Comprehensive assessment of carbon productivity, allocation and storage in three Amazonian forests

The allocation and cycling of carbon (C) within forests is an important component of the biospheric C cycle, but is particularly understudied within tropical forests. We synthesise reported and unpublished results from three lowland rainforest sites in Amazonia (in the regions of Manaus, Tapajós and Caxiuanã), all major sites of the Large‐Scale Biosphere–Atmosphere Programme (LBA). We attempt a comprehensive synthesis of the C stocks, nutrient status and, particularly, the allocation and internal C dynamics of all three sites. The calculated net primary productivities (NPP) are 10.1±1.4 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ (Manaus), 14.4±1.3 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ (Tapajós) and 10.0±1.2 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ (Caxiuanã). All errors bars report standard errors. Soil and leaf nutrient analyses indicate that Tapajós has significantly more plant‐available phosphorus and calcium. Autotrophic respiration at all three sites (14.9–21.4 Mg C ha yr⁻¹) is more challenging to measure, with the largest component and greatest source of uncertainty being leaf dark respiration. Comparison of measured soil respiration with that predicted from C cycling measurements provides an independent constraint. It shows general good agreement at all three sites, with perhaps some evidence for measured soil respiration being less than expected. Twenty to thirty percent of fixed C is allocated belowground. Comparison of gross primary productivity (GPP), derived from ecosystem flux measurements with that derived from component studies (NPP plus autotrophic respiration) provides an additional crosscheck. The two approaches are in good agreement, giving increased confidence in both approaches to estimating GPP. The ecosystem carbon‐use efficiency (CUEs), the ratio of NPP to GPP, is similar at Manaus (0.34±0.10) and Caxiuanã (0.32±0.07), but may be higher at Tapajós (0.49±0.16), although the difference is not significant. Old growth or infertile tropical forests may have low CUE compared with recently disturbed and/or fertile forests.     

Allometric constraints on,and trade‐offs in,belowground carbon allocation and their control of soil respiration across global forest ecosystems

To fully understand how soil respiration is partitioned among its component fluxes and responds to climate, it is essential to relate it to belowground carbon allocation, the ultimate carbon source for soil respiration. This remains one of the largest gaps in knowledge of terrestrial carbon cycling. Here, we synthesize data on gross and net primary production and their components, and soil respiration and its components, from a global forest database, to determine mechanisms governing belowground carbon allocation and their relationship with soil respiration partitioning and soil respiration responses to climatic factors across global forest ecosystems. Our results revealed that there are three independent mechanisms controlling belowground carbon allocation and which influence soil respiration and its partitioning: an allometric constraint; a fine‐root production vs. root respiration trade‐off; and an above‐ vs. belowground trade‐off in plant carbon. Global patterns in soil respiration and its partitioning are constrained primarily by the allometric allocation, which explains some of the previously ambiguous results reported in the literature. Responses of soil respiration and its components to mean annual temperature, precipitation, and nitrogen deposition can be mediated by changes in belowground carbon allocation. Soil respiration responds to mean annual temperature overwhelmingly through an increasing belowground carbon input as a result of extending total day length of growing season, but not by temperature‐driven acceleration of soil carbon decomposition, which argues against the possibility of a strong positive feedback between global warming and soil carbon loss. Different nitrogen loads can trigger distinct belowground carbon allocation mechanisms, which are responsible for different responses of soil respiration to nitrogen addition that have been observed. These results provide new insights into belowground carbon allocation, partitioning of soil respiration, and its responses to climate in forest ecosystems and are, therefore, valuable for terrestrial carbon simulations and projections.     

Photosynthesis,respiration, and carbon allocation of two cool-season perennial grasses in response to surface soil drying

The study was conducted to investigate carbon metabolic responses to surface soil drying for cool-season grasses. Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinaceae Schreb.) were grown in a greenhouse in split tubes consisting of two sections. Plants were subjected to three soil moisture regimes: (1) well-watered control; (2) drying of upper 20-cm soil (upper drying); and (3) drying of whole 40-cm soil profile (full drying). Upper drying for 30 d had no dramatic effects on leaf water potential (Ψ_leaf) and canopy photosynthetic rate (P_n) in either grass species compared to the well-watered control, but it reduced canopy respiration rate (R_canopy) and root respiration rate in the top 20 cm of soil (R_top). For both species in the lower 20 cm of wet soil, root respiration rates (R_bottom) were similar to the control levels, and carbon allocation to roots increased with the upper soil drying, particularly for tall fescue. The proportion of roots decreased in the 0-20 cm drying soil, but increased in the lower 20 cm wet soil for both grass species; the increase was greater for tall fescue. The Ψ_leaf, P_n, R_canopy, R_top, R_bottom, and carbon allocation to roots in both soil layers were all significantly higher for upper dried plants than for fully dried plants of both grass species. The reductions in R_canopy and R_top in surface drying soil and increases in root respiration and carbon allocation to roots in lower wet soil could help these grasses cope with surface-soil drought stress. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

