Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T12:39:29.717Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

7 - Nutrient cycling and nutrient limitation in tropical montane cloud forests

from Part I - General perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 May 2011

By
J. Benner ,
P. M. Vitousek  and
R. Ostertag
Edited by
L. A. Bruijnzeel ,
F. N. Scatena  and
L. S. Hamilton
J. Benner
Affiliation:
Stanford University, USA
P. M. Vitousek
Affiliation:
Stanford University, USA
R. Ostertag
Affiliation:
University of Hawai'i at Hilo, USA
L. A. Bruijnzeel
Affiliation:
Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
F. N. Scatena
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
L. S. Hamilton
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Get access

Summary

ABSTRACT

In this chapter, the role of nutrient supply and cycling with respect to the characteristically low productivity of tropical montane cloud forests is investigated. Studies of nutrient stocks, turnover rates, and foliar nutrients all suggest that nitrogen supply to vegetation is lower in montane tropical forests than in lowland forests, whereas forest fertilization studies indicate that nitrogen and often phosphorus consistently limit above-ground productivity. Slow rates of nitrogen cycling, rather than low nitrogen inputs, appear to be responsible for the depressed nitrogen supply, and the high soil water content of many cloud-immersed montane forests is likely to be an important ultimate cause of the decreased rates of nitrogen cycling. Hydrological losses of biologically unavailable forms of nitrogen (such as dissolved organic nitrogen) may sustain nitrogen limitation over longer timescales.

INTRODUCTION

Regardless of location, tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF) worldwide share the same basic differences from lowland tropical forests and montane forests not affected by regular fog: lower productivity and diversity, lower canopy heights, thicker leaves with lower nutrient concentrations (especially of nitrogen), and higher soil organic matter and water content. In this chapter, the importance of nutrient availability in controlling this suite of traits is revisited, summarizing recent information on nutrient distribution, availability, and limitation in TMCF. To the extent that low nutrient availability contributes to the TMCF “syndrome,” this chapter discusses whether it is an independent factor or a consequence of other factors that ultimately control the productivity of TMCF.

Type
Chapter
Information
Tropical Montane Cloud Forests
Science for Conservation and Management
 , pp. 90 - 100
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aylett, G. P. (1985). Irradiance interception, leaf conductance and photosynthesis in Jamaican upper montane rain forest trees. Photosynthetica 19: 323–337.Google Scholar
Baillie, I. C. (1989). Soil characteristics and mineral nutrition of tropical wooded systems. In Mineral Nutrients in Tropical Forest and Savanna Ecosystems, ed. Proctor, J., pp. 15–26. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Scientific.Google Scholar
Bruijnzeel, L. A. (1991). Nutrient input–output budgets of tropical forest ecosystems: a review. Journal of Tropical Ecology 7: 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruijnzeel, L. A. (2005). Tropical montane cloud forests: a unique hydrological case. In Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics, eds. Bonell, M. and Bruijnzeel, L. A., pp. 462–483. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruijnzeel, L. A., and Proctor, J. (1995). Hydrology and biogeochemistry of tropical montane cloud forests: what do we really know? In Tropical Montane Cloud Forests, eds. Hamilton, L. S., Juvik, J. O., and Scatena, F. N., pp. 38–78. New York: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruijnzeel, L., and Veneklaas, E. (1998). Climatic conditions and tropical montane forest productivity: the fog has not lifted yet. Ecology 79: 3–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruijnzeel, L. A., Waterloo, M. J., Proctor, J., Kuiters, A. T., and Kotterink, B. (1993). Hydrological observations in montane rain-forests on Gunung-Silam, Sabah, Malaysia, with special reference to the ‘Massenerhebung’ effect. Journal of Ecology 81: 145–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carrillo, J. H., Hastings, M. G., Sigman, D. M., and Huebert, B. J. (2002). Atmospheric deposition of inorganic and organic nitrogen and base cations in Hawaii. