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Tropical Tree Physiology pp 299–315Cite as

Is Photosynthesis Nutrient Limited in Tropical Trees?

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Part of the book series: Tree Physiology ((TREE,volume 6))

Abstract

Tropical forests play an enormously important role in the global cycling of carbon. However, the extent to which nutrients limit the potential for tropical trees to increase carbon gain as atmospheric carbon dioxide rises, a phenomenon known as the carbon-concentration feedback, is uncertain. This chapter addresses our current state of knowledge on nutrient limitation of photosynthesis in tropical trees, summarizing and synthesizing the results of over 20 studies on photosynthetic responses to nutrient manipulation experiments. Our results indicate that nutrient limitation of photosynthesis is widespread, but that contrasting species and ecosystems vary in their responses, with savannah trees showing the least response at the leaf scale. Second, although photosynthesis is strongly limited by N in particular species, N limitation of photosynthesis is modest compared to P limitation of photosynthesis when considering all of the available literature. Finally, alleviation of nutrient limitation through addition of combined nutrient treatments produces the strongest photosynthetic responses, highlighting the potentially complex stroichiometric interactions among elements. The authors discuss several ways forward for resolving questions regarding the potential and limits of tropical trees to influence key carbon cycling processes and thus improve our ability to forecast global responses and feedbacks to climate change .

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Alex Barron, Sandra Bucci, Walt Carson, Sarah Pasquini, Jennifer Powers, Fabian Scholz, Jim Sickman, Ben Turner, Peter Vitousek, Klaus Winter, Joe Wright, and Nina Würzburger for insightful discussions; Xiankai Lu and Keith Bloomfield for contributing raw data; the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the University of California, Riverside, for logistical support; and a University of California Faculty Fellowship to Santiago.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany & Plant Sciences, University of California, 2150 Batchelor Hall, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA

    Louis S. Santiago

  2. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Panama, Republic of Panama

    Louis S. Santiago

  3. Laboratorio de Ecología Funcional, Departamento de Ecología Genética y Evolución, Instituto IEGEBA (CONICET-UBA), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Guillermo Goldstein

  4. Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA

    Guillermo Goldstein

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Correspondence to Louis S. Santiago .

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  1. Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA

    Guillermo Goldstein

  2. Department of Botany & Plant sciences, University of California, RIVERSIDE, California, USA

    Louis S. Santiago

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Santiago, L.S., Goldstein, G. (2016). Is Photosynthesis Nutrient Limited in Tropical Trees?. In: Goldstein, G., Santiago, L. (eds) Tropical Tree Physiology. Tree Physiology, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27422-5_14

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