中国森林的地下碳分配

通过收集国内33个森林样地的土壤呼吸和年凋落物量数据,分析中国森林地下碳分配（TBCA）模式。结果表明,中国森林土壤呼吸年通量与年凋落物量呈显著的线性相关（R^2=0．3319,P=0．000）,其中成熟林土壤呼吸与年凋落物量间呈显著的线性相关（R^2=0．3245,P=0．004）,但未成熟林土壤呼吸与年凋落物量间的线性相关不显著（R^2=0．3485,P=0．092）。中国森林的地下碳分配变化范围1．460～25．100tChm^-2a^-1,平均值为9．217tChm^-2a^-1;中国森林的TBCA与年均气温相关关系不显著（P=0．196）,但与年均降水量则呈显著正相关（R=0．480,P=0．021）。中国森林TBCA和凋落物对土壤呼吸的平均贡献分别为74．2％和25．8％;中国森林TBCA对土壤呼吸的贡献随土壤呼吸增大而增大,而凋落物对土壤呼吸的贡献则随土壤呼吸的增大而降低。     

Individual and interactive effects of warming and nitrogen supply on CO2 fluxes and carbon allocation in subarctic grassland

Climate warming has been suggested to impact high latitude grasslands severely, potentially causing considerable carbon (C) losses from soil. Warming can also stimulate nitrogen (N) turnover, but it is largely unclear whether and how altered N availability impacts belowground C dynamics. Even less is known about the individual and interactive effects of warming and N availability on the fate of recently photosynthesized C in soil. On a 10-year geothermal warming gradient in Iceland, we studied the effects of soil warming and N addition on CO₂ fluxes and the fate of recently photosynthesized C through CO₂ flux measurements and a ¹³CO₂ pulse-labeling experiment. Under warming, ecosystem respiration exceeded maximum gross primary productivity, causing increased net CO₂ emissions. N addition treatments revealed that, surprisingly, the plants in the warmed soil were N limited, which constrained primary productivity and decreased recently assimilated C in shoots and roots. In soil, microbes were increasingly C limited under warming and increased microbial uptake of recent C. Soil respiration was increased by warming and was fueled by increased belowground inputs and turnover of recently photosynthesized C. Our findings suggest that a decade of warming seemed to have induced a N limitation in plants and a C limitation by soil microbes. This caused a decrease in net ecosystem CO₂ uptake and accelerated the respiratory release of photosynthesized C, which decreased the C sequestration potential of the grassland. Our study highlights the importance of belowground C allocation and C-N interactions in the C dynamics of subarctic ecosystems in a warmer world.     

Primary production and carbon allocation in relation to nutrient supply in a tropical experimental forest

Nutrient supply commonly limits aboveground plant productivity in forests, but the effects of an altered nutrient supply on gross primary production (GPP) and patterns of carbon (C) allocation remain poorly characterized. Increased nutrient supply may lead to a higher aboveground net primary production (ANPP), but a lower total belowground carbon allocation (TBCA), with little change in either aboveground plant respiration (APR) or GPP. Alternatively, increases in nutrient supply may increase GPP, with the quantity of GPP allocated aboveground increasing more steeply than the quantity of GPP allocated belowground. To examine the effects of an elevated nutrient supply on the C allocation patterns in forests, we determined whole‐ecosystem C budgets in unfertilized plots of Eucalyptus saligna and in adjacent plots receiving regular additions of 65 kg N ha^?1, 31 kg P ha^?1, 46 kg K ha^?1, and macro‐ and micronutrients. We measured the absolute flux of C allocated to the components of GPP (ANPP, TBCA and APR), as well as the fraction of GPP allocated to these components. Fertilization dramatically increased GPP. Averaged over 3 years, GPP in the fertilized plots was 34% higher than that in the unfertilized controls (3.95 vs. 2.95 kg C m^?2 yr^?1). Fertilization‐related increases in GPP were allocated entirely aboveground – ANPP was 85% higher and APR was 57% higher in the fertilized than in the control plots, while TBCA did not differ significantly between treatments. Carbon use efficiency (NPP/GPP) was slightly higher in the fertilized (0.53) compared with the control plots (0.51). Overall, fertilization increased ANPP and APR, and these increases were related to a greater GPP and an increase in the fraction of GPP allocated aboveground.     

