Elemental and isotopic analysis of leaves predicts nitrogen-fixing phenotypes.

ABSTRACT: Nitrogen (N)-fixing symbiosis is critical to terrestrial ecosystems, yet possession of this trait is known for few plant species. Broader presence of the symbiosis is often indirectly determined by phylogenetic relatedness to taxa investigated via manipulative experiments. This data gap may ultimately underestimate phylogenetic, spatial, and temporal variation in N-fixing symbiosis. Still needed are simpler field or collections-based approaches for inferring symbiotic status. N-fixing plants differ from non-N-fixing plants in elemental and isotopic composition, but previous investigations have not tested predictive accuracy using such proxies. Here we develop a regional field study and demonstrate a simple classification model for fixer status using nitrogen and carbon content measurements

SUBMITTER: Doby JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11362558 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature