close
Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Dec 13;7(4):51.
doi: 10.3390/biology7040051.

Does Plant Size Influence Leaf Elements in an Arborescent Cycad?

Thomas E Marler  1 , Murukesan V Krishnapillai  2
Affiliations

Does Plant Size Influence Leaf Elements in an Arborescent Cycad?

Thomas E Marler et al. Biology (Basel). .

Abstract

Plant size influences the leaf nutrient relations of many species, but no cycad species has been studied in this regard. We used the arborescent Cycas micronesica K.D. Hill to quantify leaf nutrient concentrations of trees with stems up to 5.5-m in height to determine if height influenced leaf nutrients. Green leaves were sampled in a karst, alkaline habitat in Rota and a schist, acid habitat in Yap. Additionally, senesced leaves were collected from the trees in Yap. Minerals and metals were quantified in the leaf samples and regressed onto stem height. Green leaf nitrogen, calcium, manganese, and iron decreased linearly with increased stem height. Senesced leaf carbon, iron, and copper decreased and senesced leaf nitrogen increased with stem height. Nitrogen resorption efficiency decreased with stem height. Phosphorus and potassium resorption efficiencies were not influenced by plant size, but were greater than expected based on available published information. The results indicate leaf nutrient concentrations of this cycad species are directly influenced by plant size, and illuminate the need for adding more cycad species to this research agenda. Plant size should be measured and reported in all cycad reports that include measurements of leaf behavior.

Keywords: Cycas micronesica; allometry; growth rate hypothesis; resorption efficiency; resorption proficiency.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Production of cataphylls (red arrows) unambiguously demarcates the sequential separation of chronological leaf flushes (yellow arrows) exhibiting different historical leaf construction dates for arborescent cycad plants. The youngest leaves (#1) are apical to the youngest cataphylls (#1). This cycad plant contains leaves of four distinct age categories.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The influence of Cycas micronesica tree height on (a) nitrogen and (b) calcium green leaf concentration in Rota (squares and dashed line) and Yap (circles and solid line).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The influence of Cycas micronesica tree height on (a) manganese and (b) iron green leaf concentration in Rota (squares and dashed line) and Yap (circles and solid line).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Salt E.D., Baxter I., Lahner B. Ionomics and the study of the plant ionome. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 2008;59:709–733. doi: 10.1146/annurev.arplant.59.032607.092942. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Elser J.J., Fagan W.F., Kerkhoff A.J., Swenson N.G., Enquist B.J. Biological stoichiometry of plant production: Metabolism, scaling and ecological response to global change. New Phytol. 2010;186:593–608. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03214.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wright S.J., Yavitt J.B., Wurzburger N., Turner B.L., Tanner E.V.J., Sayer E.J., Santiago L.S., Kaspari M., Hedin L.O., Harms K.E., et al. Potassium, phosphorus, or nitrogen limit root allocation, tree growth, or litter production in a lowland tropical forest. Ecology. 2011;92:1616–1625. doi: 10.1890/10-1558.1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Alvarez-Clare S., Mack M.C., Brooks M. A direct test of nitrogen and phosphorus limitation to net primary productivity in a lowland tropical wet forest. Ecology. 2013;94:1540–1551. doi: 10.1890/12-2128.1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Li Y., Tian D., Yang H., Niu S. Size-dependent nutrient limitation of tree growth from subtropical to cold temperate forests. Funct. Ecol. 2018;32:95–105. doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.12975. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources