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  • Potassium, phosphorus, or n...
    Wright, S. Joseph; Yavitt, Joseph B; Wurzburger, Nina; Turner, Benjamin L; Tanner, Edmund V. J; Sayer, Emma J; Santiago, Louis S; Kaspari, Michael; Hedin, Lars O; Harms, Kyle E; Garcia, Milton N; Corre, Marife D

    Ecology (Durham), August 2011, Letnik: 92, Številka: 8
    Journal Article

    We maintained a factorial nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) addition experiment for 11 years in a humid lowland forest growing on a relatively fertile soil in Panama to evaluate potential nutrient limitation of tree growth rates, fine-litter production, and fine-root biomass. We replicated the eight factorial treatments four times using 32 plots of 40 ×× 40 m each. The addition of K was associated with significant decreases in stand-level fine-root biomass and, in a companion study of seedlings, decreases in allocation to roots and increases in height growth rates. The addition of K and N together was associated with significant increases in growth rates of saplings and poles (1-–10 cm in diameter at breast height) and a further marginally significant decrease in stand-level fine-root biomass. The addition of P was associated with a marginally significant ( P == 0.058) increase in fine-litter production that was consistent across all litter fractions. Our experiment provides evidence that N, P, and K all limit forest plants growing on a relatively fertile soil in the lowland tropics, with the strongest evidence for limitation by K among seedlings, saplings, and poles.