Authors
Michelle Y Wong, Nina Wurzburger, Jefferson S Hall, S Joseph Wright, Wenguang Tang, Lars O Hedin, Kristin Saltonstall, Michiel van Breugel, Sarah A Batterman
Publication date
2024/7
Journal
New Phytologist
Description
- Nutrient limitation may constrain the ability of recovering and mature tropical forests to serve as a carbon sink. However, it is unclear to what extent trees can utilize nutrient acquisition strategies – especially root phosphatase enzymes and mycorrhizal symbioses – to overcome low nutrient availability across secondary succession.
- Using a large‐scale, full factorial nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization experiment of 76 plots along a secondary successional gradient in lowland wet tropical forests of Panama, we tested the extent to which root phosphatase enzyme activity and mycorrhizal colonization are flexible, and if investment shifts over succession, reflective of changing nutrient limitation. We also conducted a meta‐analysis to test how tropical trees adjust these strategies in response to nutrient additions and across succession.
- We find that tropical trees are dynamic, adjusting investment in strategies – particularly …
Scholar articles
MY Wong, N Wurzburger, JS Hall, SJ Wright, W Tang… - New Phytologist, 2024