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 16: 24: 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cavelier, J., Tanner, E., and Santamaria, J. (2000). Effect of water, temperature and fertilizers on soil nitrogen net transformations and tree growth in an elfin cloud forest of Colombia. Journal of Tropical Ecology 16: 83–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cavelier, J., Solis, D., and Jaramillo, M. A. (1996). Fog interception in montane forests across the central cordillera of Panama. Journal of Tropical Ecology 12: 357–369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chadwick, O. A., Derry, L. A., Vitousek, P. M., Huebert, B. J., and Hedin, L. O. (1999). Changing sources of nutrients during four million years of ecosystem development. Nature 397: 491–497.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, K. L., Nadkarni, N. M., and Gholz, H. L. (1998a). Growth, net production, litter decomposition, and net nitrogen accumulation by epiphytic bryophytes in a tropical montane forest. Biotropica 30: 12–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, K. L., Nadkarni, N. M., Schaefer, D., and Gholz, H. L. (1998b). Atmospheric deposition and net retention of ions by the canopy in a tropical montane forest, Monteverde, Costa Rica. Journal of Tropical Ecology 14: 27–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cordell, S., Goldstein, G., Meinzer, F., and Vitousek, P. (2001). Regulation of leaf life-span and nutrient-use efficiency of Metrosideros polymorpha trees at two extremes of a long chronosequence in Hawaii. Oecologia 127: 198–206.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crews, T. E. (1999). The presence of nitrogen fixing legumes in terrestrial communities: evolutionary vs. ecological considerations. Biogeochemistry 46: 233–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fetcher, N., Haines, B. L., Cordero, R. A., et al. (1996). Responses of tropical plants to nutrients and light on a landslide in Puerto Rico. Journal of Ecology 84: 331–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flenley, J. R. (1995). Cloud forest, the Massenerhebung effect, and ultraviolet insolation. In Tropical Montane Cloud Forests, eds. Hamilton, L. S., Juvik, J. O., and Scatena, F. N., pp. 150–155. New York: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forman, R. T. T. (1975). Canopy lichens with blue–green algae: a nitrogen source in a Colombian rain forest. Ecology 56: 1176–1184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freiberg, E. (1998). Microclimatic parameters influencing nitrogen fixation in the phyllosphere in a Costa Rican premontane rain forest. Oecologia 117: 9–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerrish, G., Mueller-Dombois, D., and Bridges, K. W. (1988). Nutrient limitation and Metrosideros dieback in Hawai'i. Ecology 69: 723–727.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grieve, I. C., Proctor, J., and Cousins, S. A. (1990). Soil variation with altitude on Volcan Barva, Costa Rica. Catena 17: 525–534.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grubb, P. J. (1971). Interpretation of the Massenerhebung effect on tropical mountains. Nature 229: 44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grubb, P. J. (1977). Control of forest growth and distribution on wet tropical mountains: with special reference to mineral nutrition. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 8: 83–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guariguata, M. R. (1990). Landslide disturbance and forest regeneration in the upper Luquillo mountains of Puerto Rico. Journal of Ecology 78: 814–832.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hafkenscheid, R. L. L. J. (2000). Hydrology and biogeochemistry of tropical montane rain forests of contrasting stature in the Blue Mountains, Jamaica. Ph.D. thesis, VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Also available at http://dare.ubvu.vu.nl/bitstream/1871/12734/1/tekst.pdf.
