Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) are essential substances for the tree growth and metabolism, and play an important role in environmental adaptation of trees. At temporal scale, NSC contents in trees have limited inter-annual variation, which could be attributed to the strategy of tree growth and carbon storage. Different factors influence NSC contents of trees in various climatic regions, which change substantially at the seasonal scale. At spatial scale, the variations of NSC content in trees show an insignificantly decreasing trend with the decreases of latitude at global and continental scales, which are mainly related to the hydrothermal gradients. The trend at regional scale is opposite because of the decrease of hydrothermal gradients and lower sample frequency. More sophisticated relations exist between the variations of NSC content in trees and altitudes, which are caused by species-specific characteristics and the variations of micro-habitat conditions. The variations of NSC content in trees at multiple spatial-temporal scales are generally determined by both biotic and abiotic factors, which are mainly dependent on the tradeoff among photosynthate production, respiratory depletion, and tree growth. Furthermore, the methods used for the determination of NSC content are different, which results in great uncertainties in comparing conclusions from different studies. The methods used for sample collection and measurement of NSC should be improved and unified to enhance the comparison among different studies. The NSC contents of trees in different age classes should be measured with all organs collected at multiple spatial-temporal scales. The underlying mechanisms, significance of NSC storage, transformation and allocation on tree growth and survival should be further discussed.
非结构性碳水化合物(NSC)是树木生长和代谢的重要物质,对树木适应环境变化等具有重要作用。从时间尺度来看,受树木自身生长和碳储存策略影响,其NSC含量在年际尺度上变化不大。各个气候区树木NSC含量主控因素不同,其在季节尺度上差异明显。从空间尺度来看,在全球或大陆尺度上,受水热梯度影响,树木NSC含量随纬度降低总体下降,但变化不显著。而在地区尺度上,因水热梯度减小,采样频率低,树木NSC含量随纬度降低呈相反趋势。受树种特性及区域微生境影响,树木NSC含量随海拔升高的变化更加复杂。树木NSC含量在不同时空尺度的波动受多个生物和非生物因素影响。光合产物合成、呼吸作用消耗以及生长之间的权衡,决定了树木NSC含量的变化动态。不同研究方法各异,使得树木NSC含量在多时空尺度结论存在很大的不确定性。未来需要统一样品采集与分析标准,提高研究结果的可比性,并从整株入手,对不同树种及各个龄级的树木NSC含量在多时空尺度上进行测定,探讨NSC储存、转化与分配在树木生长和存活过程中的重要作用及其意义。.
Keywords: abiotic factor; biotic factor; non-structural carbohydrate; spatial scale; temporal scale; tree.