Large variation in soil phosphorus availability and tree nutritional strategies in humid temperate forests on carbonate rocks ​

Large variation in soil phosphorus availability and tree nutritional strategies in humid temperate forests on carbonate rocks ​ | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Large variation in soil phosphorus availability and tree nutritional strategies in humid temperate forests on carbonate rocks ​ Rimato Shiba, Yusuke Onoda, Ryota Aoyagi This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9568231/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background : Carbonate rock soils are typically characterized by high pH and low phosphorus (P) availability, yet these conditions can vary drastically with soil acidification during pedogenesis. Correspondingly, plant nutritional strategies may vary with these soils’ changing chemical status. However, empirical data remain limited on how the nutritional properties of carbonate rock soils vary with soil acidification and how these variations are linked to plant nutritional strategies. Methods : We compared soil chemical properties and P resorption between carbonate and silicate rock forests in two regions differing in soil acidification magnitude in humid temperate forests. We also measured leaf manganese (Mn) concentration, an indicator of root organic acid exudation. Moreover, we explored the influences of soil P availability on plant nutritional strategies for carbonate rock specialists and generalists. Results : The pH of carbonate rock soils was acidic (4.07–6.58), suggesting advanced weathering under high precipitation. Carbonate rock soils exhibited large variation in total P concentration (220–35,000 mg kg −1 ), which decreases with decreasing pH, whereas silicate rock soils exhibited smaller variation (300–1,400 mg kg −1 ). These results suggest that P concentrations in carbonate rock soils peak at the intermediate stage of pedogenesis and decline in later stages. Phosphorus resorption and leaf Mn concentrations decreased with increasing soil P concentrations regardless of bedrock type. Carbonate rock specialists exhibited remarkably lower resorption efficiency than generalists. Conclusions : We suggest that soil nutrient availability and plant nutritional strategies in carbonate rock ecosystems vary extensively with pedogenesis, and habitat specialization is tightly coupled with plant nutrient-use strategies. Calcicole species Resorption efficiency Resorption proficiency Root exudation Leaf manganese concentration Walker and Syers’ model Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 02 May, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 30 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 29 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9568231","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":632494933,"identity":"c8fac2e8-b9f5-455b-a1e6-99deef2f0b78","order_by":0,"name":"Rimato Shiba","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABA0lEQVRIie3PsWrDMBCA4TMCTy5alcmvIChoMs6DZJERpEtastc0LoFk6+xMfYKunl0O1MWtV0OW+A0ChUCWEslkKthpt0L1T0Lcx0kALtefzNuB7A4BIEBkbx7LQeETbgk7k6kl2WUCZ0LAKtMgCZ+X/r6dxQ+Uvr/iPK3jlzWaLWk06SNcE5InhWKj/E5irreqqBJD9PQ26yM+RUgKwngTcAz8rRKlIV6GvSRcEWLIgvG6MuTrQ4m6HSagO4KMlzOOV6syFs2FLVwrS95Gm9yQzZOSojFb5MBfwiUS71jcU0qr68/5IR6L+qbd7dOo/2HfS7pJ+dNx2/g3wy6Xy/U/OgGOpGGXgf30VgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6192-207X","institution":"Kyoto University - Yoshida Campus: Kyoto Daigaku","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rimato","middleName":"","lastName":"Shiba","suffix":""},{"id":632494934,"identity":"8d4ae8ce-2e82-4493-998d-b722c09ce1f5","order_by":1,"name":"Yusuke Onoda","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yusuke","middleName":"","lastName":"Onoda","suffix":""},{"id":632494935,"identity":"d66ad7ed-5d65-4b9a-b99a-c6db03544ad9","order_by":2,"name":"Ryota Aoyagi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ryota","middleName":"","lastName":"Aoyagi","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-29 16:18:48","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9568231/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9568231/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108819160,"identity":"55584ff6-b7db-4b4a-8ab3-f6ce4a11ed30","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-08 16:36:25","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":708266,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"20260429NutrientStrategyPaper.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9568231/v1_covered_de625a59-6b06-4a18-b947-1cf58e9548c2.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Large variation in soil phosphorus availability and tree nutritional strategies in humid temperate forests on carbonate rocks ​","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"plant-and-soil","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"plso","sideBox":"Learn more about [Plant and Soil](https://www.springer.com/journal/11104)","snPcode":"11104","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11104/3","title":"Plant and Soil","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Calcicole species, Resorption efficiency, Resorption proficiency, Root exudation, Leaf manganese concentration, Walker and Syers’ model","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9568231/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9568231/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground\u003c/strong\u003e: Carbonate rock soils are typically characterized by high pH and low phosphorus (P) availability, yet these conditions can vary drastically with soil acidification during pedogenesis. Correspondingly, plant nutritional strategies may vary with these soils’ changing chemical status. However, empirical data remain limited on how the nutritional properties of carbonate rock soils vary with soil acidification and how these variations are linked to plant nutritional strategies.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods\u003c/strong\u003e: We compared soil chemical properties and P resorption between carbonate and silicate rock forests in two regions differing in soil acidification magnitude in humid temperate forests. We also measured leaf manganese (Mn) concentration, an indicator of root organic acid exudation. Moreover, we explored the influences of soil P availability on plant nutritional strategies for carbonate rock specialists and generalists.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e: The pH of carbonate rock soils was acidic (4.07–6.58), suggesting advanced weathering under high precipitation. Carbonate rock soils exhibited large variation in total P concentration (220–35,000 mg kg\u003csup\u003e−1\u003c/sup\u003e), which decreases with decreasing pH, whereas silicate rock soils exhibited smaller variation (300–1,400 mg kg\u003csup\u003e−1\u003c/sup\u003e). These results suggest that P concentrations in carbonate rock soils peak at the intermediate stage of pedogenesis and decline in later stages. Phosphorus resorption and leaf Mn concentrations decreased with increasing soil P concentrations regardless of bedrock type. 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