Data from: Nutrient remobilization in tree foliage as affected by soil nutrients and leaf life span

Nutrient remobilization is a key process in nutrient conservation in
plants and in nutrient cycling in ecosystems. To predict the productivity
of terrestrial ecosystems, we thus need to improve our understanding of
the factors that control remobilization. We studied the remobilization
rates of several major nutrients (N, P, S, K, Ca, and Mg) in 102 forest
ecosystems representing large environmental gradients at country scale
(France). Total amounts or availability of nutrients in soils were
correlated with nutrient remobilization: the larger the soil nutrient
pool, the lower the remobilization rate (e.g. P remobilization decreased
with increasing total or extractable inorganic P in soils). Soil type and
soil parent material influenced nutrient remobilization indirectly through
their effect on soil nutrients. Nutrient remobilization was also affected
by the quality of soil organic matter (C:N and C:P ratios) and K-Ca-Mg
antagonisms. In addition to soil properties, plant-related parameters
(nutrient concentrations in foliage and leaf life span) and climate
variables (e.g. precipitation and actual evapotranspiration) were also
correlated with nutrient remobilization. Using multivariate analysis, we
finally found that soil nutrient richness and the life span of the leaf
were generally the two most important factors controlling nutrient
remobilization. As a whole, the nutrient remobilization rate is regulated
by soil nutrients through negative feedback. This general ecological
pattern is modulated by ecophysiological constraints of plants, mainly
leaf life span or the capability of plants to move Ca through the phloem
sap.