Optimal set of leaf and aboveground tree elements for predicting forest functioning
Diniz, Écio Souza (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Rodríguez-Penedo, Eladio (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Grau-Andrés, Roger (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Vayreda Duran, Jordi (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Fernández-Martínez, Marcos (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)

Date:	2025
Abstract:	The role played by environmental factors in the functioning of forest ecosystems is relatively well known. However, the potential of the elemental composition of trees (i. e. , elementomes) as a predictor of forest functioning remains elusive. We assessed the predictive power of elemental composition from different perspectives: testing whether aboveground element stocks or concentrations explain forest production and productivity (i. e. , production per unit of standing biomass) better than leaf elements or environmental factors, and identifying the optimal set (combination and quantity) of elements that best predicts forest functioning. To do so, we used a forest inventory of 2000 plots in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, containing in-site information about the elementomes (C, Ca, K, Mg, N, Na, P, and S) of leaves, branches, stems, and barks, in addition to annual biomass production per organ. We found that models using leaf element stocks as predictors achieve the highest explained variation in forest production. The optimal dimensionality was achieved by combining the foliar stocks of C, Ca, K, Mg, N, and P and interactions (C × N, C × P, and N × P). Forest biomass productivity was best predicted by forest age. Hence, our results indicate that leaf element stocks are better predictors of forest biomass production than aboveground element concentrations or stocks, thus hinting at leaf measurements as critical factors for predicting variations in forest biomass production.
Grants:	European Commission 101076740 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2022-141972NA-I00 Agencia Estatal de Investigación RYC2021-031511-I
Note:	Altres ajuts: this paper is dedicated to those who conducted the Ecological and Forest Inventory of Catalonia (IEFC) displaying works in the field, office, and lab. The IEFC was financed by the "Departament d'Agricultura, Ramaderia i Pesca" and the "Departament de Medi Ambient de la Generalitat de Catalunya.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Magnesium ; Biomass ; Chemical composition ; Productivity ; Leaves ; Organisms ; Forests ; Ecosystems ; Influence ; Calcium ; Environmental factors ; Forest biomass ; Environmental conditions ; Forest ecosystems ; Branches ; Carbon ; Trees ; Terrestrial ecosystems
Published in:	Biogeosciences, Vol. 22, issue 8 (2025) , p. 2115-2132, ISSN 1726-4189

DOI: 10.5194/bg-22-2115-2025

18 p, 4.1 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > CREAF (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles