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Background Nutrient resorption is critical for plants toward balancing their nutritional requirements and adapting to environmental variabilities, which further impacts litter quality and nutrient cycling. However, the interannual variability of nutrient resorption under climate change remains unclear. Methods We investigated the five-year nutrient resorption efficiencies (NuRE, %) of 14 elements in three deciduous oak tree species (Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata, Q. glandulifera, and Q. variabilis) in a warm-temperate forest of Central China and assessed their relationships with interannual climate and soil factors. Results Nutrient resorption did not differ between species but varied significantly between different years. For each year, N, P, S, K, C, Mg, and Zn were preferentially resorbed in all of the oak species in contrast to Ca, Na, Mn, Ba, Al, Fe, Cu, which were to some extent discriminated. Among the 14 elements, the NuRE of C, N, P, S, Ca, and Mg was more sensitive to interannual climate variations in the three oak species. The carbon resorption efficiency was significantly increased during the driest year of the study (2014); N resorption efficiency was reduced with temperature; whereas N and P resorption efficiency initially decreased and then increased with precipitation. Moreover, the elements with higher NuREs typically had lower coefficient of variation (CV) in all three oak species. Conclusions Different oak species exhibited analogous nutrient conservation strategies in response to annual climate variabilities, and interannual climate variations strongly impacted plant nutrient resorption. Deciduous plants may establish a tradeoff mechanism to rebalance somatic nutrients for regrowth at the end of the growing season.

The leaves and seeds of plants frequently function as the source and sink organs for distinct metabolites, which can interactively vary in response to adverse site conditions. Subtropical soils are typically characterized as having deficient phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg), with enriched aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe), while Al and manganese (Mn) are toxic at low pH. It remains largely unknown how leaf- and seed-sourced metabolites are synergistically linked to adapt to P-variable soils for trees in subtropical areas. Here we quantified the metabolic and elemental profiling in the mature leaves and immature seeds of Quercus variabilis at contrasting geologically-derived phosphorus sites in subtropical China. The results revealed that carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) based metabolites (primarily sugars and organic acids), as well as enzyme- and protein/nucleic acid-related elements (N, P, Mg, and Mn) played important roles toward characterizing the profiling of metabolites and ionomes in leaves and seeds at two site types, respectively. These metabolites (sugars, amino acids, and fatty acids) and elements (N, P, Mg, and Mn) of seeds were closely related to the sugars, organic acids, and elements (N, P, Mg, and Mn) of leaves at the two site types. For the most part, the content of N and P in the soil affected the accumulation of materials (such as, starchs and proteins) in seeds, as well as N and P assimilation in leaves, by influencing C- and N-containing metabolites in leaves. These results suggested that correlated disparities of C- and N-containing metabolites, along with enzyme- and protein/nucleic acid-related elements in both leaves and seeds played important roles in plants to facilitate their adaptation to nutrient-variable sites in subtropical zones.

Tree species and forest age are two key variables affecting timber production and carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems. In this study, in Jiangxi province of eastern China, by a thorough investigation of 179 subtropical forest stands in a 16.7 × 106 ha area with similar climatic conditions and past land-use history, we systematically examined biomass of live aboveground tree, forest floor litter, shrub and herb as well as soil organic carbon (SOC) content (0–10, 10–30 and 30–100 cm depths) to compare differences among five major vegetation types (Chinese fir, masson pine, single-species broadleaves, mixed conifers-broadleaves, and mixed-species broadleaves), and between age classes (below vs above 30 years of stand age). Tree species and stand age both had significant effects. Among the five forest types, mixed-species broadleaved forests had remarkably highest timber productivity, SOC content and storage in the 0–100 cm depth and total C store in the age group of above 30 years. Coniferous stands had generally higher forest floor biomass than broadleaved stands in the age group of below 30 years; this trend was opposite for mineral soil C in the age group of above 30 years. Stand age significantly affected aboveground timber production for all the tree species; this effect was weaker on belowground soil C, as broadleaves exhibited increases in SOC content with stand age while conifers did not. Our results suggest that long-term continuity (>30 years) of mixed-species broadleaves could be an optimal strategy for forests in subtropical region of China. This study contributes to a better understanding of the effects of management practices on forest ecosystems.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have toxic, teratogenic, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects on living organisms. Plants can function as pollutant bioindicators and bioaccumulators due to their wide surface distribution and specific responses to atmospheric pollutants. However, various plants exhibit significant differences in their capacities to accumulate PAHs. At present, research has mainly focused on the effects of leaf morphology and physiological characteristics, and few studies have evaluated the effects of the leaf surface on PAH accumulation. We aimed to assess the factors impacting the uptake and accumulation of PAHs by leaves. We selected 8 common tree species in Shanghai, China, and used supercritical fluid extraction technology to determine the content of PAHs in their leaves. Specific measurements of leaf area, width/length, wax content, and stomatal density were applied to index the morphological and physiological characteristics; surface roughness, surface free energy, polar components, and dispersion components were compiled into an adsorption performance index. Principal component analysis (PCA) and canonical correlation analysis (CCA) were used to assess the effects of different leaf characteristics on PAH accumulation. We found that the mean concentrations of ΣPAHs ranged from 300 to 2000 ng·g−1 and that the proportions of different benzene rings were significantly different among the different tree species. Leaf morphology and physiological characteristics had more significant effects compared to surface adsorption. CCA showed a significant negative correlation between leaf morphological characteristics and wax content, but had no significant correlation with surface adsorption. Low-molecular-weight PAHs were found to be mainly affected by the morphological characteristics, while medium- and high-molecular-weight PAHs were influenced by wax content and adsorption. Our conclusions provide a theoretical basis for the establishment of a reliable plant atmosphere-monitoring system and a method for screening tree species with strong PAH adsorption capacity.

