杉木人工林下原生与引入树种叶性状变异特征

叶性状在表征植物资源利用和生存策略方面具有重要作用。构建异龄复层林是改造人工纯林的有效措施,探究引入与原生树种叶性状变异有利于林下伴生树种的筛选。研究了引入乔灌木树种(如闽楠、蚊母树等13个树种)与原生乔灌木树种(苦槠、红紫珠等6个树种)的叶片形态、光合色素、碳氮磷生态化学计量和非结构性碳水化合物特征。结果表明:(1)总体上引入与原生乔木和灌木树种的叶形态性状差异较小,原生乔木的叶长和比叶面积显著小于引入树种与原生灌木。引入与原生树种间光合色素具有显著差异,引入乔木叶绿素含量显著高于原生乔木,不同功能群植物的比叶面积.叶绿素关系格局存在策略位移现象。引入树种叶碳含量显著大于原生树种,叶氮和叶磷含量显著大于原生乔木;引入树种和原生灌木的碳、氮、磷养分含量的变异系数较大;引入与原生树种叶碳氮磷生态化学计量没有一致变化规律。引入灌木叶可溶性糖含量、原生灌木淀粉含量均显著高于乔木树种,灌木的非结构性碳水化合物总量也显著高于乔木。(2)引入与原生树种叶性状呈显著协同变化趋势。所有叶性状中,比叶面积、叶绿素含量、叶氮含量、叶磷含量在乔木和灌木中均呈极显著正相关关系。主成分分析显示,引入乔木和灌木树种的叶性状接近,引入树种与原生灌木之间叶性状差异相对较小,但与原生乔木间的叶性状差异较大。总体上引入树种的叶性状与原生树种具有趋同适应特征,但不同生活型植物叶性状在林下弱光环境中仍产生一定分异,引入灌木可能比引入乔木更适应杉木林下生境。     

科尔沁沙地优势固沙灌木叶片氮磷化学计量内稳性

为科学认识科尔沁沙地优势固沙灌木的生态适应性和固沙植被演变规律, 该研究对科尔沁沙地流动沙丘、半固定沙丘、固定沙丘和丘间低地的优势固沙灌木小叶锦鸡儿(Caragana microphylla)和盐蒿(Artemisia halodendron)进行野外调查, 研究了这两种固沙灌木的叶片氮(N)、磷(P)化学计量特征、灌丛土壤养分状况以及内稳性特征。结果表明: 1)与盐蒿相比, 灌木小叶锦鸡儿具有较高的叶片N含量及N:P, 而P含量仅为盐蒿的1/2; 2)两种优势固沙灌木灌丛下土壤的全N、全P含量及速效N、速效P含量高于该地区土壤的平均水平, 小叶锦鸡儿灌丛下土壤养分含量显著高于盐蒿灌丛下土壤; 3)盐蒿叶片N、P化学计量内稳性指数(H)表现为H_P > H_N:P > H_N, 说明盐蒿更易受土壤N的限制; 小叶锦鸡儿叶片N、P化学计量内稳性指数表现为H_N:P > H_N > H_P, 意味着小叶锦鸡儿更易受土壤P的限制。在N含量较低的沙化草地, H_N较高的固沙灌木小叶锦鸡儿比盐蒿更具生长优势, 对于该地区生态恢复及保护具有不可替代的作用。然而, 小叶锦鸡儿额外吸收的N, 使其生长过程可能易受P的限制, 因此在沙地恢复过程中应注意土壤P的供应。     