Harrington, R. A., Fownes, J. H., and Vitousek, P. M. (2001). Production and resource use efficiencies in N- and P-limited tropical forests: a comparison of responses to long-term fertilization. Ecosystems 4: 646–657.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hedin, L. O., Armesto, J., and Johnson, A. (1995). Patterns of nutrient loss from unpolluted, old growth temperate forests: evaluation of biogeochemical theory. Ecology 76: 493–509.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herbert, D. A., and Fownes, J. H. (1995). Phosphorus limitation of forest leaf area and net primary production on a highly weathered soil. Biogeochemistry 29: 223–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herbert, D. A., Fownes, J. A., and Vitousek, P. M. (1999). Hurricane damage to a Hawaiian forest: nutrient supply rate affects resistance and resilience. Ecology 80: 908–920.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobbie, S. E. (1992). Effects of plant species on nutrient cycling. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 7: 336–339.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hobbie, S. E., and Vitousek, P. (2000). Nutrient limitation of decomposition in Hawaiian forests. Ecology 81: 1867–1877.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoch, G., and Körner, C. (2005). Growth, demography and carbon relations of Polylepis trees at the world's highest treeline. Functional Ecology 19: 941–951.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holwerda, F. (2005). Water and energy budgets of rain forests along an elevational gradient under maritime tropical conditions. Ph.D. thesis, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Jaffe, M. J. (1980). Morphogenetic responses of of plants to mechanical stimuli or stress. BioScience 30: 239–243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jane, G. T., and Green, T. G. A. (1985). Patterns of stomatal conductance in six evergreen tree species from a New Zealand cloud forest. Botanical Gazette 146: 413–420.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jenny, H., Gessel, S. P., and Bingham, F. T. (1949). Comparative study of decomposition rates in temperate and tropical regions. Soil Science 68: 419–432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jobbagy, E., and Jackson, R. (2000). The vertical distribution of soil organic carbon and its relation to climate and vegetation. Ecological Applications 10: 423–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitayama, K., and Aiba, S. I.. (2002). Ecosystem structure and productivity of tropical rain forests along altitudinal gradients with contrasting soil phosphorus pools on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Journal of Ecology 90: 37–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitayama, K., Majalap-Lee, N., and Aiba, S. (2000). Soil phosphorus fractionation and phosphorus-use efficiencies of tropical rainforests along altitudinal gradients of Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Oecologia 123: 342–349.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kitayama, K., Schuur, E., Drake, D., and Mueller-Dombois, D. (1997). Fate of a wet montane forest during soil ageing in Hawaii. Journal of Ecology 85: 669–679.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Köhler, L., Tobón, C., Frumau, K. F. A., and Bruijnzeel, L. A. (2007). Biomass and water storage of epiphytes in old-growth and secondary montane rain forest stands in Costa Rica. Plant Ecology 193: 171–184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Körner, Ch. (2003). Carbon limitation in trees. Journal of Ecology 91: 4–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leuschner, Ch., Moser, G., Bertsch, C., Röderstein, M., and Hertel, D. (2007). Large altitudinal increase in tree root/shoot ratio in tropical mountain forests of Ecuador. Basic and Applied Ecology 8: 219–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, W. Y., Fox, J. E. D., and Xu, Z. F. (2003). Nutrient budget of a montane evergreen broad-leaved forest at Ailao Mountain National Nature Reserve, Yunnan, southwest China. Hydrological Processes 17: 1119–1134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lodge, D. J., Scatena, F. N., Asbury, C. E., and Sánchez, M. J. (1991). Fine litterfall and related nutrient inputs resulting from Hurricane Hugo in subtropical wet and lower montane rain forests of Puerto Rico. Biotropica 23: 336–342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lodge, D. J., McDowell, W. H., and McSwiney, C. P. (1994). The importance of nutrient pulses in tropical forests. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 9: 384–387.