A Negative Relationship between Foliar Carbon Isotope Composition and Mass-Based Nitrogen Concentration on the Eastern Slope of Mount Gongga, China.

Plants adopt ecological strategy to resist environmental changes and increase their resource-use efficiency. The ecological strategy includes changes in physiological traits and leaf morphology, which may result in simultaneous variations in foliar N concentration and the ratio of intercellular CO2...

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Main Authors: Jiazhu Li, Guoan Wang, Runan Zhang, Li Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5117738?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-6eed413cfbb34fb6babdc4d702089f712020-11-25T02:12:29ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-011111e016695810.1371/journal.pone.0166958A Negative Relationship between Foliar Carbon Isotope Composition and Mass-Based Nitrogen Concentration on the Eastern Slope of Mount Gongga, China.Jiazhu LiGuoan WangRunan ZhangLi LiPlants adopt ecological strategy to resist environmental changes and increase their resource-use efficiency. The ecological strategy includes changes in physiological traits and leaf morphology, which may result in simultaneous variations in foliar N concentration and the ratio of intercellular CO2 concentration to ambient CO2 concentration (ci/ca). This in turn links to foliar carbon isotope discrimination, and thus, a relationship between foliar N concentration and foliar carbon isotope composition (δ13C) is expected. To understand how plants integrate their structural and physiological resistance to environmental changes, the relationship between foliar N concentration and foliarδ13C has been assessed intensively, especially the correlation between area-based N concentration (Narea) and δ13C.Less effort has been dedicated to the examination of the relationship between mass-based N concentration(Nmass) and δ13C. Studies on the Nmass-δ13C relationship, especially those including a large amount of data and species, will enhance our understanding of leaf economics and benefit ecological modeling. The present study includes an intensive investigation into this relationship by measuring foliar Nmass and δ13C in a large number of plant species grown on the eastern slope of Mount Gongga, China. This study shows that foliar Nmass decreases with increasing δ13C, which is independent of functional group, vegetation type, and altitude. This suggests that a negative correlation between Nmass and δ13C may be a general pattern for plants grown not only on Mount Gongga, but also in other areas.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5117738?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Jiazhu Li
Guoan Wang
Runan Zhang
Li Li
spellingShingle Jiazhu Li
Guoan Wang
Runan Zhang
Li Li
A Negative Relationship between Foliar Carbon Isotope Composition and Mass-Based Nitrogen Concentration on the Eastern Slope of Mount Gongga, China.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Jiazhu Li
Guoan Wang
Runan Zhang
Li Li
author_sort Jiazhu Li
title A Negative Relationship between Foliar Carbon Isotope Composition and Mass-Based Nitrogen Concentration on the Eastern Slope of Mount Gongga, China.
title_short A Negative Relationship between Foliar Carbon Isotope Composition and Mass-Based Nitrogen Concentration on the Eastern Slope of Mount Gongga, China.
title_full A Negative Relationship between Foliar Carbon Isotope Composition and Mass-Based Nitrogen Concentration on the Eastern Slope of Mount Gongga, China.
title_fullStr A Negative Relationship between Foliar Carbon Isotope Composition and Mass-Based Nitrogen Concentration on the Eastern Slope of Mount Gongga, China.
title_full_unstemmed A Negative Relationship between Foliar Carbon Isotope Composition and Mass-Based Nitrogen Concentration on the Eastern Slope of Mount Gongga, China.
title_sort negative relationship between foliar carbon isotope composition and mass-based nitrogen concentration on the eastern slope of mount gongga, china.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2016-01-01
description Plants adopt ecological strategy to resist environmental changes and increase their resource-use efficiency. The ecological strategy includes changes in physiological traits and leaf morphology, which may result in simultaneous variations in foliar N concentration and the ratio of intercellular CO2 concentration to ambient CO2 concentration (ci/ca). This in turn links to foliar carbon isotope discrimination, and thus, a relationship between foliar N concentration and foliar carbon isotope composition (δ13C) is expected. To understand how plants integrate their structural and physiological resistance to environmental changes, the relationship between foliar N concentration and foliarδ13C has been assessed intensively, especially the correlation between area-based N concentration (Narea) and δ13C.Less effort has been dedicated to the examination of the relationship between mass-based N concentration(Nmass) and δ13C. Studies on the Nmass-δ13C relationship, especially those including a large amount of data and species, will enhance our understanding of leaf economics and benefit ecological modeling. The present study includes an intensive investigation into this relationship by measuring foliar Nmass and δ13C in a large number of plant species grown on the eastern slope of Mount Gongga, China. This study shows that foliar Nmass decreases with increasing δ13C, which is independent of functional group, vegetation type, and altitude. This suggests that a negative correlation between Nmass and δ13C may be a general pattern for plants grown not only on Mount Gongga, but also in other areas.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5117738?pdf=render
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