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Evidence for oxidative stress in sugar maple stands growing on acidic, nutrient imbalanced forest soils

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Abstract

Soil acidification and the disruption of nutrient cycles appear to be important factors that weaken sugar maple resistance to both abiotic and biotic stresses and predispose it to decline symptoms. Although connections between edaphic stress and decline symptoms have been identified, very little is known about the physiological and biochemical mechanisms that underlie this relationship. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that foliar nutrient imbalances impair the photosynthetic apparatus of sugar maple through oxidative stress. We examined leaf nutrition, photosynthesis and antioxidant enzyme activity (a biomarker of oxidative stress) from early June to late August in three-paired overstory sugar maple stands on Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Plateau that contrast in soil nutrient availability according to slope position. Beginning in early June, trees on upper slopes (nutrient-poor) had significantly lower foliar Ca and Mg concentrations and significantly higher foliar Mn concentrations than trees on lower slopes. These differences increased throughout summer peaking in late August. Photosynthesis and antioxidant enzyme activity closely reflected changes in foliar nutrient status throughout the summer. In the latter half of the summer, leaf gas exchange and chlorophyll content were significantly lower and antioxidant enzyme activity was significantly higher in stands on upper slope soils. At the end of August, leaf nutrient imbalances corresponded with lower rates of photosynthesis and higher antioxidant enzyme activity, suggesting that foliar nutrient imbalances may impair sugar maple function through mechanisms of oxidative stress.

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Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the insights and help of Dr. Steve Horsley related to work at the field sites. Thanks also to Bill Sharpe, Chad Voorheis and Sarah Nilson for their help in getting samples collected and processed, Debabrata Ray for assistance on lab phases of the project and Matt Kiefer and Robert White for their help in obtaining permits for work at the field sites. This research was supported by USDA (NRI) grant# 2002 –35100 –12055 to JP Lynch and JC Carlson. The experiments in this study comply with the current laws of the United States of America.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Intercollegiate Graduate Program in Ecological and Molecular Plant Physiology, The Pennsylvania State University, 102 Tyson Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Samuel B. St. Clair & Jonathan P. Lynch

  2. Department of Forest Resources, The Pennsylvania State University, 305 Wartik, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    John E. Carlson

  3. Department of Horticulture, The Pennsylvania State University, 221 Tyson Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Jonathan P. Lynch

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  1. Samuel B. St. Clair
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  2. John E. Carlson
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  3. Jonathan P. Lynch
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Correspondence to Jonathan P. Lynch.

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Communicated by Jim Ehleringer

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Clair, S.B.S., Carlson, J.E. & Lynch, J.P. Evidence for oxidative stress in sugar maple stands growing on acidic, nutrient imbalanced forest soils. Oecologia 145, 257–268 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0121-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0121-5

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