Tight coupling of leaf area index to canopy nitrogen and phosphorus across heterogeneous tallgrass prairie communities
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are limiting nutrients for many plant communities worldwide. Foliar N and P along with leaf area are among the most important controls on photosynthesis and hence productivity. However, foliar N and P are typically assessed as species level traits, whereas productivit...
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2016
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ftleedsuniv:oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:116921 2023-05-15T15:08:15+02:00 Tight coupling of leaf area index to canopy nitrogen and phosphorus across heterogeneous tallgrass prairie communities Klodd, A.E. Nippert, J.B. Ratajczak, Z. Waring, H. Phoenix, G.K. 2016-11 text https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/116921/ https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/116921/1/Klodd%20et%20al%20Oecologia%202016%20182%20889_898.pdf https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3713-3 en eng Springer Verlag https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/116921/1/Klodd%20et%20al%20Oecologia%202016%20182%20889_898.pdf Klodd, A.E., Nippert, J.B., Ratajczak, Z. et al. (2 more authors) (2016) Tight coupling of leaf area index to canopy nitrogen and phosphorus across heterogeneous tallgrass prairie communities. Oecologia, 182 (3). pp. 889-898. ISSN 0029-8549 Article PeerReviewed 2016 ftleedsuniv https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3713-3 2023-01-30T21:55:15Z Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are limiting nutrients for many plant communities worldwide. Foliar N and P along with leaf area are among the most important controls on photosynthesis and hence productivity. However, foliar N and P are typically assessed as species level traits, whereas productivity is often measured at the community scale. Here, we compared the community-level traits of leaf area index (LAI) to total foliar nitrogen (TFN) and total foliar phosphorus (TFP) across nearly three orders of magnitude LAI in grazed and ungrazed tallgrass prairie in north-eastern Kansas, USA. LAI was strongly correlated with both TFN and TFP across communities, and also within plant functional types (grass, forb, woody, and sedge) and grazing treatments (bison or cattle, and ungrazed). Across almost the entire range of LAI values and contrasting communities, TFN:TFP ratios indicated co-limitation by N and P in almost all communities; this may further indicate a community scale trend of an optimal N and P allocation per unit leaf area for growth. Previously, results from the arctic showed similar tight relationships between LAI:TFN, suggesting N is supplied to canopies to maximize photosynthesis per unit leaf area. This tight coupling between LAI, N, and P in tallgrass prairie suggests a process of optimal allocation of N and P, wherein LAI remains similarly constrained by N and P despite differences in species composition, grazing, and canopy density. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic White Rose Research Online (Universities of Leeds, Sheffield & York) Arctic Oecologia 182 3 889 898 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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White Rose Research Online (Universities of Leeds, Sheffield & York) |
op_collection_id |
ftleedsuniv |
language |
English |
description |
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are limiting nutrients for many plant communities worldwide. Foliar N and P along with leaf area are among the most important controls on photosynthesis and hence productivity. However, foliar N and P are typically assessed as species level traits, whereas productivity is often measured at the community scale. Here, we compared the community-level traits of leaf area index (LAI) to total foliar nitrogen (TFN) and total foliar phosphorus (TFP) across nearly three orders of magnitude LAI in grazed and ungrazed tallgrass prairie in north-eastern Kansas, USA. LAI was strongly correlated with both TFN and TFP across communities, and also within plant functional types (grass, forb, woody, and sedge) and grazing treatments (bison or cattle, and ungrazed). Across almost the entire range of LAI values and contrasting communities, TFN:TFP ratios indicated co-limitation by N and P in almost all communities; this may further indicate a community scale trend of an optimal N and P allocation per unit leaf area for growth. Previously, results from the arctic showed similar tight relationships between LAI:TFN, suggesting N is supplied to canopies to maximize photosynthesis per unit leaf area. This tight coupling between LAI, N, and P in tallgrass prairie suggests a process of optimal allocation of N and P, wherein LAI remains similarly constrained by N and P despite differences in species composition, grazing, and canopy density. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Klodd, A.E. Nippert, J.B. Ratajczak, Z. Waring, H. Phoenix, G.K. |
spellingShingle |
Klodd, A.E. Nippert, J.B. Ratajczak, Z. Waring, H. Phoenix, G.K. Tight coupling of leaf area index to canopy nitrogen and phosphorus across heterogeneous tallgrass prairie communities |
author_facet |
Klodd, A.E. Nippert, J.B. Ratajczak, Z. Waring, H. Phoenix, G.K. |
author_sort |
Klodd, A.E. |
title |
Tight coupling of leaf area index to canopy nitrogen and phosphorus across heterogeneous tallgrass prairie communities |
title_short |
Tight coupling of leaf area index to canopy nitrogen and phosphorus across heterogeneous tallgrass prairie communities |
title_full |
Tight coupling of leaf area index to canopy nitrogen and phosphorus across heterogeneous tallgrass prairie communities |
title_fullStr |
Tight coupling of leaf area index to canopy nitrogen and phosphorus across heterogeneous tallgrass prairie communities |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tight coupling of leaf area index to canopy nitrogen and phosphorus across heterogeneous tallgrass prairie communities |
title_sort |
tight coupling of leaf area index to canopy nitrogen and phosphorus across heterogeneous tallgrass prairie communities |
publisher |
Springer Verlag |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/116921/ https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/116921/1/Klodd%20et%20al%20Oecologia%202016%20182%20889_898.pdf https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3713-3 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_relation |
https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/116921/1/Klodd%20et%20al%20Oecologia%202016%20182%20889_898.pdf Klodd, A.E., Nippert, J.B., Ratajczak, Z. et al. (2 more authors) (2016) Tight coupling of leaf area index to canopy nitrogen and phosphorus across heterogeneous tallgrass prairie communities. Oecologia, 182 (3). pp. 889-898. ISSN 0029-8549 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3713-3 |
container_title |
Oecologia |
container_volume |
182 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
889 |
op_container_end_page |
898 |
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1766339650440396800 |