Co-regulation of photosynthetic capacity by nitrogen, phosphorus and magnesium in a subtropical Karst forest in China

Abstract Leaf photosynthetic capacity is mainly constrained by nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Little attention has been given to the photosynthetic capacity of mature forests with high calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in the Karst critical zone. We measured light-saturated net photosynthesis (A sat...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Jing Wang, Xuefa Wen, Xinyu Zhang, Shenggong Li, Da-Yong Zhang
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Nature Portfolio 2018
Materias:
R
Q
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/659b943d843c4a5cb5e804f4ac9716f7
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
Descripción
Sumario:Abstract Leaf photosynthetic capacity is mainly constrained by nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Little attention has been given to the photosynthetic capacity of mature forests with high calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in the Karst critical zone. We measured light-saturated net photosynthesis (A sat), photosynthetic capacity (maximum carboxylation rate [V cmax], and maximum electron transport rate [J max]) as well as leaf nutrient contents (N, P, Ca, Mg, potassium [K], and sodium [Na]), leaf mass per area (LMA), and leaf thickness (LT) in 63 dominant plants in a mature subtropical forest in the Karst critical zone in southwestern China. Compared with global data, plants showed higher A sat for a given level of P. V cmax and J max were mainly co-regulated by N, P, Mg, and LT. The ratios of V cmax to N or P, and J max to N or P were significantly positively related to Mg. We speculate that the photosynthetic capacity of Karst plants can be modified by Mg because Mg can enhance photosynthetic N and P use efficiency.