtropics , botany , chemistry , geometry , mathematics , demography , organic chemistry , sociology
Elevation is important for determining the nutrient biogeochemical cycle in forest ecosystems. Changes in the ecological stoichiometry of nutrients along an elevation gradient can be used to predict how an element cycle responds in the midst of global climate change. We investigated changes in concentrations of and relationships between nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) in the leaves and roots of the dominant tree species, Castanopsis fargesii, along an elevation gradient (from 500 to 1,000 m above mean sea level) in a subtropical natural forest in China. We analyzed correlations between C. fargesii ’s above-ground biomass and stoichiometry with environmental factors. We also analyzed the soil and plant stoichiometry of this C. fargesii population. Our results showed that leaf N decreased while leaf K and Ca increased at higher elevations. Meanwhile, leaf P showed no relationship with elevation. The leaf N:P indicated that C. fargesii was limited by N. Elevation gradients contributed 46.40% of the total variance of ecological stoichiometry when assessing environmental factors. Our research may provide a theoretical basis for the biogeochemical cycle along with better forest management and fertilization for this C. fargesii population.