Tree height is a key variable in forest monitoring studies and for forest management. However, tree height measurement is time consuming, and the recommended procedure is to use estimates from tree height (H) - diameter at breast height (DBH) models. Increasingly, H-DBH models are being developed for urban forests, providing tools to forest management and ecosystem services estimation. Here, we compared model forms and approaches for predicting H as a function of DBH and additional stand level covariates variables. Four model forms were evaluated: (i) basic models (which only used DBH as predictor variable); (ii) generalized models (which used DBH and other predictor variables based on the best basic model); (iii) a mixed-effects model based on the best basic model; and (iv) a mixed-effects model based on the generalized model. Several sampling designs aimed at minimizing height measurement were tested in terms of accuracy and applicability. Taking predicted accuracy and investigation cost into account, we recommend generalized non-linear mixed-effects model (NLME) when there were two or less tree height measurements taken in a given stand. The basic NLME model could be calibrated when there were 3 or more tree height measurements, depending on the required level of accuracy and investigation cost. Additionally, we first reported that soil pH as a covariate variable in H-DBH model and our generalized NLME model implied that the difference in the H-DBH relationship caused by pH varies among different stands. This finding may be attributable to differing biological properties of the similar alkaline tolerance species.

Despite the important roles of microorganisms in soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition and nutrient cycling, how their biomass, community composition and function are driven by a joint effect of edaphic and environmental factors at a large spatial scale remains unclear. Moreover, a mechanistic understanding of the associations among microbial communities and SOM chemistry as a key indicator of substrate availability over large spatial scales has been lacking until now. To fill this knowledge gap, we examined how soil microbial community abundance and composition (via phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis) and function (via enzyme activities and net N mineralization) were associated with the edaphic and environmental factors from six oriental oak (Quercus variabilis) forest sites arranged across a 11° latitudinal gradient in East China. We found strong relationships between SOM chemistry as indicated by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and microbial community composition and function along this gradient. For example, the ratio of fungi to bacteria (F/B) decreased with increasing carboxyl C percentage; the lower abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and decreased invertase activity in the southern sites were possibly related to higher ratio of alkyl to O alkyl (A/O); urease activity increased with carboxyl C percentage. Microbial biomass (total PLFAs) had positive relationships with urease activity, net N mineralization rate, and soil pH. Mean annual precipitation (MAP) and pH were important for overall microbial community composition. Overall, our results indicate that SOM chemistry is closely related to microbial community composition and function along the latitudinal gradient and should be considered in future studies. Our study contributes to a better prediction of microbial responses to possible substrate changes brought by future environmental changes, which is urgently needed under the context of accelerating global change.

