A unifying concept for the dependence of whole-crop N: P ratio on biomass: theory and experiment

An equation was derived between N:P ratio of the plant and its dry biomass per unit area, based on the decline during growth in the proportion of biomass that consisted of growth related tissue. The relationship was validated using 365 measurements of N:P ratios and plant mass of crop species in 38...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Greenwood, Duncan J., Karpinets, Tatiana V., Zhang, Kefeng, Bosch Serra, Àngela D., Boldrini, Ariadna, Karawulova, Lyudmila
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2008
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:10459.1/467327
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcn188
https://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/467327
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Biomass
Growth rate
Model
N : P ratio
Plant allometry
Plant mass
Stoichiometry
Descripción
Sumario:An equation was derived between N:P ratio of the plant and its dry biomass per unit area, based on the decline during growth in the proportion of biomass that consisted of growth related tissue. The relationship was validated using 365 measurements of N:P ratios and plant mass of crop species in 38 field experiments, by 176 advisory estimates of optimal N and P values in plants derived from the literature and by 503 measurements of N and P concentrations from a survey of natural leaves. The results indicate that N:P ratios of growth related tissue remain almost constant throughout growth and are similar for widely different species. The high N:P ratio of the plant tissues related to reproduction and an increase in the proportion of this tissue underlies the negative relationship between the N:P ratio of the whole plant and its biomass during growth.