Carbon limitation of soil respiration under winter snowpacks: potential feedbacks between growing season and winter carbon fluxes

A reduction in the length of the snow‐covered season in response to a warming of high‐latitude and high‐elevation ecosystems may increase soil carbon availability both through increased litter fall following longer growing seasons and by allowing early winter soil frosts that lyse plant and microbial cells. To evaluate how an increase in labile carbon during winter may affect ecosystem carbon balance we investigated the relationship between carbon availability and winter CO₂ fluxes at several locations in the Colorado Rockies. Landscape‐scale surveys of winter CO₂ fluxes from sites with different soil carbon content indicated that winter CO₂ fluxes were positively related to carbon availability and experimental additions of glucose to soil confirmed that CO₂ fluxes from snow‐covered soil at temperatures between 0 and ?3°C were carbon limited. Glucose added to snow‐covered soil increased CO₂ fluxes by 52–160% relative to control sites within 24 h and remained 62–70% higher after 30 days. Concurrently a shift in the δ¹³C values of emitted CO₂ toward the glucose value indicated preferential utilization of the added carbon confirming the presence of active heterotrophic respiration in soils at temperatures below 0°C. The sensitivity of these winter fluxes to substrate availability, coupled with predicted changes in winter snow cover, suggests that feedbacks between growing season carbon uptake and winter heterotrophic activity may have unforeseen consequences for carbon and nutrient cycling in northern forests. For example, published winter CO₂ fluxes indicate that on average 50% of growing season carbon uptake currently is respired during the winter; changes in winter CO₂ flux in response to climate change have the potential to reduce substantially the net carbon sink in these ecosystems.     

Estimation of carbon allocation to the roots from soil respiration measurements of oil palm

CO₂ flux from the soil was measured in situ under oil palms in southern Benin. The experimental design took into account the spatial variability of the root density, the organic matter in the soil-palm agrosystem and the effect of factors such as the soil temperature and moisture.Measurements of CO₂ release in situ, and a comparison with the results obtained in the laboratory from the same soil free of roots, provided an estimation of the roots contribution to the total CO₂ flux. The instantaneous values for total release in situ were between 3.2 and 10.0 mol CO₂ m^-2 s^-1. For frond pile zones rich in organic matter, and around oil palm trunks, root respiration accounted for 30% of the efflux when the soil was at field capacity and 80% when the soil was dry with a pF close to 4.2. This proportion remained constant in interrow zones at around 75%, irrespective of soil moisture.Subsequently carbon allocation to the roots was determined. Total CO₂ release over a year was 57 Mg of CO₂ ha^-1 yr^-1 (around 1610 g of C per m² per year), and carbon allocation to the roots was approximately 53 Mg of CO₂ ha^-1 yr^-1 of which approximately 13 Mg CO₂ ha^-1 yr^-1 (25%) was devoted to turn-over and 40 Mg CO₂ ha^-1 yr^-1 (75%) to respiration.     

观光木人工林生态系统碳储量及其分布格局

在生物量调查的基础上,对南亚热带27年生观光木(Tsoongiodendron odorum)人工林生态系统的碳储量及分配格局进行了研究.结果表明:观光木人工林生态系统植被层生物量为101.26 t · hm-2,乔木层生物量占86.90％;观光木的各器官碳素含量在426.5～496.9 g·kg-1,大小排序为:树干＞枝条＞枯枝＞根兜＞粗根＞树叶＞中根＞树皮＞细根.观光木人工林生态系统总碳储量为180.49 t·hm-2,其中0～80 cm土壤层碳储量是植被层的2.67倍;乔木层年净固碳量为3.07 t·hm-2·a-1,并主要以地上部分为主.     