To develop a simple, accurate, and non-destructive method for estimating the groundwater level (GWL) in an unconfined sandy aquifer, field measurements of soil electrical resistivity were conducted at the Daqinggou Ecological Station (DES) in 2005 and the Experimental Base of the Institute of Wind-Sand Land Improvement and Utilization (IWLIU) in 2009. The resistivity data were acquired through a series of vertical electrical soundings (VES) using a Wenner array. For comparison with the VES method, the GWLs were also manually monitored in wells. The results showed that the thirty VES profiles decreased or first increased and then decreased with increasing electrode spacing (i.e., becoming more conductive with depth). The depth of the GWL was obtained by calculating the turning points, as inferred from inflections in the apparent resistivity profiles. The GWL variations between the VES method and manual measurement ranged from 0.22 to 1.03 m at the DES, with a mean value of 0.52 m, and from 0.03 to 0.82 m at the IWLIU, with a mean value of 0.10 m. The significant differences between the GWLs obtained by the VES method and manual measurement at the DES were due to the higher GWLs with capillary action; there were no significant differences in the GWLs obtained at the IWLIU. The linear regression coefficient of determination was 0.97 for the IWLIU GWL values, indicating a good agreement between the VES method and manual measurements. Therefore, we conclude that the VES method is a sound measuring tool for estimating GWLs in unconfined sandy aquifers when the GWL is sufficiently deep (e.g., GWL > 3.98 m).

The patterns of variation in natural abundance of foliar and soil ( 15 N) (expressed as δ 15 N) related to geographical and climatic variables frequently vary over plant species or plant function groups. It is essential to identify the pattern of foliar δ 15 N for specific plant species which has a widespread distribution and to explore the underlying mechanisms in the context of environmental change such as global warming and anthropogenic nitrogen deposition. Oriental oak ( Quercus variabilis Bl.), characterized by cork bark, is a widely distributing deciduous broadleaf tree species that can be found in temperate and subtropical areas of East Asia. In this study, the variations in foliar and soil 15 N were investigated based on the data of leaf and soil samples collected in 22 stands over eastern China (from 24 to 41° N in latitude and 102 to 123° E in longitude), and the mechanisms were discussed. The results showed that for oriental oak stands, mean foliar and soil δ 15 N were − 4.8‰ and 2.0‰, respectively, indicating an evident 15 N enrichment in the soils. The average foliar δ 15 N value of oriental oak in warm temperate forest was significantly lower ( p 15 N increased linearly and significantly with increasing mean annual precipitation (MAP) (R 2 = 0.481 and p 2 = 0.285 and p = 0.01) and decreasing pH value of rain water (R 2 = 0.333 and p = 0.005). With these results in eastern China, there are great implications in understanding how nitrogen dynamics of ecosystems responds to warming, drought and acid rain.

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and N:P ratio in terrestrial plants and the patterns at a large geographical scale are an important issue in ecological stoichiometry. In particular, it is essential to know that for a single species, how the N:P stoichiometry varies with climatic factors in the context of global warming. Our analysis was based on a data set including 2583 observations at 441 sites on nutritional status of Norway spruce ( Picea abies L.) located in European counties (including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Rep., Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Slovak Rep., Slovenia, United Kingdom). Our objectives are to demonstrate how leaf N and P concentration and N:P ratio in Norway spruce vary with altitude (ALT), latitude (LAT), longitude (LON), mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP) across Europe. The results showed that for 1-year-old needles of Norway spruce, the N and P concentration were 13.28 mg g −1 , 1.41 mg g −1 and the N:P ratio was 9.76. Leaf N displayed a convex curve pattern with increasing MAT and decreasing LAT from the boreal Europe to the Mediterranean area. The N concentration and N:P generally reached peak at about 7 °C in MAT or 53° N in LAT. The N:P ratio varied non-linearly with LAT and MAP, but linearly with MAT. Leaf N concentration and N:P ratio decreased linearly with increasing ALT in temperate European area. Across Europe, that the patterns of leaf N and N:P ratio were mainly driven by climate-related geochemistry and plant physiology, but also greatly impacted by anthropogenic N deposition.

To estimate the mean value of surface soil water content rapidly, accurately, and nonintrusively, field investigations on soil electrical resistivity (SER) with the Yokogawa 324400 earth resistivity meter and the surface (0-150 cm) soil water content (SWC) with time domain reflectometry (TDR), together with the abiotic factors including soil texture, structure, and salinity concentrations were conducted in the Mongolian pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica) plantations on a sandy land. The measurement of SER was based on the 4-probe Wenner configuration method. Relationships between the values of SWC and SER were obtained based on analysis of the abiotic factors of the research site, which play a key role in affecting the soil electrical resistivity. Results indicate that the SER meter could be used to estimate the mean value of SWC in the Mongolian pine plantations on the sandy land during the growing seasons. The bulky nature of the equipment simplified the cumbersome measurements of soil water content with the general methods. It must be noted that the Wenner configuration method could only provide the mean values of the SWC, and the soil texture, structure, temperature, and solute concentrations influenced the SER and further affected the estimation of the SWC by the SER meter. Therefore, the results of this study could be applied on a sandy land during the growing seasons only. However, the SWC of other soil types also may be obtained according to the individual soil types using the procedures of this study.