甘肃小苏干湖盐沼湿地盐地风毛菊叶形态-光合生理特征对淹水的响应

盐沼湿地植物叶片功能性状对淹水的响应分析, 有助于探究植物叶片可塑性机制与光合生理特征间的内在关联性, 对深入理解盐沼湿地植物的生境抗逆性策略具有重要意义。根据小苏干湖湖水泛滥区静水持留时间长短分别设置: 轻度淹水区(静水持留30-90天)、中度淹水区(静水持留90-150天)、重度淹水区(静水持留150-210天) 3个试验样地, 以盐地风毛菊(Saussurea salsa)为研究对象, 研究了小苏干湖盐沼湿地盐地风毛菊叶片功能性状对淹水的响应。结果表明: 随着静水持留时间的增加, 轻度淹水区盐地风毛菊形态上采用小比叶面积(SLA)的肉质化小叶模式, 光合生理上具有高实际光合效率(Y(II))和低调节性能量耗散的量子产额(Y(NPQ))的协同变异; 重度淹水区盐地风毛菊形态和光合生理上则采用与轻度淹水区完全相反的协同变异策略; 在3个样地中, SLA与Y(II)、光化学淬灭(QP)和Y(NPQ)间均呈极显著相关关系; 叶绿素a含量和叶绿素b含量与调节性能量耗散的量子产额(Y(NO))均呈显著正相关关系。小苏干湖湖水泛滥区静水时空演变格局影响下, 盐地风毛菊种群通过改变叶面积、叶厚度和SLA等叶片形态特征, 适时调整叶片Y(II)和Y(NPQ)等光合生理特征, 实现植物叶片光合碳同化产物的收支平衡, 表现出对水盐异质性环境较强的耐受性, 反映了盐沼湿地植物在极端生存环境下的叶片可塑性和抗逆性机制。     

Leaf litter stoichiometry affects decomposition rates and nutrient dynamics in tropical forests under restoration in Costa Rica

Active restoration strategies increase the production of leaf litter in tropical forests, but little is known about their effect on litter decomposition and subsequent nutrient release. We quantified changes in leaf litter stoichiometry during decomposition in former pasture sites under contrasting restoration strategies (natural regeneration, applied nucleation/islands tree planting and plantation), as well as in nearby primary forest. Litterbags were employed to evaluate decomposition. We used a leaf mixture of either the four planted tree species in the plantation and island treatments or the nearby primary forest and compared them under a factorial design. Decomposition rates were similar between restoration treatments (p > 0.5), but leaves decomposed faster in the forest mixture than in the plantation mixture (p < 0.01). The content of Ca, Mg, K, P, and the C:N ratio were higher in the forest mixture at the beginning and during decomposition (p < 0.05); the N content in the plantation mixture was higher at the beginning but lower during decomposition (p < 0.05), which meant greater mobilization of nitrogen per unit of carbon lost. K and P had a strong initial release, while Mg was released more gradually. N and Ca had an irregular pattern of initial fast release, immobilization, and re‐release in the later stages. We conclude that the differences in rates of decomposition and nutrient release in these systems under restoration were at least partly determined by the floristic heterogeneity and chemical quality of the leaf litter that reaches the soil.     

Optimization of ultrasound-assisted water extraction of flavonoids from Psidium guajava leaves by response surface analysis

Psidium guajava leaves are rich in health-promoting flavonoids compounds. For better utilization of the resource, the ultrasound-assisted aqueous extraction was investigated using Box-Behnken design under response surface methodology. A high coefficient of determination (R²?=?97.8%) indicated good agreement between the experimental and predicted values of flavonoids yield. The optimal extraction parameters to obtain the highest total flavonoids yield were ultrasonic power of 407.41?W, extraction time of 35.15?min, and extraction temperature of 72.69?°C. The average extraction rate of flavonoids could reach 5.12% under the optimum conditions. Besides, HPLC analysis and field emission scanning electron microscopy indicated that the ultrasonic treatment did not change the main component of flavonoids during extraction process and the higher flavonoids content was attributed by the disruption of the cell walls of guava particles. Thus, the extraction method could be applied successfully for large-scale extraction of total flavonoids from guava leaves.     

