Leaf phosphorus content of Quercus wutaishanica increases with total soil potassium in the Loess Plateau

Abstract

Phosphorus (P) is arguably more limiting than nitrogen for forest ecosystems being free of disturbances for lengthy time periods. The elucidation of multivariate relationships between foliar P and its primary drivers for dominant species is an urgent issue and formidable challenge for ecologists. Our goal was to evaluate the effects of primary drivers on foliar P of Quercus wutaishanica, the dominant species in broadleaved deciduous forest at the Loess Plateau, China. We sampled the leaves of 90 Q. wutaishanica individuals across broad climate and soil nutrient gradients at the Loess Plateau, China, and employed structural equation models (SEM) to evaluate multiple causal pathways and the relative importance of the drivers for foliar P per unit mass (Pmass) and per unit area (Parea). Our SEMs explained 73% and 81% of the variations in Pmass and Parea, respectively. Pmass was negatively correlated to leaf mass per area, positively correlated to leaf area, and increased with mean annual precipitation and total soil potassium. Parea was positively correlated to leaf mass per area, leaf dry weight, and increased significantly with total soil potassium. Our results demonstrated that leaf P content of Q. wutaishanica increased with total soil potassium in the Loess Plateau accordingly.