Journal Title
Title of Journal: Plant Ecol
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Abbravation: Plant Ecology
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Publisher
Springer Netherlands
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Authors: Catherine L Cardelús Michelle C Mack
Publish Date: 2009/09/02
Volume: 207, Issue: 1, Pages: 25-37
Abstract
Vascular epiphytes are a conspicuous and highly diverse group in tropical wet forests yet we understand little about their mineral nutrition across sites In this study we examined the mineral nutrition of three dominant vascular epiphyte groups ferns orchids and bromeliads and their host trees from samples collected along a 2600 m elevational gradient in the tropical wet forests of Costa Rica We predicted that the mineral nutrition of ferns orchids and bromeliads would differ because of their putative differences in nutrient acquisition mechanisms and nutrient sources—atmospherically dependent foliar feeding bromeliads would have lower nitrogen N and phosphorous P concentrations and more depleted δ15N values than those in canopy soilrooted ferns because canopy soil is higher in available N and more enriched in δ15N than the atmospheric sources of precipitation and throughfall We also predicted that epiphyte foliar chemistry would mirror that of host trees because of the likely contribution of host trees to the nutrient cycle of epiphytes via foliar leaching and litter contributions to canopy soil In the same vein we predicted that epiphyte and host tree foliar chemistry would vary with elevation reflecting ecosystemlevel nutrients—soil N availability increases and P availability decreases with increasing elevation Our results confirmed that canopy soilrooted epiphytes had higher N concentrations than atmospheric epiphytes however our predictions were not confirmed with respect to P which did not vary among groups indicating fixed P availability within sites In addition foliar δ15N values did not match our prediction in that canopy soilrooted as well as atmospheric epiphytes had variable signatures Discriminant function analysis DFA on foliar measurements determined that ferns orchids and bromeliads are statistically distinct in mineral nutrition We also found that P concentrations of ferns and orchids but not bromeliads were significantly correlated with those of host trees indicating a possible link in their mineral nutrition’s via canopy soil Interestingly we did not find any patterns of epiphyte foliar chemistry with elevation These data indicate that the mineral nutrition of the studied epiphyte groups are distinct and highly variable within sites and the diverse uptake mechanisms of these epiphyte groups enhance resource partitioning which may be a mechanism for species richness maintenance in tropical forest canopiesWe thank the Ecology Lab Group at the University of Florida for helpful discussions throughout this study and J DeMarco A Mishra and G Crummer for essential help with lab work and M Blanco for plant identification This article is based on research supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No 0309827 to CC and a Mellon Foundation Grant to MCM
Keywords:
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Other Papers In This Journal:
- Relationships between carbon allocation and partitioning of soil respiration across world mature forests
- Phylogenetic structure of a palm community in the central Amazon: changes along a hydro-edaphic gradient
- The nutrient status of epiphytes and their host trees along an elevational gradient in Costa Rica
- Recovery of genetic diversity in threatened plants through use of germinated seeds from herbarium specimens
- Allocation to reproduction following experimental defoliation in Platanthera bifolia (Orchidaceae)
- Regional and local variation in seedling emergence, mortality and recruitment of a perennial herb in Mediterranean mountain habitats
- Does taxonomic homogenization imply functional homogenization in temperate forest herb layer communities?
- Competitive responses of the rare Viola elatior and the common Viola mirabilis
- Interspecific competition enhances nitrogen fixation in an actinorhizal shrub
- Can seed caching enhance seedling survival of Indian ricegrass ( Achnatherum hymenoides ) through intraspecific facilitation?
- Short-term response and recovery of bluebells ( Hyacinthoides non - scripta ) after rooting by wild boar ( Sus scrofa )
- Mistletoes via input of nutrient-rich litter increases nutrient supply and enhance plant species composition and growth in a semi-arid savanna, southwest Zimbabwe
- Conifer colonization of a 350-year old rock fall at Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California
- Extent and spatial patterns of grass bald land cover change (1948–2000), Oregon Coast Range, USA
- The plant vigour hypothesis revisited – how is browsing by ungulates and elephant related to woody species growth rate?
- The significance of deadwood for total bryophyte, lichen, and vascular plant diversity in an old-growth spruce forest
- Established native perennial grasses out-compete an invasive annual grass regardless of soil water and nutrient availability
- A fifty-year reconstruction of annual changes in the spatial distribution of Pinus banksiana stands: does pattern fit competition theory?
- Demographic effects of fire on two endemic plant species in the longleaf pine-wiregrass ecosystem
- Community-level relaxation of plant defenses against herbivores at high elevation
- Gap formation and regeneration of tropical mangrove forests in Ranong, Thailand
- Composition and structure of a diverse tree community at the edges of a Brazilian Amazon rainforest island surrounded by marshes and mangroves
- Low leaf N and P resorption contributes to nutrient limitation in two desert shrubs
- Mycorrhizal fungi affect plant growth: experimental evidence comparing native and invasive hosts in the context of forest fragmentation
- Ecotypic differentiation of two sympatric chemotypes of Barbarea vulgaris (Brassicaceae) with different biotic resistances
- Fine root growth and nutrient release in decomposing leaf litter in three contrasting vegetation types in central Amazonia
- Assessing the impact of land use and climate change on the evergreen broad-leaved species of Quercus acuta in Japan
- Light heterogeneity interacts with plant-induced soil heterogeneity to affect plant trait expression
- Inter- and intraspecific variation in stomatal pore area index along elevational gradients and its relation to leaf functional traits
- Diversity of wetland vegetation in the Bulgarian high mountains, main
gradients and context-dependence of the pH role
- Rainforest fragmentation and the demography of the economically important palm Oenocarpus bacaba in central Amazonia
- Does release from natural belowground enemies help explain the invasiveness of Lygodium microphyllum ? A cross-continental comparison
- Temporal changes in species composition in Fescue Prairie: relationships with burning history, time of burning, and environmental conditions
- Liana distribution and community structure in an old-growth temperate forest: the relative importance of past disturbances, host trees, and microsite characteristics
- Lack of sex-specific differences in mycorrhizal associations and response to herbivory in the gynodioecious herb, Polemonium foliosissimum
- Effects of fruit thinning on fruit and seed features of Cistus ladanifer
- The combined effect of waterlogging, extractable P and soil pH on α-diversity: a case study on mesotrophic grasslands in the UK
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