Tropical wood stores substantial amounts of nutrients, but we have limited understanding why

Bauters, Marijn; Grau, Oriol; Doetterl, Sebastian; Heineman, Katherine D.; Dalling, James W.; Prada, Cecilia M.; Griepentrog, Marco; Malhi, Yadvinder; Riutta, Terhi; Scalon, Marina; Oliveras, Imma; Inagawa, Takeshi; Majalap, Noreen; Beeckman, Hans; Van den Bulcke, Jan; Perring, Mike ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8553-4893; Dourdain, Aurélie; Hérault, Bruno; Vermeir, Pieter; Makelele, Isaac A.; Fernández, Pere R.; Sardans, Jordi; Peñuelas, Josep; Janssens, Ivan A.. 2022 Tropical wood stores substantial amounts of nutrients, but we have limited understanding why. Biotropica, 54 (3). 596-606. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13069

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/btp.13069

Abstract/Summary

Rock-derived nutrients such as calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) are essential plant resources, yet depleted in highly weathered tropical soils, leading to nutrient limitation of productivity or other ecosystem processes. Despite this, substantial amounts of rock-derived nutrients occur within wood, which raises questions about the role that wood nutrients play in the ecology of tropical forests. Using data from forests across the tropics, we quantify wood nutrient stocks at individual tree and ecosystem levels. At the ecosystem level, we show that tropical wood can store substantial amounts of rock-derived nutrients. Furthermore, on a tree level, tree species vary widely in woody nutrient concentrations. These observations raise important questions as to the biogeochemical or ecological drivers that lead to this variability, as well as the role that woody tissue plays in the buffering and cycling of nutrients. We offer some potential explanations and direction for future research to explore this under-appreciated but sizable store of inorganic nutrients in tropical biomass.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13069
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Soils and Land Use (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	0006-3606
Additional Keywords:	biogeochemistry, calcium, magnesium, nutrient budget, nutrients, phosphorus, potassium, wood
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	20 Jun 2022 11:29 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532777

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13069

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Soils and Land Use (Science Area 2017-)

ISSN:

0006-3606

Additional Keywords:

biogeochemistry, calcium, magnesium, nutrient budget, nutrients, phosphorus, potassium, wood

NORA Subject Terms:

Ecology and Environment