Biomass:N:K:Ca:Mg:P ratios in forest stands world‐wide: Biogeographical variations and environmental controls. Issue 12 (22nd September 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Kerong; Cheng, Xiaoli; Dang, Haishan; Zhang, Quanfa
• Editors: Schrodt, Franziska
• Is Part Of: Global ecology & biogeography. Volume 29:Issue 12(2020)
• Page Start: 2176
• Page End: 2189
• Publication Date: 2020-09-22
• Subjects: forest nutrient -- latitudinal pattern -- macronutrient -- nutrient‐use efficiency -- scaling relationships -- stoichiometry; Ecology -- Periodicals; Biogeography -- Periodicals; Biodiversity -- Periodicals; Macroevolution -- Periodicals; 577
• DOI: 10.1111/geb.13187
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1466-822X

Abstract

Abstract: Aim: Community‐level biomass‐to‐nutrient ratios and elemental stoichiometry of forests can provide insights for understanding the efficiency of nutrient use and the adaptation strategies of trees. However, the global‐scale pattern of biomass:N:K:Ca:Mg:P ratios in forest stands and its responses to environmental drivers remain unknown. Location: World‐wide. Time period: 1959–2015. Major taxa studied: Trees in forests. Methods: We synthesized data from 356 forests distributed globally to study the biogeographical variations in biomass‐to‐nutrient ratios and elemental stoichiometry. Results: Our results revealed that the biomass:N, biomass:P, biomass:K, biomass:Ca and biomass:Mg ratios of living trees in forests averaged 330.2 ± 11.1, 3847.1 ± 164.6, 615.3 ± 26.1, 393.2 ± 15.0 and 2221.5 ± 92.0, respectively. The biomass:N, biomass:K, biomass:Mg, P:K, P:Mg and Ca:Mg ratios decreased with mean annual temperature and increased from low to high latitude, whereas the N:P and K:Ca ratios displayed the opposite trends. The biomass:P, N:P and K:Ca ratios increased significantly with increasing mean annual precipitation (MAP), whereas the P:K, P:Mg and Ca:Mg ratios decreased with the MAP. The biomass:N and biomass:Ca ratios decreased significantly with increasing soil N and Ca stocks, respectively. Forest stand age significantly affected biomass‐to‐nutrient ratios, with the older forests displaying higher biomass:N and biomass:P. The scaling relationships indicated that, on average, as biomass increased, biomass:N would increase, because N rose more slowly than linearly with biomass, whereas the Ca and Mg increased proportionally with biomass. Main conclusions: Our findings proved that the community‐level biomass‐to‐nutrient ratios and stoichiometry were affected by climate, soil, stand age and taxonomy of trees.