Different responses of macro- and microelement contents of 41 subtropical plants to environmental changes in the wet and dry seasons

Abstract

Differences in plant leaf elemental content due to seasonal climate change reflect potential plant growth strategies. However, the distribution patterns of elements mediated by seasonal climate change remain unclear. This limits assessment of plant growth status and prediction of plant growth dynamics under global climate change. We collected 41 subtropical evergreen broadleaf plant leaves (31 tree species and 10 shrub species) during the wet and dry seasons, and determined contents of macroelements and microelements in leaves by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Our results show that 41 plant leaves have significantly greater macroelement contents and significantly lower microelement contents in wet season than dry season. The highest macroelement content was in tree layer plants in wet season, followed by tree layer plants in dry season and shrub layer plants in wet season, the lowest was in shrub layer plants in dry season. The highest microelement content was in tree and shrub layer plants in dry season, followed by shrub layer plants in wet season, the lowest was in tree layer plants in wet season. Our results show that macroelement and microelement contents of plant leaves with different vertical structures are affected by seasonal climate change. The transition from wet to dry season is detrimental to tree layer plants growth, but has less impact on shrub layer plants growth. This study provides valuable evidence for predicting how different vertically structured subtropical evergreen broadleaf plants can adapt to changes in wet and dry season environments and to future global climate change.