ENSO and NAO affect long‐term leaf litter dynamics and stoichiometry of Scots pine and European beech mixedwoods

Litterfall dynamics (production, seasonality and nutrient composition) are key factors influencing nutrient cycling. Leaf litter characteristics are modified by species composition, site conditions and water availability. However, significant evidence on how large‐scale, global circulation patterns affect ecophysiological processes at tree and ecosystem level remains scarce due to the difficulty in separating the combined influence of different factors on local climate and tree phenology. To fill this gap, we studied links between leaf litter dynamics with climate and other forest processes, such as tree‐ring width (TRW) and intrinsic water‐use efficiency (iWUE) in two mixtures of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in the south‐western Pyrenees. Temporal series (18 years) of litterfall production and elemental chemical composition were decomposed following the ensemble empirical mode decomposition method and relationships with local climate, large‐scale climatic indices, TRW and Scots pine's iWUE were assessed. Temporal trends in N:P ratios indicated increasing P limitation of soil microbes, thus affecting nutrient availability, as the ecological succession from a pine‐dominated to a beech‐dominated forest took place. A significant influence of large‐scale patterns on tree‐level ecophysiology was explained through the impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on water availability. Positive NAO and negative ENSO were related to dry conditions and, consequently, to early needle shedding and increased N:P ratio of both species. Autumn storm activity appears to be related to premature leaf abscission of European beech. Significant cascading effects from large‐scale patterns on local weather influenced pine TRW and iWUE. These variables also responded to leaf stoichiometry fallen 3 years prior to tree‐ring formation. Our results provide evidence of the cascading effect that variability in global climate circulation patterns can have on ecophysiological processes and stand dynamics in mixed forests.     

Leveraging plant hydraulics to yield predictive and dynamic plant leaf allocation in vegetation models with climate change

Plant functional traits provide a link in process‐based vegetation models between plant‐level physiology and ecosystem‐level responses. Recent advances in physiological understanding and computational efficiency have allowed for the incorporation of plant hydraulic processes in large‐scale vegetation models. However, a more mechanistic representation of water limitation that determines ecosystem responses to plant water stress necessitates a re‐evaluation of trait‐based constraints for plant carbon allocation, particularly allocation to leaf area. In this review, we examine model representations of plant allocation to leaves, which is often empirically set by plant functional type‐specific allometric relationships. We analyze the evolution of the representation of leaf allocation in models of different scales and complexities. We show the impacts of leaf allocation strategy on plant carbon uptake in the context of recent advancements in modeling hydraulic processes. Finally, we posit that deriving allometry from first principles using mechanistic hydraulic processes is possible and should become standard practice, rather than using prescribed allometries. The representation of allocation as an emergent property of scarce resource constraints is likely to be critical to representing how global change processes impact future ecosystem dynamics and carbon fluxes and may reduce the number of poorly constrained parameters in vegetation models.     

Leaf wax n‐alkane patterns of six tropical montane tree species show species‐specific environmental response

It remains poorly understood how the composition of leaf wax n‐alkanes reflects the local environment. This knowledge gap inhibits the interpretation of plant responses to the environment at the community level and, by extension, inhibits the applicability of n‐alkane patterns as a proxy for past environments. Here, we studied the n‐alkane patterns of five Miconia species and one Guarea species, in the Ecuadorian Andes (653–3,507 m a.s.l.). We tested for species‐specific responses in the average chain length (ACL), the C₃₁/(C₃₁ + C₂₉) ratio (ratio), and individual odd n‐alkane chain lengths across an altitudinally driven environmental gradient (mean annual temperature, mean annual relative air humidity, and mean annual precipitation). We found significant correlations between the environmental gradients and species‐specific ACL and ratio, but with varying magnitude and direction. We found that the n‐alkane patterns are species‐specific at the individual chain length level, which could explain the high variance in metrics like ACL and ratio. Although we find species‐specific sensitivity and responses in leaf n‐alkanes, we also find a general decrease in “shorter” (<C₂₉) and an increase in “longer” (>C₃₁) chain lengths with the environmental gradients, most strongly with temperature, suggesting n‐alkanes are useful for reconstructing past environments.