Session 1I: Exploring Nutrient Availability in Tropical Rainforests
Session Number
Session 1I: 1st Presentation
Advisor(s)
Dr. Silvia Alvarez-Clare, The Morton Arboretum
Location
Room A119
Start Date
26-4-2018 9:40 AM
End Date
26-4-2018 10:25 AM
Abstract
Tropical rainforests have a large impact on global climate because they are responsible for about ⅓ of the carbon dioxide exchange between the atmosphere and the biosphere and store large amounts of carbon (C) as biomass in trees. Soil nutrient availability is an important factor influencing C cycling in forests by controlling tree growth and leaf nutrient concentrations. Our experiment sought to understand how plants respond to changes in soil nutrient availability in a lowland tropical rainforest in Costa Rica. Specifically, we studied how nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) additions impact foliar nutrient concentrations in the leaves of the most abundant tree (Pentaclethra macroloba) and tree palm (Socratea exorrhiza) seedlings. We collected 84 seedlings at EARTH University’s EFFEX experiment, where forest plots have been continuously fertilized with N, P, NP, or kept as controls for 11 years. We measured leaf area and herbivory using Image J software and analyzed foliar nutrients using an elemental analyzer. We predict that an increase in edaphic N and P concentrations will increase foliar P.
Session 1I: Exploring Nutrient Availability in Tropical Rainforests
Room A119
Tropical rainforests have a large impact on global climate because they are responsible for about ⅓ of the carbon dioxide exchange between the atmosphere and the biosphere and store large amounts of carbon (C) as biomass in trees. Soil nutrient availability is an important factor influencing C cycling in forests by controlling tree growth and leaf nutrient concentrations. Our experiment sought to understand how plants respond to changes in soil nutrient availability in a lowland tropical rainforest in Costa Rica. Specifically, we studied how nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) additions impact foliar nutrient concentrations in the leaves of the most abundant tree (Pentaclethra macroloba) and tree palm (Socratea exorrhiza) seedlings. We collected 84 seedlings at EARTH University’s EFFEX experiment, where forest plots have been continuously fertilized with N, P, NP, or kept as controls for 11 years. We measured leaf area and herbivory using Image J software and analyzed foliar nutrients using an elemental analyzer. We predict that an increase in edaphic N and P concentrations will increase foliar P.