Evaluation of the effects of elevated CO2 concentrations on the growth of cassava storage roots by destructive harvests and ground penetrating radar scanning approaches

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) production will need to be improved to meet future food demands in Sub-Saharan Africa. The selection of high-yielding cassava cultivars requires a better understanding of storage root development. Additionally, since future production will happen under increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations ([CO₂]), cultivar selection should include responsiveness to elevated [CO₂]. Five farmer-preferred African cassava cultivars were grown for three and a half months in a Free Air CO₂ Enrichment experiment in central Illinois. Compared to ambient [CO₂] (~400 ppm), cassava storage roots grown under elevated [CO₂] (~600 ppm) had a higher biomass with some cultivars having lower storage root water content. The elevated [CO₂] stimulation in storage root biomass ranged from 33% to 86% across the five cultivars tested documenting the importance of this trait in developing new cultivars. In addition to the destructive harvests to obtain storage root parameters, we explored ground penetrating radar as a nondestructive method to determine storage root growth across the growing season.     

甘肃亚高山云杉人工林生态系统碳、氮储量动态和分配格局

云杉是甘肃亚高山地区重要的造林树种,研究其生态系统碳、氮储量的动态变化和分配格局有利于评价云杉人工造林后的生态恢复效果。以甘南、定西地区不同林龄(包括幼龄林、中龄林、近熟林和成熟林)的云杉人工林为研究对象,共设置16块调查样地。在野外调查、样品采集和分析的基础上,估算了其生态系统的碳、氮储量。结果显示:云杉林乔木不同器官的碳含量相对稳定,氮含量则与器官类型有密切关系;同一土层不同龄级的土壤碳、氮含量无明显差异。从乔木层、灌木层、枯落物层到草本层碳氮含量比值依次减小,土壤层碳氮含量比值最低。该地区云杉人工林生态系统总碳、氮储量分别为257. 75—430.23 t/hm~2和20.50—29.88 t/hm~2。随着林龄的增加,植被层碳、氮储量增加显著,分别从15.5 t/hm~2和0.24 t/hm~2增加到143.51 t/hm~2和1.65 t/hm~2。土壤层(0—100 cm)碳、氮储量分别为242.23—367.79 t/hm~2和20.26—29.58 t/hm~2,在整个生态系统各龄级中所占比例均超过60%和90%。生态系统和土壤层(0—100 cm)碳、氮储量在不同龄级间无显著差异。生态系统中土壤层、乔木层及灌、草、枯落物层的碳储量比例分别为85.72%、13.44%和0.84%,氮储量比例分别为97.60%、2.08%和0.32%。     

广西不同林龄喀斯特森林生态系统碳储量及其分配格局

基于广西喀斯特地区45块1000 m²样地的调查,研究幼龄林、中龄林、近熟林、成熟林、过熟林5个林龄阶段喀斯特森林植被与土壤碳储量的分配格局.结果表明: 广西不同林龄喀斯特森林总碳储量表现为幼龄林(86.03 t·hm^-2)＜近熟林(110.63 t·hm^-2)＜中龄林(112.11 t·hm^-2)＜成熟林(149.1 t·hm^-2)＜过熟林(244.38 t·hm^-2);各林龄阶段植被不同层碳储量分配均不同,乔木层所占比例占绝对优势,达到92.3%～98.7%,随林龄的增加而增长,灌木层、草本层、凋落物层所占比例分别为0.3%～1.9%、0.3%～1.2%和0.3%～2.5%,细根所占比例为0.3%～3.3%.土壤有机碳密度随土层深度的增加而递减,土壤层碳储量为51.75～81.21 t·hm^-2,所占生态系统比例为33.2%～66.2%,其随林龄的增大呈减小趋势.生态系统地上、地下部分碳储量分别为22.80～141.72和62.30～102.66 t·hm^-2,除过熟林外均为地下部分＞地上部分,地上碳储量随林龄的增大呈逐渐增加的趋势,地下碳储量的变化规律与土壤碳储量变化趋势一致.土壤层和乔木层为生态系统的主要碳库,二者所占比例达到了96%以上.     

