ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Functional Plant Ecology
This article is part of the Research TopicEnhancing Woody Plant Growth and Resilience Through Nature-Based SolutionsView all 13 articles
Stand structure mediates the process of nutrient resorption in Chinese fir plantations during different stand developments
Provisionally accepted
- College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
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Nutrient resorption refers to the process of transferring nutrients from senescing organs to living organs within plants for reuse. It is a key strategy enabling plants to conserve nutrients essential for growth and development. However, how stand structure influences nutrient resorption in different organs across stand developmental stages remains unclear. In this study, we conducted field investigations in 39 plots (20 m × 20 m) within Chinese fir plantations spanning four developmental stages, measuring nitrogen and phosphorus resorption efficiencies (NRE and PRE) in fine roots, twigs, leaves. We additionally calculated crown ratios, dead twig biomass, and relative growth rates within each plot. Our results showed that stand density and relative growth rate decreased, while crown ratios increased and dead twig biomass initially increased rapidly before gradually declining during stand development. With stand aging, nitrogen concentrations increased in all organs, whereas phosphorus concentrations varied in aboveground vs. underground organs. Leaf NRE (NREL) and absorptive/transportive root NRE (NREAR and NRETR) peaked in young forests and progressively declined with stand development. Conversely, PRE in leaves and twigs (PREL and PRET) reached maximum values in intermediate and mature forests. Trait network analysis revealed developmental stage-dependent shifts in central hub traits from NREAR to PREL and NRETR, which reflected the change of nutrient demand during stand development. These findings demonstrate aboveground-belowground synergies in nutrient resorption, with fine roots mediating nutrient acquisition to support twig and leaf growth. Developmental stages exerted dual effects: positively influencing stand structure while negatively impacting organ-level nutrient resorption. Stand development and structure similarly affected aboveground resorption efficiency (REAG), whereas belowground resorption efficiency (REUG) was mainly regulated by developmental stage. Stand structure positively influenced REAG and REUG through crown ratio suppression and stand density/relative growth rate/dead twig biomass enhancement. Our results suggest management strategies for Chinese fir plantations: phosphorus addition in mature stands versus nitrogen supplementation in other stages, coupled with either increased initial planting density in young forests or preemptive understory canopy pruning to optimize nutrient resorption - particularly in nutrient-limited environments.
Keywords: Development stage, stand structure, N and P resorption efficiency, Nutrient utilizationstrategy, Chinese fir
Received: 01 May 2025; Accepted: 17 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ouyang, Chen, Huang, Chen, Zhang and Bu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Wensheng Bu, bws2007@163.com
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