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The allocation of assimilated carbon to shoot growth: in situ assessment in natural grasslands reveals nitrogen effects and interspecific differences
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Gong, Xiao Ying Berone, Germán Darío Agnusdei, Mónica Graciela Palma, Ricardo Manuel Rodríguez Schaeufele, Rudi Lattanzi, Fernando Alfredo |
| Copyright Year | 2013 |
| Abstract | In grasslands, sustained nitrogen loading would increase the proportion of assimilated carbon allocated to shoot growth (Ashoot), because it would decrease allocation to roots and also encourage the contribution of species with inherently high Ashoot. However, in situ measurements of carbon allocation are scarce. Therefore, it is unclear to what extent species that coexist in grasslands actually differ in their allocation strategy or in their response to nitrogen. We used a mobile facility to perform steady-state 13C-labeling of field stands to quantify, in winter and autumn, the daily relative photosynthesis rate (RPR~tracer assimilated over one light-period) and Ashoot (~tracer remaining in shoots after a 100 degree days chase period) in four individual species with contrasting morpho-physiological characteristics coexisting in a temperate grassland of Argentina, either fertilized or not with nitrogen, and either cut intermittently or grazed continuously. Plasticity in response to nitrogen was substantial in most species, as indicated by positive correlations between Ashoot and shoot nitrogen concentration. There was a notable interspecific difference: productive species with higher RPR, enhanced by fertilization and characterized by faster leaf turnover rate, allocated ~20 % less of the assimilated carbon to shoot growth than species of lower productivity (and quality) characterized by longer leaf life spans and phyllochrons. These results imply that, opposite to the expected response, sustained nitrogen loading would change little the Ashoot of grassland communities if increases at the species-level are offset by decreases associated with replacement of 'low RPR-high Ashoot' species by 'high RPR-low Ashoot' species. |
| Starting Page | 1085 |
| Ending Page | 1095 |
| Page Count | 11 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| DOI | 10.1007/s00442-013-2838-x |
| PubMed reference number | 24276773 |
| Journal | Medline |
| Volume Number | 174 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://mediatum.ub.tum.de/doc/1210528/document.pdf |
| Journal | Oecologia |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
