The coupling of leaf, litter, and soil nutrients in warm temperate forests in northwestern China.

ABSTRACT: The nutrient ecological stoichiometry of plants and soil is important for the growth and dynamics of species, but the stoichiometric relationships among leaf, litter, and soil remain poorly understood. We analyzed the carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry of the leaves, litter, and soil for 31 species at 140 sites in warm temperate forests in northwestern China to document the patterns of nutrient traits and their relationships with climatic factors. The average concentrations of C, N, and P in the combined forests were 462.97, 18.04, and 1.32 g kg^-1 for leaves, 365.12, 12.34, and 0.87 g kg^-1 for litter, and 15.72, 1.29, and 0.54 g kg^-1 for soil, respectively. The concentrations differed significantly among the leaves, litter, and soil.

SUBMITTER: Zhang G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5603570 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature