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13C and 15N allocations of two alpine species from early and late snowmelt locations reflect their different growth strategies.
- Source :
-
Journal of experimental botany [J Exp Bot] 2009; Vol. 60 (9), pp. 2725-35. Date of Electronic Publication: 2009 Apr 28. - Publication Year :
- 2009
-
Abstract
- Intense efforts are currently devoted to disentangling the relationships between plant carbon (C) allocation patterns and soil nitrogen (N) availability because of their consequences for growth and more generally for C sequestration. In cold ecosystems, only a few studies have addressed whole-plant C and/or N allocation along natural elevational or topographical gradients. (12)C/(13)C and (14)N/(15)N isotope techniques have been used to elucidate C and N partitioning in two alpine graminoids characterized by contrasted nutrient economies: a slow-growing species, Kobresia myosuroides (KM), and a fast-growing species, Carex foetida (CF), located in early and late snowmelt habitats, respectively, within the alpine tundra (French Alps). CF allocated higher labelling-related (13)C content belowground and produced more root biomass. Furthermore, assimilates transferred to the roots were preferentially used for growth rather than respiration and tended to favour N reduction in this compartment. Accordingly, this species had higher (15)N uptake efficiency than KM and a higher translocation of reduced (15)N to aboveground organs. These results suggest that at the whole-plant level, there is a compromise between N acquisition/reduction and C allocation patterns for optimized growth.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1460-2431
- Volume :
- 60
- Issue :
- 9
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of experimental botany
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 19401411
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erp128