Response of leaf functional traits to soil nutrients in the wet and dry seasons in a subtropical forest on an island

Juanjuan Zhang; Minxia Liang; Sen Tong; Xueting Qiao; Buhang Li; Qiong Yang; Ting Chen; Ping Hu; Shixiao Yu

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1236607

Response of leaf functional traits to soil nutrients in the wet and dry seasons in a subtropical forest on an island

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Dec 7:14:1236607. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1236607. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Juanjuan Zhang^{1

2

3}, Minxia Liang³, Sen Tong^{1

2}, Xueting Qiao^{1

2}, Buhang Li^{1

2}, Qiong Yang⁴, Ting Chen⁴, Ping Hu⁴, Shixiao Yu^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Life Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
² Research Institute of Sun Yat-sen University in Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China.
³ School of Ecology/State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China.
⁴ Guangdong Neilingding-Futian National Nature Reserve, Shenzhen, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Island ecosystems often have a disproportionate number of endemic species and unique and fragile functional characteristics. However, few examples of this type of ecosystem have been reported.

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive field study on Neilingding Island, southern China. The leaf samples of 79 subtropical forest tree species were obtained and their functional traits were studied in the dry and wet seasons to explain the relationships between plant functional traits and soil nutrients.

Results: We found a greater availability of soil moisture content (SMC) and nutrients in the wet season than in the dry season. The values of wet season soil available phosphorus (5.97 mg·kg^-1), SMC (17.67%), and soil available potassium (SAK, 266.96 mg·kg^-1) were significantly higher than those of the dry season. The leaf dry matter content, specific leaf weight, leaf density, leaf total carbon, leaf total nitrogen, leaf total calcium, and the N/P and C/P ratios of leaves were all significantly higher in the dry season than in the wet season, being 18.06%, 12.90%, 12.00%, 0.17%, 3.41%, 9.02%, 26.80%, and 24.14% higher, respectively. In contrast, the leaf area (51.01 cm²), specific leaf area (152.76 cm²·g^-1), leaf water content (0.59%), leaf total nitrogen (1.31%), leaf total phosphorus (0.14%), and leaf total magnesium (0.33%) were much lower in the dry season than in the wet one. There were significant pairwise correlations between leaf functional traits, but the number and strength of correlations were significantly different in the dry and wet seasons. The SAK, soil total phosphorus (STP), and pH impacted plant leaf functional traits in the dry season, whereas in the wet season, they were affected by SAK, STP, pH, and NO₃^- (nitrate).

Discussion: Both soil nutrients and water availability varied seasonally and could cause variation in a number of leaf traits.

Keywords: fitness; leaf functional traits; season; soil properties; subtropical forest; trade-off.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was financially supported by the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee (Project no. JCYJ20180504170040910); the Urban Administration and Law Enforcement Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality (Project no. 201802); the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong, China (2021A1515010641, 2020A1515010348 and 2019A1515012011); and the Science Foundation of Guangzhou (202102020232).