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Exchanges of major elements in a deciduous forest canopy

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Abstract

Forest canopy is a complex interface between the atmosphere, the biosphere and the lithosphere, exerting a strong influence on forest durability through element recycling. Leaves are filters of the low atmosphere and can capture dry deposition (DD). Trees have developed strategies, such as resorption (R) during senescence, for nutrient conservation. These strategies seem to depend on the soil type. The chemical composition evolution of leaves is conceptualized as a function of four fluxes: foliar absorption (FA) foliar leaching, (FL), accretion (A), and resorption (R). The objective of this study is to evaluate these five fluxes, i.e., DD, FA, FL, A, and R for different elements (N, P, K, S, Ca, Mg, Mn, and Si) at the experimental forest site in Montiers which includes three plots with contrasting soils and similar climate and stand characteristics. The percentage of resorption was 63% for N, 37% for S, 35% for K and 23% for P, regardless of the soil type. Resorption represents the most efficient recycling mechanism for ecosystems. Accretion during senescence occurs in two elements that are also found as biominerals in leaves: Ca (13–26 kg.ha−1.y−1) and Si (3–6 kg.ha−1.y−1). The effect of soil is limited to leaf concentrations and exchanges, and only for three elements (Mn, Ca and Si) that are not growth-limiting elements in our study site. This study shows that, except for N, taking into account the exchanges between living foliar tissues and leaching solutions is fundamental to accurately estimate the resorption rate.

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Yes.

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Abbreviations

A:

Accretion; As: during senescence

BD:

Bulk deposition

CE:

Canopy exchange; CEs: during senescence

DD:

Dust deposition (intercepted by the canopy: < 0.45 µm size)

f e :

Enrichment factor

f e(Ld):

Enrichment factor during leafed period

f e(F):

Enrichment factor during leaf fall period

f e(Ls):

Enrichment factor during leafless period

FA:

Foliar absorption; FAs during senescence period

GL:

Green leaves

FL:

Foliar leaching, FLs during senescence

LBS :

Leaf budget during senescence

LL:

Litter leaves; LLs: during senescence

R:

Resorption; Rs during senescence

SD:

Stand deposition

TE:

Tree exchange; TES during senescence

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Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the technical staff of INRA-BEF and ANDRA for field sampling, and in particular Serge Didier as technical manager of the Montiers site. We are particularly grateful to Carine Cochet, Claire Pantigny, and Véronique Sagres for the numerous solution and leave analyses. We are also grateful to Météo-France for the communication of meteorological data. We thank ANDRA, INRAE, GIP Ecofor and AnaEE France for the financial functioning of the Montiers site. We would like to acknowledge the National Forest Office (ONF) for welcoming us into the domanial forest of Montiers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UR 1138, INRAE “Biogéochimie des Ecosystèmes Forestiers”, Centre INRAE de Nancy, 54280, Champenoux, France

    Marie-Pierre Turpault, Gil Kirchen & Marie Dincher

  2. EcoSustain, Environmental Engineering Office, R&D, 57330, Kanfen, France

    Christophe Calvaruso

  3. Andra, R&D Division, Centre de Meuse/Haute-Marne, 55290, Bure, France

    Paul-Olivier Redon

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  1. Marie-Pierre Turpault
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  2. Gil Kirchen
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Correspondence to Marie-Pierre Turpault.

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Relationship between the percentage of soluble elements and the percentage of CEs. Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

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Turpault, MP., Kirchen, G., Calvaruso, C. et al. Exchanges of major elements in a deciduous forest canopy. Biogeochemistry 152, 51–71 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-020-00732-0

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