不同间伐强度对杉木人工林碳储量及其分配的影响

间伐改变了林分环境,影响林木生长及碳储量,准确评估不同间伐强度对杉木人工林生物量及碳储量的影响对碳汇林业的发展具有重要意义。2013年,以中国林业科学研究院热带林业实验中心1992年造林并于2005年实施3种不同间伐强度(74%:H、50%:M和34%:L)的杉木人工林为研究对象,样地内每木检尺,实测样木生物量,并结合杉木群落各组分含碳率的实测值,对杉木人工林的生物量和碳储量进行估算,结果表明:H(74%)显著增加了林木的胸径(P0.01),分别比M(50%)、L(34%)和CK(0%)增加了13.65%、20.74%和18.37%。3种间伐强度之间树高差异均不显著,而CK的树高均大于3种间伐强度的树高,分别比H、M和L增加了6.64%、15.73%和16.70%。与对照相比,H显著增加了林木的单株生物量(P0.01)。对照林地乔木层的碳储量均显著高于其他3种间伐强度的乔木层碳储量(P0.05),而乔木层各器官碳储量大小顺序为:树干树枝树根树皮树叶;3种间伐强度和对照处理杉木人工林之间的生态系统碳储量差异性不显著(P0.05),其中乔木层和土壤层为主要碳库,两者所占总的碳储量超过生态系统总的碳储量的97.62%。     

Respiratory carbon use and carbon storage in mid‐rotation loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations: the effect of site resources on the stand carbon balance

We used estimates of autotrophic respiration (R_A), net primary productivity (NPP) and soil CO₂ evolution (S_ff), to develop component carbon budgets for 12‐year‐old loblolly pine plantations during the fifth year of a fertilization and irrigation experiment. Annual carbon use in R_A was 7.5, 9.0, 15.0, and 15.1 Mg C ha^?1 in control (C), irrigated (I), fertilized (F) and irrigated and fertilized (IF) treatments, respectively. Foliage, fine root and perennial woody tissue (stem, branch, coarse and taproot) respiration accounted for, respectively, 37%, 24%, and 39% of R_A in C and I treatments and 38%, 12% and 50% of R_A in F and IF treatments. Annual gross primary production (GPP=NPP+R_A) ranged from 13.1 to 26.6 Mg C ha^?1. The I, F, and IF treatments resulted in a 21, 94, and 103% increase in GPP, respectively, compared to the C treatment. Despite large treatment differences in NPP, R_A, and carbon allocation, carbon use efficiency (CUE=NPP/GPP) averaged 0.42 and was unaffected by manipulating site resources. Ecosystem respiration (R_E), the sum of S_ff, and above ground R_A, ranged from 12.8 to 20.2 Mg C ha^?1 yr^?1. S_ff contributed the largest proportion of R_E, but the relative importance of S_ff decreased from 0.63 in C treatments to 0.47 in IF treatments because of increased aboveground R_A. Aboveground woody tissue R_A was 15% of R_E in C and I treatments compared to 25% of R_E in F and IF treatments. Net ecosystem productivity (NEP=GPP‐R_E) was roughly 0 in the C and I treatments and 6.4 Mg C ha^?1 yr^?1 in F and IF treatments, indicating that non‐fertilized treatments were neither a source nor a sink for atmospheric carbon while fertilized treatments were carbon sinks. In these young stands, NEP is tightly linked to NPP; increased ecosystem carbon storage results mainly from an increase in foliage and perennial woody biomass.     

黄土旱塬区冬小麦不同施肥处理的土壤呼吸及土壤碳动态

依据黄土旱塬区黑垆土上中国科学院长武站长期定位试验 (始于1984年),于2008年3月到6月,测定了冬小麦连作系统中返青期、拔节期、抽穗期、灌浆期和收获期土壤呼吸日变化、生育期变化以及土壤可溶性有机碳(Dissolved organic C, DOC)和微生物量碳(Soil microbial biomass C, MBC),研究了施肥措施对土壤呼吸、DOC和MBC的影响以及土壤呼吸与碳组分之间的关系.研究涉及6个处理:休闲地(F)、不施肥(CK)、有机肥(M)、氮肥(N)、氮磷肥(NP)和氮磷有机肥(NPM).结果表明,冬小麦连作系统中土壤呼吸的日变化格局呈单峰曲线,最高值出现在12:00左右(拔节期)和14:30左右(成熟期),最小值出现在0:00～3:00之间或6:00左右;冬小麦土壤呼吸速率拔节期最高,其次是灌浆后期,抽穗期最低;不同施肥条件下,各生育期土壤呼吸速率大小顺序:NPM＞M＞NP＞N＞CK＞F.土壤水分亏缺是导致抽穗期和灌浆期土壤呼吸速率降低的重要原因.各施肥处理DOC含量高低顺序为灌浆期＞抽穗期＞成熟期＞返青期＞拔节期;除M,NPM处理MBC含量拔节期＞灌浆期外,各施肥处理MBC含量高低顺序为成熟期＞抽穗期＞灌浆期＞拔节期＞返青期.同一处理不同生育期土壤呼吸速率与DOC,MBC的相关性较低,但同生育期不同施肥处理土壤呼吸与土壤有机碳组分间存在显著的相关性.以F处理土壤呼吸为基础,估算CK、N和NP处理生育期根系对土壤呼吸的平均贡献率依次为36%、45%和54%.     

