{"title":"Analysis of the relationship between C, N, P and dry matter content of 41 subtropical woody plants from seasonal and developmental scales","authors":"Zheng-Chao Yu, Xiao-Ting Zheng, Wei Lin, Wei He, Hui Zhu, Chang-Lian Peng","doi":"10.1007/s00468-025-02671-5","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Key message</h3><p>The distribution pattern of C, N, P and dry matter content in plant leaves in low subtropical forests is complex and influenced by both developmental processes and seasonal climate change.</p><h3>Abstract</h3><p>The functional traits of leaves are expected to be used to estimate the effects of global climate change on plant communities. However, current research only considers changes in mature leaves, and the effects of seasonal changes and developmental processes on the functional traits of leaves are often overlooked. Here, we evaluated the relationships between leaf carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) in 41 tree species of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests at seasonal scales and developmental scales. On a seasonal scale, mature leaves had significantly higher P and LDMC, with all N:P ratios > 16. However, N:P ratio of young leaves showed no significant seasonal variation, both being < 14. On developmental scale, N:P ratio and LDMC of young leaves were significantly lower than those of mature leaves, while N and P concentrations were significantly higher than those of mature leaves. In addition, C:N, C:P, N:P significantly positively correlated with LDMC in leaves, while N and P content are significantly negatively correlated with LDMC. This study illustrated that in subtropical forest plants, P limitation occurred only in mature leaves and is mitigated during dry seasons, while N limitation occurred in the young leaves. The changes from wet to dry seasons and from young to mature leaves both contributed to the increase in LDMC by affecting the element content and allocation ratio in the leaves. The study provided insights for predicting the future impact of climate change on the development of subtropical forest communities.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":805,"journal":{"name":"Trees","volume":"39 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00468-025-02671-5.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Trees","FirstCategoryId":"2","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00468-025-02671-5","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"FORESTRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Key message
The distribution pattern of C, N, P and dry matter content in plant leaves in low subtropical forests is complex and influenced by both developmental processes and seasonal climate change.
Abstract
The functional traits of leaves are expected to be used to estimate the effects of global climate change on plant communities. However, current research only considers changes in mature leaves, and the effects of seasonal changes and developmental processes on the functional traits of leaves are often overlooked. Here, we evaluated the relationships between leaf carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) in 41 tree species of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests at seasonal scales and developmental scales. On a seasonal scale, mature leaves had significantly higher P and LDMC, with all N:P ratios > 16. However, N:P ratio of young leaves showed no significant seasonal variation, both being < 14. On developmental scale, N:P ratio and LDMC of young leaves were significantly lower than those of mature leaves, while N and P concentrations were significantly higher than those of mature leaves. In addition, C:N, C:P, N:P significantly positively correlated with LDMC in leaves, while N and P content are significantly negatively correlated with LDMC. This study illustrated that in subtropical forest plants, P limitation occurred only in mature leaves and is mitigated during dry seasons, while N limitation occurred in the young leaves. The changes from wet to dry seasons and from young to mature leaves both contributed to the increase in LDMC by affecting the element content and allocation ratio in the leaves. The study provided insights for predicting the future impact of climate change on the development of subtropical forest communities.
期刊介绍：
Trees - Structure and Function publishes original articles on the physiology, biochemistry, functional anatomy, structure and ecology of trees and other woody plants. Also presented are articles concerned with pathology and technological problems, when they contribute to the basic understanding of structure and function of trees. In addition to original articles and short communications, the journal publishes reviews on selected topics concerning the structure and function of trees.
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