Bromeliad growth and stoichiometry: responses to atmospheric nutrient supply in fog-dependent ecosystems of the hyper-arid Atacama Desert, Chile

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dc.contributor.authorGonzalez, Angelica L.
dc.contributor.authorMiguel Farina, Jose
dc.contributor.authorPinto, Raquel
dc.contributor.authorPerez, Cecilia
dc.contributor.authorWeathers, Kathleen C.
dc.contributor.authorArmesto, Juan J.
dc.contributor.authorMarquet, Pablo A.
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-21T00:00:27Z
dc.date.available2025-01-21T00:00:27Z
dc.date.issued2011
dc.description.abstractCarbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus (C, N, P) stoichiometry influences the growth of plants and nutrient cycling within ecosystems. Indeed, elemental ratios are used as an index for functional differences between plants and their responses to natural or anthropogenic variations in nutrient supply. We investigated the variation in growth and elemental content of the rootless terrestrial bromeliad Tillandsia landbeckii, which obtains its moisture, and likely its nutrients, from coastal fogs in the Atacama Desert. We assessed (1) how fog nutrient supply influences plant growth and stoichiometry and (2) the response of plant growth and stoichiometry to variations in nutrient supply by using reciprocal transplants. We hypothesized that T. landbeckii should exhibit physiological and biochemical plastic responses commensurate with nutrient supply from atmospheric deposition. In the case of the Atacama Desert, nutrient supply from fog is variable over space and time, which suggests a relatively high variation in the growth and elemental content of atmospheric bromeliads. We found that the nutrient content of T. landbeckii showed high spatio-temporal variability, driven partially by fog nutrient deposition but also by plant growth rates. Reciprocal transplant experiments showed that transplanted individuals converged to similar nutrient content, growth rates, and leaf production of resident plants at each site, reflecting local nutrient availability. Although plant nutrient content did not exactly match the relative supply of N and P, our results suggest that atmospheric nutrient supply is a dominant driver of plant growth and stoichiometry. In fact, our results indicate that N uptake by T. landbeckii plants depends more on N supplied by fog, whereas P uptake is mainly regulated by within-plant nutrient demand for growth. Overall, these findings indicate that variation in fog nutrient supply exerts a strong control over growth and nutrient dynamics of atmospheric plants, which are ubiquitous across fog-dominated ecosystems.
dc.fuente.origenWOS
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s00442-011-2032-y
dc.identifier.eissn1432-1939
dc.identifier.issn0029-8549
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-2032-y
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/95341
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:000295984800022
dc.issue.numero3
dc.language.isoen
dc.pagina.final845
dc.pagina.inicio835
dc.revistaOecologia
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subjectAtmospheric deposition
dc.subjectEphiphytes
dc.subjectGrowth rate
dc.subjectNitrogen
dc.subjectNutrient ratios
dc.subjectNutrient supply
dc.subjectPhosphorus
dc.subject.ods13 Climate Action
dc.subject.ods15 Life on Land
dc.subject.odspa13 Acción por el clima
dc.subject.odspa15 Vida de ecosistemas terrestres
dc.titleBromeliad growth and stoichiometry: responses to atmospheric nutrient supply in fog-dependent ecosystems of the hyper-arid Atacama Desert, Chile
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen167
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadWOS;2025-01-12
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