Leaf Elemental Concentrations, Stoichiometry, and Resorption in Guam’s Coastal Karst Forests

Greater knowledge concerning the interspecific diversity of the plant leaf ionome is required to effectively understand the spatiotemporal dynamics of biogeochemistry, but Micronesia has been ignored in this literature. The objectives of this study were to quantify the leaf ionome, resorption effici...

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Autor principal:	Thomas E. Marler
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	<i>Cycas micronesica</i> ecological stoichiometry <i>Eugenia bryanii</i> <i>Heritiera longipetiolata</i> litter quality nutrient resorption Biology (General) QH301-705.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/b8bbefa9414b4d3fbc40d4e3af412a60
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:b8bbefa9414b4d3fbc40d4e3af412a602021-11-25T17:22:32ZLeaf Elemental Concentrations, Stoichiometry, and Resorption in Guam’s Coastal Karst Forests10.3390/d131105451424-2818https://doaj.org/article/b8bbefa9414b4d3fbc40d4e3af412a602021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/13/11/545https://doaj.org/toc/1424-2818Greater knowledge concerning the interspecific diversity of the plant leaf ionome is required to effectively understand the spatiotemporal dynamics of biogeochemistry, but Micronesia has been ignored in this literature. The objectives of this study were to quantify the leaf ionome, resorption efficiency, and stoichiometry of leaves from 25 plant species representing Guam’s coastal karst forests. Carbon and nitrogen were quantified by dry combustion, and other minerals and metals were quantified by spectrometry. Nitrogen and calcium concentrations in Guam’s green leaves exceeded the published global means, but manganese and copper concentrations were less than the global means. The remainder of the elements were within the expected ranges. Nutrient resorption rates exhibited a decreasing order of potassium > phosphorus > nitrogen > zinc > copper. The term “accretion efficiency” is introduced to describe the accumulation of an element throughout leaf aging and senescence, and calcium and iron exhibited substantial accretion efficiency in this study. Stoichiometry relations indicated that Guam’s karst forest is most limited by phosphorus and then secondarily limited by nitrogen, although several individual taxa exhibited co-limitation by potassium. Five of the species are officially listed on extinction threat lists. Of these, the Malvaceae tree <i>Heriteria longipetiolata</i> exhibited leaf traits depicting the most recalcitrant litter characteristics, and the Fabaceae tree <i>Serianthes nelsonii</i> exhibited leaf traits depicting the most labile litter characteristics. The contributions of these two tree species to spatiotemporal diversity in biogeochemistry appear to be profound, indicating species recovery efforts are of paramount importance for maintaining ecosystem function and soil heterotroph biodiversity in northern Guam.Thomas E. MarlerMDPI AGarticle<i>Cycas micronesica</i>ecological stoichiometry<i>Eugenia bryanii</i><i>Heritiera longipetiolata</i>litter qualitynutrient resorptionBiology (General)QH301-705.5ENDiversity, Vol 13, Iss 545, p 545 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	<i>Cycas micronesica</i> ecological stoichiometry <i>Eugenia bryanii</i> <i>Heritiera longipetiolata</i> litter quality nutrient resorption Biology (General) QH301-705.5
spellingShingle	<i>Cycas micronesica</i> ecological stoichiometry <i>Eugenia bryanii</i> <i>Heritiera longipetiolata</i> litter quality nutrient resorption Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Thomas E. Marler Leaf Elemental Concentrations, Stoichiometry, and Resorption in Guam’s Coastal Karst Forests
description	Greater knowledge concerning the interspecific diversity of the plant leaf ionome is required to effectively understand the spatiotemporal dynamics of biogeochemistry, but Micronesia has been ignored in this literature. The objectives of this study were to quantify the leaf ionome, resorption efficiency, and stoichiometry of leaves from 25 plant species representing Guam’s coastal karst forests. Carbon and nitrogen were quantified by dry combustion, and other minerals and metals were quantified by spectrometry. Nitrogen and calcium concentrations in Guam’s green leaves exceeded the published global means, but manganese and copper concentrations were less than the global means. The remainder of the elements were within the expected ranges. Nutrient resorption rates exhibited a decreasing order of potassium > phosphorus > nitrogen > zinc > copper. The term “accretion efficiency” is introduced to describe the accumulation of an element throughout leaf aging and senescence, and calcium and iron exhibited substantial accretion efficiency in this study. Stoichiometry relations indicated that Guam’s karst forest is most limited by phosphorus and then secondarily limited by nitrogen, although several individual taxa exhibited co-limitation by potassium. Five of the species are officially listed on extinction threat lists. Of these, the Malvaceae tree <i>Heriteria longipetiolata</i> exhibited leaf traits depicting the most recalcitrant litter characteristics, and the Fabaceae tree <i>Serianthes nelsonii</i> exhibited leaf traits depicting the most labile litter characteristics. The contributions of these two tree species to spatiotemporal diversity in biogeochemistry appear to be profound, indicating species recovery efforts are of paramount importance for maintaining ecosystem function and soil heterotroph biodiversity in northern Guam.
format	article
author	Thomas E. Marler
author_facet	Thomas E. Marler
author_sort	Thomas E. Marler
title	Leaf Elemental Concentrations, Stoichiometry, and Resorption in Guam’s Coastal Karst Forests
title_short	Leaf Elemental Concentrations, Stoichiometry, and Resorption in Guam’s Coastal Karst Forests
title_full	Leaf Elemental Concentrations, Stoichiometry, and Resorption in Guam’s Coastal Karst Forests
title_fullStr	Leaf Elemental Concentrations, Stoichiometry, and Resorption in Guam’s Coastal Karst Forests
title_full_unstemmed	Leaf Elemental Concentrations, Stoichiometry, and Resorption in Guam’s Coastal Karst Forests
title_sort	leaf elemental concentrations, stoichiometry, and resorption in guam’s coastal karst forests
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/b8bbefa9414b4d3fbc40d4e3af412a60
work_keys_str_mv	AT thomasemarler leafelementalconcentrationsstoichiometryandresorptioninguamscoastalkarstforests
_version_	1718412431665922048

Leaf Elemental Concentrations, Stoichiometry, and Resorption in Guam’s Coastal Karst Forests

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