Foliar trait contrasts between African forest and savanna trees: genetic versus environmental effects
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Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Variations in leaf mass per unit area (Ma) and foliar concentrations of N, P, C, K, Mg and Ca were determined for 365 trees growing in 23 plots along a West African precipitation gradient ranging from 0.29 to 1.62m a–1. Contrary to previous studies, no marked increase inMa with declining precipitation was observed, but savanna tree foliar [N] tended to be higher at the drier sites (mass basis). Generally,Ma was slightly higher and [N] slightly lower for forest vs savanna trees with most of this difference attributable to differences in soil chemistry. No systematic variations in [P], [Mg] and [Ca] with precipitation or between trees of forest vs savanna stands were observed. We did, however, find a marked increase in foliar [K] of savanna trees as precipitation declined, with savanna trees also having a significantly lower [K] than those of nearby forest. These differences were not related to differences in soil nutrient status and were accompanied by systematic changes in [C] of opposite sign. We suggest an important but as yet unidentified role for K in the adaption of savanna species to periods of limited water availability; with foliar [K] being also an important factor differentiating tree species adapted to forest vs savanna soils within the ‘zone of transition’ of Western Africa.
Date Issued
2014-11-06
Citation
Functional Plant Biology, 2014
ISSN
1445-4416
Publisher
CSIRO
Journal / Book Title
Functional Plant Biology
Copyright Statement
© The Authors 2014. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution licence CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is cited in full.
by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is cited in full.
License URL
Identifier
http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/FP14040.htm
Subjects
foliar cations
leaf mass per unit area
leaf physiology
nitrogen
phenology
phosphorus
potassium
plant functional traits
tropical
West Africa
zone of transition
Publication Status
Published
Publisher URL