DOI: 10.5061/dryad.51r23
title: Data from: Foliar nutrient concentrations and resorption efficiency in plants of contrasting nutrient-acquisition strategies along a 2-million year dune chronosequence

description: 1. Long-term pedogenesis leads to important changes in the availability of
 soil nutrients, especially nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Changes in the
 availability of micronutrients can also occur, but are less well
 understood. We explored whether changes in leaf nutrient concentrations
 and resorption were consistent with a shift from N to P limitation of
 plant productivity with soil age along a &gt;2-million year dune
 chronosequence in south-western Australia. We also compared these traits
 among plants of contrasting nutrient-acquisition strategies, focusing on
 N, P and micronutrients. 2. The range in leaf [P] for individual species
 along the chronosequence was exceptionally large for both green (103–3000
 μg P g-1) and senesced (19–5600 μg P g-1) leaves, almost equalling that
 found globally. From the youngest to the oldest soil, cover-weighted mean
 leaf [P] declined from 1840 to 228 μg P g-1, while P-resorption efficiency
 increased from 0% to 79%. All species converged towards a highly
 conservative P-use strategy on the oldest soils. 3. Declines in
 cover-weighted mean leaf [N] with soil age were less strong than for leaf
 [P], ranging from 13.4 mg N g-1 on the youngest soil to 9.5 mg N g-1 on
 the oldest soil. However, mean leaf N-resorption efficiency was greatest
 (45%) on the youngest, N-poor soils. Leaf N:P ratio increased from 8 on
 the youngest soil to 42 on the oldest soil. 4. Leaf zinc (Zn)
 concentrations were low across all chronosequence stages, but mean
 Zn-resorption efficiency was greatest (55–74%) on the youngest calcareous
 dunes, reflecting low Zn availability at high pH. 5. N2-fixing species had
 high leaf [N] compared with other species. Non-mycorrhizal species had
 very low leaf [P] and accumulated Mn across all soils. We surmise that
 this reflects Mn solubilisation by organic acids released for P
 acquisition. 6. Synthesis. Our results show community-wide variation in
 leaf nutrient concentrations and resorption that is consistent with a
 shift from N to P limitation during long-term ecosystem development. High
 Zn resorption on young calcareous dunes supports the possibility of
 micronutrient co-limitation. High leaf [Mn] on older dunes suggests the
 importance of carboxylate release for P acquisition. Our results show a
 strong effect of soil nutrient availability on nutrient-use efficiency,
 and reveal considerable differences among plants of contrasting
 nutrient-acquisition strategies.
description: Jurien Bay leaf nutrient
 dataDescription Leaf
 nutrient concentration and C/N stable isotope data for 18 plant species
 across five dune chronosequence stages along the Jurien Bay
 chronosequence. Format A data frame with 508 observations on the following
 22 variables: plot factor with names of 50 10x10-m plots stage factor
 indicating chronosequence stage (1 = youngest, 5 = oldest) species factor
 with full plant species names state factor with leaf state: mature or
 senesced date sampling date ICP factor stating whether nutrients other
 than C and N were analysed with a radial or axial ICP equipment for each
 sample C leaf carbon concentration (%) Ca leaf calcium concentration
 (microg g^-1) Cd leaf boron concentration (microg g^-1) Cu leaf copper
 concentration (microg g^-1) Fe leaf iron concentration (microg g^-1) K
 leaf potassium concentration (microg g^-1) Mg leaf magnesium concentration
 (microg g^-1) Mn leaf manganese concentration (microg g^-1) Mo leaf
 molybdenum concentration (microg g^-1) Na leaf sodium concentration
 (microg g^-1) P leaf phosphorus concentration (microg g^-1) S leaf sulfur
 concentration (microg g^-1) Zn leaf zinc concentration (microg g^-1) N
 leaf nitrogen concentration (microg g^-1) d15N delta-N-15 (permil Air)
 d13C delta-C-13 (permil VPDB) Details For leaf sampling, we used 50 plots
 (10 m x 10 m each) from five chronosequence stages where vegetation had
 been characterised previously. Using the vegetation survey data, we ranked