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loveless, A. R. (1961). A nutritional interpretation of sclerophylly based on differences in the chemical composition of sclerophyllous and mesophytic leaves. Annals of Botany 25: 168–184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marrs, R., Proctor, J., Heaney, A., and Mountford, M. (1988). Changes in soil nitrogen mineralization and nitrification along an altitudinal transect in tropical rain forest in Costa Rica. Journal of Ecology 76: 466–482.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martinelli, L. A., Piccolo, M. C., Townsend, A. R., et al. (1999). Nitrogen stable isotopic composition of leaves and soil: tropical versus temperate forests. Biogeochemistry 46: 45–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matelson, T. J., Nadkarni, N. M., and Solano, R. (1995). Tree damage and annual mortality in a montane forest in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Biotropica 27: 441–447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matzek, V., and Vitousek, P. (2003). Nitrogen fixation in bryophytes, lichens, and decaying wood along a soil-age gradient in Hawaiian montane rain forest. Biotropica 35: 12–19.Google Scholar
McDowell, W., and Asbury, C. (1994). Export of carbon, nitrogen, and major ions from three tropical montane watersheds. Limnology and Oceanography 39: 111–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGroddy, M. and Silver, W. L. (2000). Variations in belowground carbon storage and soil CO2 flux rates along a wet tropical climate gradient. Biotropica 32: 614–624.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, A. J., Schuur, E. A. G., and Chadwick, O. A. (2001). Redox control of phosphorus pools in montane forest soils in Hawaii. Geoderma 102: 219–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moser, G., Hertel, D., and Leuschner, Ch. (2007). Altitudinal change in LAI and stand leaf biomass in tropical montane forests: a transect study in Ecuador and a pan-tropical meta-analysis. Ecosystems 10: 924–935.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moser, G., Röderstein, M., Soethe, N., Hertel, D., and Leuschner, Ch. (2008). Altitudinal changes in stand structure and biomass allocation of tropical mountain forest in relation to microclimate and soil chemistry. In Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador, eds. Beck, E., Bendix, J., Kottke, I., Makeschin, F., and Mosandl, R., pp. 229–242. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nadkarni, N. (1984). Epiphyte biomass and nutrient capital of a neotropical elfin forest. Biotropica 16: 249–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nadkarni, N. (2000). Colonization of stripped branch surfaces by epiphytes in a lower montane cloud forest, Monteverde, Costa Rica. Biotropica 32: 358–363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nepstad, D.C., Carvalho, C.R., Davidson, E.A., et al. (1994). The role of deep roots in the hydrological and carbon cycles of Amazonian forests and pastures. Nature 372: 666–669.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nomura, N., and Kikuzawa, K. (2003). Productive phenology of tropical montane forests: fertilization experiments along a moisture gradient. Ecological Research 18: 573–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Northup, R., Yu, Z., Dahlgren, R. A., and Vogt, K. A. (1995). Polyphenol control of nitrogen release from pine litter. Nature377: 227–229.Google Scholar
Olander, L. P., and Vitousek, P. M. (2000). Regulation of soil phosphatase and chitinase activity by N and P availability. Biogeochemistry 49: 175–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olander, L. P., and Vitousek, P. M. (2004). Biological and geochemical sinks for phosphorus in soil from a wet tropical forest. Ecosystems 7: 404–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olander, L. P., Scatena, F. N., and Silver, W. L. (1998). Impacts of disturbance initiated by road construction in a subtropical cloud forest in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Forest Ecology and Management 109: 33–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ostertag, R. (2001). The effects of nitrogen and phosphorus availability on fine root dynamics in Hawaiian montane forests. Ecology 82: 485–499.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ostertag, R., Scatena, F. N., and Silver, W. L. (2003). Forest floor decomposition following hurricane litter inputs in several Puerto Rican forests. Ecosystems 6: 261–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pendry, C. A., and Proctor, J. (1996). The causes of altitudinal zonation of rain forests on Bukit Belalong, Brunei. Journal of Ecology 84: 407–418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perakis, S., and Hedin, L. (2001). Fluxes and fates of nitrogen in soil of an unpolluted old-growth temperate forest, southern Chile. Ecology 82: 2245–2260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perakis, S., and Hedin, L. (2002). Nitrogen loss from unpolluted South American forests mainly via dissolved organic compounds. Nature 415: 416–419.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pett-Ridge, J. and Silver, W. L. (2002). Survival, growth and ecosystem dynamics of displaced bromeliads in a montane tropical forest. Biotropica 34: 211–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raich, J. W., Riley, R. H., and Vitousek, P. M. (1994). Use of root ingrowth cores to assess nutrient limitations in forest ecosystems. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 24: 2135–2138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raich, J. W., Russell, A. R., Crews, T. E., Farrington, H., and Vitousek, P. M. (1996). Both nitrogen and phosphorus limit plant production on young Hawaiian lava flows. Biogeochemistry 32: 1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raich, J. W., Russell, A. E., and Vitousek, P. M. (1997). Primary productivity and ecosystem development along an elevational gradient on Mauna Loa, Hawai'i. Ecology 78: 707–721.Google Scholar
Raich, J. W., Russell, A. E., Kitayama, K., Parton, W. J., and Vitousek, P. M. (2006). Temperature influences carbon accumulation in moist tropical forests. Ecology 87: 76–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reich, P. B., Walters, M. B., and Ellsworth, D. S. (1997). From tropics to tundra: Global convergence in plant functioning. Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesUSA 94: 13 730–13 734.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Richards, P. W. (1996). The Tropical Rain Forest, 2nd edn. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Röderstein, M., Hertel, D., and Leuschner, Ch. (2005). Above- and below-ground litter production in three tropical montane forests in southern Ecuador. Journal of Tropical Ecology 21: 483–492.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santiago, L. S., Goldstein, G., Meinzer, F. C., Fownes, J. H., and Mueller-Dombois, D. (2000). Transpiration and forest structure in relation to soil waterlogging in a Hawaiian montane cloud forest. Tree Physiology 20: 673–681.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schuur, E. (2001). The effect of water on decomposition dynamics in mesic to wet Hawaiian montane forests. Ecosystems 4: 259–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schuur, E., and Matson, P. (2001). Net primary productivity and nutrient cycling across a mesic to wet precipitation gradient in Hawaiian montane forest. Oecologia 128: 431–442.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schuur, E. A. G., Chadwick, O. A., and Matson, P. A. (2001). Carbon cycling and soil carbon storage in mesic to wet Hawaiian montane forests. Ecology 82: 3182–3196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scowcroft, P. G., Turner, D. R., and Vitousek, P. M. (2000). Decomposition of Metrosideros polymorpha leaf litter along elevational gradients in Hawaii. Global Change Biology 6: 73–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sidle, R. C., Ziegler, A. D., Negishi, J. N., et al. (2006). Erosion processes in steep terrain: truths, myths, and uncertainties related to forest management in Southeast Asia. Forest Ecology and Management 224: 199–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silver, W. L., Lugo, A. E., and Keller, M. (1999). Soil oxygen availability and biogeochemistry along rainfall and topographic gradients in upland wet tropical forest soils. Biogeochemistry 44: 301–328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soethe, N., Lehmann, J., and Engels, C. (2006). The vertical pattern of rooting and nutrient uptake at different altitudes of a southern Ecuadorian montane forest. Plant Soil 286: 287–299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soethe, N., Lehmann, J., and Engels, C. (2008a). Nutrient availability at different altitudes in a tropical montane forest in Ecuador. Journal of Tropical Ecology 24: 397–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soethe, N., Wilcke, W., Homeier, J., Lehmann, J., and Engels, C. (2008b). Plant growth along the altitudinal gradient: role of plant nutritional status, fine root activity, and soil properties. In Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador, eds. Beck, E., Bendix, J., Kottke, I., Makeschin, F., and Mosandl, R., pp. 259–266. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stewart, C. G. (2000). A test of nutrient limitation in two tropical montane forests using root ingrowth cores. Biotropica 32: 369–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanner, E., Kapos, V., Freskos, S., Healey, J., and Theobald, A. (1990). Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization of Jamaican montane forest trees. Journal of Tropical Ecology 6: 231–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanner, E. V. J., Kapos, V., and Franco, W. (1992). Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization effects on Venezuelan montane forest trunk growth and litterfall. Ecology 73: 78–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanner, E., Vitousek, P., and Cuevas, E. (1998). Experimental investigation of nutrient limitation of forest growth on wet tropical mountains. Ecology 79: 10–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Titiz, B. (2005). Signatures in the soil: soil charcoal and phosphorus distribution patterns along an elevational gradient in a Costa Rican tropical rainforest. Ph.D. thesis, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA.Google Scholar
Townsend, A. R., Vitousek, P. M., and Trumbore, S. E. (1995). Soil organic matter dynamics along gradients in temperature and land use on the island of Hawaii. Ecology 76: 721–733.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treseder, K., and Vitousek, P. (2001). Effects of soil nutrient availability on investment in acquisition of N and P in Hawaiian rain forests. Ecology 82: 946–954.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, I. M. (1994). Sclerophylly: primarily protective?Functional Ecology 8: 669–675.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vera, M., Cavelier, J., and Santamaria, J. (1999). Tree leaf nitrogen and phosphorus reabsorption in a montane forest of the central Andes, Colombia. Revista de Biologia Tropical 47: 33–43.Google Scholar
Vitousek, P. M. (1984). Litterfall, nutrient cycling, and nutrient limitation in tropical forests. Ecology 65: 285–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vitousek, P. M. (2004). Nutrient Cycling and Limitation: Hawai'i as a Model System. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Vitousek, P., and Farrington, H. (1997). Nutrient limitation and soil development: experimental test of a biogeochemical theory. Biogeochemistry 37: 63–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vitousek, P. M., Walker, L. R., Whiteaker, L. D., Mueller-Dombois, D., and Matson, P. A. (1987). Biological invasion by Myrica faya alters ecosystem development in Hawaii. Science 238: 802–804.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vitousek, P., Matson, P., and Turner, D. (1988). Elevational and age gradients in Hawaiian montane rainforest: foliar and soil nutrients. Oecologia 77: 565–570.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vitousek, P. M., Walker, L. R., Whiteaker, L. D., and Matson, P. A. (1993). Nutrient limitation to plant growth during primary succession in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Biogeochemistry 23: 197–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vitousek, P. M., Turner, D. R., Parton, W. J., and Sanford, R. L. (1994). Litter decomposition on the Mauna Loa environmental matrix, Hawaii: patterns, mechanisms, and models. Ecology 75: 418–429.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, L. R., Zimmerman, J. K., Lodge, D. J., and Guzmán-Grajales, S. (1996). An altitudinal comparison of growth and species composition in hurricane-damaged forests in Puerto Rico. Journal of Ecology 84: 877–889.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weathers, K., Lovett, G., Likens, G., and Caraco, N. (2000). Cloudwater inputs of nitrogen to forest ecosystems in southern Chile: forms, fluxes, and sources. Ecosystems 3: 590–595.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weaver, P. L. (1999). Impacts of Hurricane Hugo on the dwarf cloud forest of Puerto Rico's Luquillo Mountains. Caribbean Journal of Science 35: 101–111.Google Scholar
Weaver, P. L., Byer, M., and Bruck, D. (1973). Transpiration rates in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico. Biotropica 5: 123–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilcke, W., Yasin, S., Valarezo, C., and Zech, W. (2001). Change in water quality during the passage through a tropical montane rain forest in Ecuador. Biogeochemistry 55: 45–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilcke, W., Yasin, S., Abramowski, U., Valarezo, C., and Zech, W. (2002). Nutrient storage and turnover in organic layers under tropical montane rain forest in Ecuador. European Journal of Soil Science 53: 15–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams-Linera, G. (1999). Leaf dynamics in a tropical cloud forest: phenology, herbivory, and life span. Selbyana 20: 98–105.Google Scholar
Zimmerman, J. K., Pulliam, W. M., Lodge, D. J., et al. (1995). Nitrogen immobilization by decomposing woody debris and the recovery of tropical wet forest from hurricane damage. Oikos 72: 314–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×