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Title
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Empirical support for the biogeochemical niche hypothesis in forest trees
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Author
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Abstract
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| The possibility of using the elemental compositions of species as a tool to identify species/genotype niche remains to be tested at a global scale. We investigated relationships between the foliar elemental compositions (elementomes) of trees at a global scale with phylogeny, climate, N deposition and soil traits. We analysed foliar N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S concentrations in 23,962 trees of 227 species. Shared ancestry explained 60-94% of the total variance in foliar nutrient concentrations and ratios whereas current climate, atmospheric N deposition and soil type together explained 1-7%, consistent with the biogeochemical niche hypothesis which predicts that each species will have a specific need for and use of each bio-element. The remaining variance was explained by the avoidance of nutritional competition with other species and natural variability within species. The biogeochemical niche hypothesis is thus able to quantify species-specific tree niches and their shifts in response to environmental changes. Based on a global-scale analysis of the leaf elemental composition of tree species, the authors show that shared ancestry is the major factor shaping plant elementomes, thus providing large-scale empirical support for the biogeochemical niche hypothesis. |
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Language
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English
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Source (journal)
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Nature Ecology & Evolution. - [S.l.]
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Publication
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Berlin
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Nature research
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2021
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ISSN
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2397-334X
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DOI
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10.1038/S41559-020-01348-1
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Volume/pages
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5
(2021)
, p. 184-194
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ISI
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000604843800004
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Pubmed ID
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33398105
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Full text (Publisher's DOI)
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Full text (open access)
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Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
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