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Nitrogen-addition effects on leaf traits and photosynthetic carbon gain of boreal forest understory shrubs

  • Physiological ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Boreal coniferous forests are characterized by fairly open canopies where understory vegetation is an important component of ecosystem C and N cycling. We used an ecophysiological approach to study the effects of N additions on uptake and partitioning of C and N in two dominant understory shrubs: deciduous Vaccinium myrtillus in a Picea abies stand and evergreen Vaccinium vitis-idaea in a Pinus sylvestris stand in northern Sweden. N was added to these stands for 16 and 8 years, respectively, at rates of 0, 12.5, and 50 kg N ha−1 year−1. N addition at the highest rate increased foliar N and chlorophyll concentrations in both understory species. Canopy cover of P. abies also increased, decreasing light availability and leaf mass per area of V. myrtillus. Among leaves of either shrub, foliar N content did not explain variation in light-saturated CO2 exchange rates. Instead photosynthetic capacity varied with stomatal conductance possibly reflecting plant hydraulic properties and within-site variation in water availability. Moreover, likely due to increased shading under P. abies and due to water limitations in the sandy soil under P. sylvestris, individuals of the two shrubs did not increase their biomass or shift their allocation between above- and belowground parts in response to N additions. Altogether, our results indicate that the understory shrubs in these systems show little response to N additions in terms of photosynthetic physiology or growth and that changes in their performance are mostly associated with responses of the tree canopy.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Ann Sehlstedt and Otilia Johansson for their assistance with field and lab work. This project was part of a joint research program (Sustainable Management of Carbon and Nitrogen in Future Forests) founded by FORMAS between the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Umeå University. S. P. also acknowledges the support of the US Department of Energy through the Office of Biological and Environmental Research Terrestrial Carbon Processes program (DE-SC0006967, DE-0006700).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Environmental Science and Policy, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Box 90328, Durham, NC, 27708-0328, USA

    Sari Palmroth

  2. Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), 901 83, Umeå, Sweden

    Sari Palmroth & Annika Nordin

  3. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden

    Lisbet Holm Bach & Kristin Palmqvist

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  1. Sari Palmroth
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  2. Lisbet Holm Bach
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Correspondence to Sari Palmroth.

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Communicated by Hermann Heilmeier.

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Palmroth, S., Holm Bach, L., Nordin, A. et al. Nitrogen-addition effects on leaf traits and photosynthetic carbon gain of boreal forest understory shrubs. Oecologia 175, 457–470 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-014-2923-9

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