 species in each of the five chronosequence stages from the most to the
 least abundant, based on canopy cover estimates. We then selected 5–7
 species from each stage, targeting the most abundant species for each of
 four contrasting nutrient-acquisition strategies: arbuscular mycorrhizal
 (AM), ectomycorrhizal (EM), N-fixing (NF) and non-mycorrhizal (NM) (see
 juriensp for strategies). Ericoid mycorrhizal species were not considered
 because they were not among the most abundant species. We note that
 N-fixing species are generally AM and/or EM, but we considered them as a
 separate group because they often show high foliar [N]. Species were
 selected from the ten most-abundant species per stage, with the exception
 of stage 4 where the 18 most-abundant species were considered. The
 selected species accounted for between 38% (stage 5) and 65% (stage 1) of
 the total canopy cover of each stage. A total of 18 species were selected
 for leaf sampling. All leaf material was collected over a two-month period
 between late March and early May 2012, near the end of the dry summer
 season. In each of the 50 plots, only healthy mature individuals were
 selected for sampling. In general, mature and senesced leaves were sampled
 from one individual plant per species in each plot. A species was
 considered absent from a plot if it could not be found within ~30 m of its
 centre. The number of individual collections (one collection = both mature
 and senesced leaves) per species in each chronosequence stage ranged from
 five to ten. In each case, representative samples of mature and senesced
 leaves were collected using nitrile gloves in order to minimise sample
 contamination. Leaves were not washed prior to nutrient analyses but we
 consider dust contamination to be highly unlikely, given the sandy nature
 of the soils. Mature leaves were undamaged, fully expanded and exposed to
 full sunlight. In most cases, senesced leaves were collected directly from
 the plant by gently shaking the plant and collecting fallen leaves.
 Senesced leaves were easily distinguished from green leaves, since they
 were yellow or brown and detached easily from the plant. However, for a
 few species it was not possible to collect senesced leaves from live
 plants, in which case senesced leaves were collected directly beneath the
 plant from recently fallen litter. In all cases, there was no visible
 degradation of senesced leaves collected from this litter, which had
 predominantly fallen during the summer and had not been exposed to any
 significant rain between litter fall and collection. Therefore, we assumed
 that losses of nutrients through leaching or decomposition were minimal,
 although some photodegradation may have occurred. A total of 508 leaf
 samples (mature and senesced) were collected for nutrient analyses. Each
 leaf sample was oven-dried (70 degrees C, 48 h) and finely ground using a
 Teflon-coated stainless steel ball mill. A subsample was analysed for
 carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) concentrations using a continuous-flow system
 consisting of a SERCON 20-22 mass spectrometer connected with an automated
 nitrogen/carbon analyser (Sercon, Crewe, UK). Stable isotopes of C and N
 were analysed using a continuous flow system consisting of a SERCON 20-22
 mass spectrometer connected with an automated N/C analyser (Sercon, Crewe,
 UK). These analyses were done at the Western Australian Biogeochemistry
 Centre, located at the University of Western Australia. A second subsample
 was acid-digested using concentrated HNO3:HClO4 (3:1) and analysed for Ca,
 Cd, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, P, S and Zn concentrations using
 inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES;
 ChemCentre, Perth, Australia). All digests were first analysed using a
 simultaneous Varian Vista Pro (Australia), radially configured ICP-AES
 equipment fitted with a charge-coupled device (CCD) detection system and
 an A.I. Scientific AIM-3600 auto-sampler. Samples with P concentrations
 close to minimum reporting limit were re-run on more sensitive
 axially-configured ICP-AES equipment. The ICP analyses were done at the WA
 Chemcentre.jurienleafnut.csv