Tree species with conservative foliar nutrient status and strong phosphorus homeostasis are regionally abundant in subtropical forests

Foliar nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P) status and their stoichiometric homeostasis are integral parts of the plant nutrient economy that determines the success of plant species in environments where N or P limits plant growth. Despite growing evidence for higher predictability of stoichiometric homeostasis of N (HN) than that of P (HP) on plant species abundance in temperate grasslands, no previous studies explicitly examined how foliar N and P status modulate the relationships between stoichiometric homeostasis and species distribution (regional species abundance) of woody plants, especially in P-limited (sub)-tropical ecosystems. We hypothesized that species with a conservative foliar nutrient status but a higher HP (but not HN) would be regional abundant in P-limited forest.
We measured foliar N (LNC) and P (LPC) contents of 54 woody species, community composition and soil N and P contents across 94 forest plots in Chinese subtropical forests. Then we evaluated the species’ levels of ...