Isotopic Signal Supports Physiological Integration in Root Suckers of Two Tree Species Differing in Shade Tolerance
The physiological performance of clonal plants is largely linked with resource translocation among interconnected ramets. Whereas carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) transferences have been evidenced in several herbaceous clonal plants, empirical evidence in woody species is anecdotal. We evaluated physiolo...
| Autores: | , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/379502 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/379502 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | δ13C δ15N Functional traits Physiological integration Pulse labeling Ramets |
| Sumario: | The physiological performance of clonal plants is largely linked with resource translocation among interconnected ramets. Whereas carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) transferences have been evidenced in several herbaceous clonal plants, empirical evidence in woody species is anecdotal. We evaluated physiological integration in two evergreen tree species, differing in the light requirements in a temperate rainforest of Southern Chile: <i>Embothrium coccineum</i> J.R. et. G. Forster (light-demanding) and <i>Eucryphia cordifolia</i> Cav. (shade-tolerant). We measured light availability for vegetative (root suckers) and sexual (seed-origin plants; hereafter, saplings) recruits of the two species. Then, we compared elemental and isotopic leaf traits between recruit types and species growing under similar light availability. A <sup>13</sup>CO<sub>2</sub> field pulse labeling was performed on a set of <i>Embothrium</i> root suckers to quantify C transfer from moderately shaded suckers (donors) to highly shaded suckers (receivers). For the two species, leaf N concentration, δ<sup>13</sup>C, and δ<sup>15</sup>N were higher in suckers compared to saplings. In the labeling experiment, the δ<sup>13</sup>C and <sup>12</sup>C equivalent excess did not differ between donor and receiver, indicating a weak C transfer between donors and receivers. Although the results from the pulse labeling were not conclusive, they suggest, together with the differences in natural isotope abundance, the existence of physiological integration in root suckers of both species. Our findings indicate that the formation of root suckers is more important for regeneration and persistence than for resource acquisition at an intermediate ecological succession of a temperate rainforest. |
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