Abstract
Nutrient resorption was measured in an actinorhizal nitrogen-fixing shrub,Comptonia peregrina, for five years in the understory of a deciduous oak forest in Rhode Island, USA. Mean resorption of nitrogen was extremely inefficient (11%) compared to most deciduous species (50%+), yet resorption of phosphorus was efficient (53%) and comparable to other species. Of the seven additional nutrients studied, only copper (6%) and zinc (10%) were resorbed from senescing leaves. Resorption of nitrogen (5%–20%) and phosphorus (40%–71%) varied significantly among years. Copper was resorbed from leaves in three years and accreted into leaves in two years. Five-year resorption means differed among individual genets by as much as a factor of 2.5 for nitrogen, and 1.3 for phosphorus. Resorption of nitrogen, copper, and zinc were highly correlated, yet resorption of phosphorus remained autonomous from other nutrients. The ecophysiological tradeoffs inComptonia which have resulted in the cooccurence of actinorhizal nitrogen fixation, inefficient nitrogen resorption, and efficient phosphorus resorption suggest that plant nutrient status does have an impact on resorption efficiency and that the evolution of nutrient conservation strategies is nutrient-specific.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Aerts R (1990) Nutrient use efficiency in evergreen and deciduous species from heathlands. Oecologia 84: 391–397
Birk EM, Vitousek PM (1986) Nitrogen availability and nitrogen use efficiency in loblolly pine stands. Ecology 67: 69–79
Callaham D, Del Tredici P, Torrey JG (1978) Isolation and cultivation in vitro of the actinomycete causing root nodulation inComptonia. Science 199: 899–902
Chapin FS III, Kedrowski RA (1983) Seasonal changes in nitrogen and phosphorus fractions and autumnal retranslocation in evergreen and deciduous taiga trees. Ecology 64: 376–391
Chapin FS III, Moilanen L (1991) Nutritional controls over nitrogen and phosphorus resorption from Alaskan birch leaves. Ecology 72: 709–715
Chapin FS III, Schulze E-D, Mooney HA (1990) The ecology and economics of storage in plants. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 21: 423–447
Côté B, Dawson JO (1986) Autumnal changes in total nitrogen, saltextractable proteins and amino acids in leaves and adjacent bark of black alder, eastern cottonwood and white basswood. Physiol Plant 67: 102–108
Côté B, Vogel C, Dawson JO (1989) Autumnal changes in tissue nitrogen of autumn olive, black alder and eastern cottonwood. Plant Soil 118: 23–32
Dawson JO (1990) Interactions among actinorhizal and associated plant species. In: Schwintzer CR, Tjepkema D (eds) The biology ofFrankia and actinorhizal plants. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, pp 299–316
Dawson JO, Funk DT (1981) Seasonal change in foliar nitrogen concentration ofAlnus glutinosa. Forest Sci 27: 239–243
Del Tredici P (1977) The buried seeds ofComptonia peregrina, the sweet fern. Bull Torrey Bot Club 104: 270–275
Gorham E, Vitousek PM, Reiners WA (1979) The regulation of chemical budgets over the course of terrestrial ecosystem succession. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 10: 53–84
Gutschick VP (1981) Evolved strategies in nitrogen acquisition by plants. Am Nat 118: 607–637
Hill J (1980) The remobilization of nutrients from leaves. J Plant Nutr 2: 407–444
Hurlbert SH (1984) Pseudoreplication and the design of ecological field experiments. Ecol Monogr 54: 187–211
Killingbeck KT (1985) Autumnal resorption and accretion of trace metals in gallery forest trees. Ecology 66: 283–286
Killingbeck KT (1988) Hurricane-induced modification of nitrogen and phosphorus resorption in an aspen clone: an example of diffuse disturbance. Oecologia 75: 213–215
Killingbeck KT (1992) Inefficient nitrogen resorption in a population of ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), a drought-deciduous desert shrub. Southwest Nat 37: 35–42
Killingbeck KT, Nutrient resorption in desert shrubs. Revista Chilena Hist Nat (in press)
Killingbeck KT, Costigan SA (1988) Element resorption in a guild of understory shrub species: niche differentiation and resorption thresholds. Oikos 53: 366–374
Killingbeck KT, May JD, Nyman S (1990) Foliar senescence in an aspen (Populus tremuloides) clone: the response of element resorption to interramet variation and timing of abscission. Can J For Res 20: 1156–1164
Lomnicki A (1988) Population ecology of individuals. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
May JD, Killingbeck KT (1992) Effects of preventing nutrient resorption on plant fitness and foliar nutrient dynamics. Ecology 73: 1868–1878
Okon Y, Hardy RWF (1983) Developments in basic and applied biological nitrogen fixation. In: Steward FC, Bidwell RGS (eds) Plant physiology, a treatise, vol. VIII: nitrogen metabolism. Academic Press, Orlando, FL, pp 5–54
Pugnaire FI, Chapin FS III (1992) Environmental and physiological factors governing nutrient resorption efficiency in barley. Oecologia 90: 120–126
Ralhan PK, Singh SP (1987) Dynamics of nutrients and leaf mass in central Himalayan forest trees and shrubs. Ecology 68: 1974–1983
Rector D (1981) Soil survey of Rhode Island. Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station, Kingston, RI
Rippel A (1921) Die Frage der Eiweifswanderung beim herbstlichen Vergilben der Laubblätter. Biol Zentralbl 41: 508–523
Rodriguez-Barrueco C, Miguel C, Subramaniam P (1984) Seasonal fluctuations of the mineral concentration of alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.) from the field. Plant Soil 78: 201–208
SAS Institute, Inc. (1985) SAS user's guide: basics edition. SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC
Schwintzer CR, Tjepkema JD (1990) The biology ofFrankia and actinorhizal plants. Academic Press, San Diego
Shaver GR, Melillo JM (1984) Nutrient budgets of marsh plants: efficiency concepts and relation to availability. Ecology 65: 1491–1510
Small E (1972) Photosynthetic rates in relation to nitrogen recycling as an adaptation to nutrient deficiency in peat bog plants. Can J Bot 50: 2227–2233
Staaf H (1982) Plant nutrient changes in beech leaves during senescence as influenced by site characteristics. Acta Ecol 3: 161–170
Stachurski A, Zimka J (1975) Methods of studying forest ecosystems: leaf area leaf production, and withdrawal of nutrients from leaves of trees. Ekol Polska 23: 637–648
Stokes D (1981) The natural history of wild shrubs and vines: eastern and central North America. Harper & Row, New York
Thomas RL, Sheard RW Jr., Moyer JR (1967) Comparison of conventional and automated procedures for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium analysis of plant material using a single digestion. J Agron 59: 240–243
Thornthwaite CW (1948) An approach toward a rational classification of climate. Geogr Rev 38: 55–94
Tilman D (1990) Constraints and tradeoffs: toward a predictive theory of competition and succession. Oikos 58: 3–15
Turner J, Cole DW, Gessel SP (1976) Mineral nutrient accumulation and cycling in a stand of red alder (Alnus rubra). J Ecol 64: 965–974
Wilkinson L (1989) SYSTAT: The system for statistics. SYSTAT, Inc., Evanston, IL
Ziegler H, Huser R (1963) Fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by root nodules ofComptonia peregrina. Nature 199: 508
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Killingbeck, K.T. Inefficient nitrogen resorption in genets of the actinorhizal nitrogen fixing shrubComptonia peregrina: physiological ineptitude or evolutionary tradeoff?. Oecologia 94, 542–549 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00566970
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00566970