Nutrient resorption and patterns of litter production and decomposition in a Neotropical Savanna

1. Deposition of nutrients due to anthropogenic activities has the potential to change nutrient availability in nutrient-limited ecosystems with consequences for plant and ecosystem processes. 2. Species-specific and ecosystem responses to the addition of nutrients were studied in a field experiment...

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Publicado: 2007
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Acceso en línea:https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_02698463_v21_n6_p1034_Kozovits
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_02698463_v21_n6_p1034_Kozovits
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spelling paper:paper_02698463_v21_n6_p1034_Kozovits2023-06-08T15:24:32Z Nutrient resorption and patterns of litter production and decomposition in a Neotropical Savanna Cerrado Fertilization N : P ratio Nitrogen and phosphorus resorption cerrado concentration (composition) decomposition fertilizer application human activity leaf area litter litterfall Neotropical region nutrient availability nutrient uptake resorption savanna woody plant 1. Deposition of nutrients due to anthropogenic activities has the potential to change nutrient availability in nutrient-limited ecosystems with consequences for plant and ecosystem processes. 2. Species-specific and ecosystem responses to the addition of nutrients were studied in a field experiment conducted in a Savanna (Cerrado sensu stricto) on dystrophic soil in central Brazil. Three fertilization treatments (N, P and N plus P additions) and unfertilized control were replicated in four 15 x 15 m plots per treatment. 3. Five of the dominant woody species were studied. Specific leaf area (SLA) was not affected by the treatments, but species responded differently in terms of foliar nutrient concentration, resorption efficiency and proficiency to the increased soil N and P availability. 4. Responses of N and P resorption suggested different levels of regulation for these two limiting elements, with a decrease in N and P resorption proficiency depending on the treatment. In general, under N fertilization, senesced leaves presented higher N concentration, whereas combined fertilization with N and P resulted in senesced leaves richer in P. The concomitant variation in P resorption efficiency and proficiency indicates a stronger regulation between them compared to N. 5. Results indicated a highly efficient and complete P resorption, while N concentrations in senesced leaves indicated intermediate or incomplete resorption efficiencies, supporting the idea that Cerrado plants might be more limited by P than by N. 6. At the ecosystem level, higher N concentration in the leaf litter was measured at the end of the dry season in the +NP-fertilized plots, resulting in a significantly faster decomposition rate in relation to the control treatment. Responses of litterfall and decomposition rates indicated that the system was generally more responsive to the combined addition of N and P than to fertilization with N or P alone over the relatively short time span of this study. © 2007 The Authors. 2007 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_02698463_v21_n6_p1034_Kozovits http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_02698463_v21_n6_p1034_Kozovits
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic Cerrado
Fertilization
N : P ratio
Nitrogen and phosphorus resorption
cerrado
concentration (composition)
decomposition
fertilizer application
human activity
leaf area
litter
litterfall
Neotropical region
nutrient availability
nutrient uptake
resorption
savanna
woody plant
spellingShingle Cerrado
Fertilization
N : P ratio
Nitrogen and phosphorus resorption
cerrado
concentration (composition)
decomposition
fertilizer application
human activity
leaf area
litter
litterfall
Neotropical region
nutrient availability
nutrient uptake
resorption
savanna
woody plant
Nutrient resorption and patterns of litter production and decomposition in a Neotropical Savanna
topic_facet Cerrado
Fertilization
N : P ratio
Nitrogen and phosphorus resorption
cerrado
concentration (composition)
decomposition
fertilizer application
human activity
leaf area
litter
litterfall
Neotropical region
nutrient availability
nutrient uptake
resorption
savanna
woody plant
description 1. Deposition of nutrients due to anthropogenic activities has the potential to change nutrient availability in nutrient-limited ecosystems with consequences for plant and ecosystem processes. 2. Species-specific and ecosystem responses to the addition of nutrients were studied in a field experiment conducted in a Savanna (Cerrado sensu stricto) on dystrophic soil in central Brazil. Three fertilization treatments (N, P and N plus P additions) and unfertilized control were replicated in four 15 x 15 m plots per treatment. 3. Five of the dominant woody species were studied. Specific leaf area (SLA) was not affected by the treatments, but species responded differently in terms of foliar nutrient concentration, resorption efficiency and proficiency to the increased soil N and P availability. 4. Responses of N and P resorption suggested different levels of regulation for these two limiting elements, with a decrease in N and P resorption proficiency depending on the treatment. In general, under N fertilization, senesced leaves presented higher N concentration, whereas combined fertilization with N and P resulted in senesced leaves richer in P. The concomitant variation in P resorption efficiency and proficiency indicates a stronger regulation between them compared to N. 5. Results indicated a highly efficient and complete P resorption, while N concentrations in senesced leaves indicated intermediate or incomplete resorption efficiencies, supporting the idea that Cerrado plants might be more limited by P than by N. 6. At the ecosystem level, higher N concentration in the leaf litter was measured at the end of the dry season in the +NP-fertilized plots, resulting in a significantly faster decomposition rate in relation to the control treatment. Responses of litterfall and decomposition rates indicated that the system was generally more responsive to the combined addition of N and P than to fertilization with N or P alone over the relatively short time span of this study. © 2007 The Authors.
title Nutrient resorption and patterns of litter production and decomposition in a Neotropical Savanna
title_short Nutrient resorption and patterns of litter production and decomposition in a Neotropical Savanna
title_full Nutrient resorption and patterns of litter production and decomposition in a Neotropical Savanna
title_fullStr Nutrient resorption and patterns of litter production and decomposition in a Neotropical Savanna
title_full_unstemmed Nutrient resorption and patterns of litter production and decomposition in a Neotropical Savanna
title_sort nutrient resorption and patterns of litter production and decomposition in a neotropical savanna
publishDate 2007
url https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_02698463_v21_n6_p1034_Kozovits
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_02698463_v21_n6_p1034_Kozovits
_version_ 1768543179284414464