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Topographic Influence on Plant Nitrogen and Phosphorus Stoichiometry in a Temperate Forested Watershed

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Abstract

Plant stoichiometry has been used to diagnose phosphorus (P) limitation caused by increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition. Spatial variability of N/P stoichiometry within a forested watershed has not yet been evaluated. This study conducted synoptic sampling of leaf matter in 27 plots within a temperate forested watershed on low P availability rock (serpentine bedrock) with a moderately high atmospheric N deposition (16 kg N ha−1 year−1) to assess the effects of spatial topographic variation on N/P stoichiometry. Leaf N and P concentrations and N/P ratios of Japanese cypress were assessed, and their spatial variations were evaluated across a catchment. Average leaf P concentration was low (0.66 ± 0.16 mg g−1) across the sites, while leaf N concentration was high (13.0 ± 1.5 mg g−1); subsequently, N/P ratios were high (21 ± 5). In addition, the aboveground biomass growth of Japanese cypress positively correlated with litter P, implying the P limitation of Japanese cypress at the study site. Leaf P concentrations responded to the index of convexity (IC) values more than those of N. Subsequently, the N/P ratio correlated with IC, suggesting that N/P ratios are susceptible to topographic features. This could be partly caused by smaller spatial variability of N availability compared with P, owing to increased atmospheric N deposition. Thus, topography should be taken into consideration when diagnosing P limitation caused by N deposition.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the staff at Shiiba Research Forest and Kasuya Research Forest, Kyushu University Forest for litter and stream water collections. We thank the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan, for Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (23580208, 26450198). This study was also financially supported by Interdisciplinary Programs in Education and Projects in Research Development (P&P Program), Kyushu University (2009, B-4, 20168). The cost of publication was supported in part by a research grant for Young Investigators of the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University.

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  1. Kyushu University Forest, Kyushu University, 394 Tsubakuro, Sasaguri, 811-2415, Japan

    Masaaki Chiwa, Shoko Ikezaki, Ayumi Katayama & Tsutomu Enoki

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  1. Masaaki Chiwa
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  2. Shoko Ikezaki
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  4. Tsutomu Enoki
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Correspondence to Masaaki Chiwa.

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Chiwa, M., Ikezaki, S., Katayama, A. et al. Topographic Influence on Plant Nitrogen and Phosphorus Stoichiometry in a Temperate Forested Watershed. Water Air Soil Pollut 227, 6 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-015-2701-2

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