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Nutrient resorption in tropical savanna forests and woodlands of central Brazil

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Abstract

Nutrient limitation in Brazilian savanna (known as cerrado) presumably causes trees to maximize nutrient resorption from senesced leaves to reduce their dependence on nutrient availability. To assess patterns between nutrient resorption and soil fertility, we measured community-level nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) concentrations in mature and senesced leaves and soil fertility in the upper 50 cm soil layer in structurally diverse cerrado ecosystems in the Cuiaba Basin (CB) and Pantanal (PAN) of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Foliar nutrient concentration data were used to estimate resorption efficiency and proficiency, and correlation was used to determine whether resorption efficiency and proficiency varied across soil fertility gradients. We found that N and P resorption proficiency (NRP and PRP, respectively) and P resorption efficiency (PRE) increased significantly as total soil N (NRP) and extractable P (PRP and PRE) declined. In contrast, K resorption efficiency (KRE) declined as soil sand content and bulk density increased, which was likely due to a reduction in soil water-holding capacity. Leaf N/P ratios indicate potential N limitation and/or N + P co-limitation for ecosystems in the PAN and P limitation and/or N + P co-limitation for ecosystems in the CB, while trends in leaf N/K ratios indicate possible K or K + P co-limitation for the CB only. Our results illustrate that cerrado forests and woodlands have highly variable nutrient resorption capacities that vary predictably across soil fertility or textural gradients and indicate that cerrado communities have flexible nutrient resorption that can reduce their dependence on soil nutrient availability.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by a National Science Foundation-Office of International Science and Engineering (NSF-OISE) grant to GLV and a CAPES-CNPq Projeto Ciência sem Fronteira (Science Without Borders) Grant to JSN and GLV. Additional logistic support provided by the Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Física Ambiental (UFMT-PGFA) is gratefully appreciated. The authors thank Dr. Clovis Miranda and his family for access to the CB study sites and the Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural (RPPN) of the Serviço Social do Comércio (SESC) Pantanal for access to the PAN study sites. The authors also thank the more than 25 undergraduate and graduate students who helped in the collection of field samples and data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, San Marcos, CA, 92096, USA

    George L. Vourlitis, Shelley Lawrence, Kali Holt & Anthony Zappia

  2. Departamento de Solos e Engenharia Rural, Faculdade de Agronomia, Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brazil

    Francisco de Almeida Lobo

  3. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Física Ambiental – PGFA, Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brazil

    Osvaldo Borges Pinto Jr. & Jose de Souza Nogueira

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  1. George L. Vourlitis
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Correspondence to George L. Vourlitis.

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Communicated by Benjamin Turner.

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Vourlitis, G.L., de Almeida Lobo, F., Lawrence, S. et al. Nutrient resorption in tropical savanna forests and woodlands of central Brazil. Plant Ecol 215, 963–975 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-014-0348-5

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