The influence of nitrogen availability on carbon and nitrogen storage in the biennial Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Ten. I. Storage capacity in relation to resource acquisition, allocation and recycling

Plants of Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Ten. were cultivated under five different nitrogen regimes in order to investigate the effects of nitrogen supply on the storage processes in a biennial species during its first year of growth. External N supply increased total biomass production without changing the relationship between ‘productive plant compartments’ (i.e. shoot plus fine roots) and ‘storage plant compartments’ (i.e. structural root dry weight, which is defined as the difference between tap root biomass and the amount of stored carbohydrates and N compounds). The amount of carbohydrates and N compounds stored per unit of structural tap root dry weight was not affected by external N availability during the season, because high rates of N supply increased the concentration of N compounds whilst decreasing the carbohydrate concentration, and low rates of N supply had the opposite effect. Mobilization of N from senescing leaves was not related to the N status of the plants. The relationship between nitrogen compounds stored in the tap root and the maximum amount of nitrogen in leaves was an increasing function with increasing nitrogen supply. We conclude that the allocation between vegetative plant growth and the growth of storage structures over a wide range of N availability seems to follow predictions from optimum allocation theory, whereas N storage responds in a rather plastic way to N availability.     

南亚热带不同林龄红锥人工林碳贮量与碳固定特征

采用乡土珍贵阔叶树种改造大面积针叶人工纯林已经成为我国亚热带地区人工林近自然化经营的有效模式.采用样地调查与生物量实测方法,研究了我国南亚热带广西3个不同林龄红锥人工林(10、20和27年生)的不同器官、凋落物层和土壤层的碳含量,以及不同林龄红锥人工林的乔木层、凋落物层和土壤层碳贮量及其分配特征.结果表明:红锥不同器官碳含量为49.7％～57.9％;凋落物层碳含量为40.8％ ～ 50.5％,而且未分解层＞半分解层;土壤层(0～60 cm)碳含量随林龄增加而增大,随土层深度的增加而下降.10、20和27年生红锥人工林碳贮量分别为182.42、234.75和269.75 t·hm-2,其中,乔木层分别占19.8％、32.0％和32.8％,凋落物层分别占1.5％、1.6％和1.3％,土壤层分别占78.7％、66.4％和65.9％.3个红锥人工林的年净固碳量分别为4.70、5.64和5.18 t· hm-2.红锥具有较高的固碳能力,是发展多目标森林经营模式的理想树种.     

Deciduous and evergreen trees differ in juvenile biomass allometries because of differences in allocation to root storage

Background and Aims

Biomass partitioning for resource conservation might affect plant allometry, accounting for a substantial amount of unexplained variation in existing plant allometry models. One means of resource conservation is through direct allocation to storage in particular organs. In this study, storage allocation and biomass allometry of deciduous and evergreen tree species from seasonal environments were considered. It was expected that deciduous species would have greater allocation to storage in roots to support leaf regrowth in subsequent growing seasons, and consequently have lower scaling exponents for leaf to root and stem to root partitioning, than evergreen species. It was further expected that changes to root carbohydrate storage and biomass allometry under different soil nutrient supply conditions would be greater for deciduous species than for evergreen species.

Methods

Root carbohydrate storage and organ biomass allometries were compared for juveniles of 20 savanna tree species of different leaf habit (nine evergreen, 11 deciduous) grown in two nutrient treatments for periods of 5 and 20 weeks (total dry mass of individual plants ranged from 0·003 to 258·724 g).

Key Results

Deciduous species had greater root non-structural carbohydrate than evergreen species, and lower scaling exponents for leaf to root and stem to root partitioning than evergreen species. Across species, leaf to stem scaling was positively related, and stem to root scaling was negatively related to root carbohydrate concentration. Under lower nutrient supply, trees displayed increased partitioning to non-structural carbohydrate, and to roots and leaves over stems with increasing plant size, but this change did not differ between leaf habits.

Conclusions

Substantial unexplained variation in biomass allometry of woody species may be related to selection for resource conservation against environmental stresses, such as resource seasonality. Further differences in plant allometry could arise due to selection for different types of biomass allocation in response to different environmental stressors (e.g. fire vs. herbivory).