Relationships of phosphorus concentration in reproductive organs with soil phosphorus availability for tropical rain-forest trees on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo

Abstract

Abstract:Bornean rain forests on phosphorus (P)-poor soils exhibit a high P-use efficiency in the production of reproductive organs (i.e. the inverse of P concentration in reproductive-organ litter). The mechanism underpinning this high P-use efficiency is not known, but is hypothesized to result from dilution of P in a given type of reproductive organ and/or a shift of the community composition of flower/fruit types with decreasing P availability. These hypotheses were tested using eight forests with different soil P availabilities on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Mean P concentration per forest by genus in inflorescences was significantly positively correlated with P availability, while that in seeds or pericarps was not significantly correlated. This trend was consistent across 21 genera that we analysed, suggesting that P concentration in seeds is maintained in exchange with the dilution of P in inflorescences. The composition of fruit types in tree community was estimated based on the relative abundances of genera in each forest. The relative abundance of capsulate species, which required less P in pericarps, tended to increase in tree community with decreasing P availability. Therefore, both mechanisms were involved in P-use efficiency. This work provides an insight into the reproductive adaptation of trees to P deficiency.