Jean-Christophe Roggy

Assessing foliar chlorophyll contents with the SPAD-502 chlorophyll meter: a calibration test with thirteen tree species of tropical rainforest in French Guiana

Abstract• Chlorophyll meters such as the SPAD-502 offer a simple, inexpensive and rapid method to estimate foliar chlorophyll content. However, values provided by SPAD-502 are unitless and require empirical calibrations between SPAD units and extracted chlorophyll values.• Leaves of 13 tree species from the tropical rain forest in French Guiana were sampled to select the most appropriate calibration model among the often-used linear, polynomial and exponential models, in addition to a novel homographic model that has a natural asymptote.• The homographic model best accurately predicted total chlorophyll content (μg cm−2) from SPAD units (R2 = 0.89). Interspecific differences in the homographic model parameters explain less than 7% of the variation in chlorophyll content in our data set.• The utility of the general homographic model for a variety of research and management applications clearly outweighs the slight loss of model accuracy due to the abandon of the species’ effect.

Leaf natural 15N abundance and total N concentration as potential indicators of plant N nutrition in legumes and pioneer species in a rain forest of French Guiana

Abstract The suitability of the natural 15N abundance and of total N concentration of leaves as indicators of the type of plant N nutrition in a rain forest of French Guiana were tested. Leaf samples from primary legume species, non-legumes (pioneer species) and from the non-N2-fixing species Dicorynia guianensis were analyzed. Both δ15N and total leaf N varied widely (−1 ?δ15N (‰) ? 7 and 1 ? leaf N(%) ? 3.2) suggesting possible distinctions between diazotrophic and non-fixing plants. The δ15N also revealed two statistically distinct groups of non-N2-fixing species (δ15N = 5.14 ± 0.3 vs δ15N = 1.65 ± 0.17) related to the different ecological behaviors of these species in the successional processes. We conclude that the δ15N signature of plant leaves combined with their total N concentration may be relevant indicators for identifying functional groups within the community of non-N2-fixing species, as well as for detecting diazotrophy. Despite the variability in the δ15N of the non-N2-fixing species, N2-fixing groups can still be identified, provided that plants are simultaneously classified taxonomically, by their leaf δ15N and total N concentration and by the presence or absence of nodules. The variability in the δ15N of the non-fixing species is discussed.

Phytochemical analysis of mature tree root exudates in situ and their role in shaping soil microbial communities in relation to tree N-acquisition strategy

Eperua falcata (Aublet), a late-successional species in tropical rainforest and one of the most abundant tree in French Guiana, has developed an original strategy concerning N-acquisition by largely preferring nitrate, rather than ammonium (H. Schimann, S. Ponton, S. Hättenschwiler, B. Ferry, R. Lensi, A.M. Domenach, J.C. Roggy, Differing nitrogen use strategies of two tropical rainforest tree species in French Guiana: evidence from (15)N natural abundance and microbial activities, Soil Biol. Biochem. 40 (2008) 487-494). Given the preference of this species for nitrate, we hypothesized that root exudates would promote nitrate availability by (a) enhancing nitrate production by stimulating ammonium oxidation or (b) minimizing nitrate losses by inhibiting denitrification. Root exudates were collected in situ in monospecific planted plots. The phytochemical analysis of these exudates and of several of their corresponding root extracts was achieved using UHPLC/DAD/ESI-QTOF and allowed the identification of diverse secondary metabolites belonging to the flavonoid family. Our results show that (i) the distinct exudation patterns observed are related to distinct root morphologies, and this was associated with a shift in the root flavonoid content, (ii) a root extract representative of the diverse compounds detected in roots showed a significant and selective metabolic inhibition of isolated denitrifiers in vitro, and (iii) in soil plots the abundance of nirK-type denitrifiers was negatively affected in rhizosphere soil compared to bulk. Altogether this led us to formulate hypothesis concerning the ecological role of the identified compounds in relation to N-acquisition strategy of this species.

The successional status of tropical rainforest tree species is associated with differences in leaf carbon isotope discrimination and functional traits

We characterised the among species variability in leaf gas exchange and morphological traits under controlled conditions of seedlings of 22 tropical rainforest canopy species to understand the origin of the variability in leaf carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) among species with different growth and dynamic characteristics (successional gradient). Our results first suggest that these species pursue a consistent strategy in terms of Δ throughout their ontogeny (juveniles grown here versus canopy adult trees from the natural forest). Second, leaf Δ was negatively correlated with WUE and N, and positively correlated with gs, but among species differences in Δ were mainly explained by differences in WUE. Finally, species belonging to different successional groups display distinct leaf functional and morphological traits. We confirmed that fast growing early successional species maximise carbon assimilation with high stomatal conductance. In contrast, fast and slow growing late successional species are both characterised by low carbon assimilation values, but by distinct stomatal conductance and leaf morphological features. Along the successional gradient, these differences result in much lower Δ for the intermediate species (i.e. fast growing late successional) as compared to the two other groups.RésuméNous avons caractérisé la variabilité interspécifique des échanges gazeux et des traits morphologiques foliaires en conditions environnementales contrôlées de jeunes plants de 22 espèces d’arbres de la canopée en forêt tropicale humide afin de comprendre l’origine de la variabilité de la discrimination isotopique du carbone foliaire (Δ) observée entre ces espèces présentant des caractéristiques de croissance et de dynamique distinctes (groupes successionnels). Nous montrons premièrement que les espèces tropicales possèdent une stratégie très conservée de Δ au cours de leur ontogénie (juvéniles élevés ici versus arbres adultes de la canopée en forêt naturelle). Deuxièmement, Δ était négativement corrélée à WUE et N, et positivement à gs, mais les différences de Δ entre espèces sont principalement expliquées par des différences de WUE. Enfin, nous montrons que les espèces appartenant à des groupes successionnels distincts présentent des traits fonctionnels et morphologiques foliaires distincts. Nous confirmons que les espèces à croissance rapide qui s’installent en premier au cours de la succession écologique (FE) maximisent A avec de fortes conductances stomatiques. Les espèces climax (qui s’installent en second dans la succession écologique), à croissance rapide (FL) ou à croissance faible (SL), présentent des valeurs de A identiques, mais des valeurs de gs ainsi que des caractéristiques morphologiques foliaires distinctes. Dans la succession écologique, ces différences se traduisent par des valeurs de Δ nettement plus faibles pour les espèces intermédiaires (c’est-à-dire les espèces climax à croissance rapide) par rapport aux deux autres groupes.

Integrating functional diversity into tropical forest plantation designs to study ecosystem processes

Abstract• The elucidation of relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem processes has been limited by the definition of metrics of biodiversity and their integration into experimental design. Functional trait screening can strengthen the performance of these designs.• We suggest the use of Rao’s quadratic entropy to measure both functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity of species mixtures proposed for an experimental design, and demonstrate how they can provide complementary information.• We also present an index assessing the statistical performance of these independent variables in different experimental designs. Measurement of independent variables as continuous vs. discrete variables reduces statistical performance, but improves the model by quantifying species differences masked by group assignments.• To illustrate these advances, we present an example from a tropical forest tree community in which we screened 38 species for nine functional traits. The proposed TropiDEP design is based on the relative orthogonality of two multivariate trait axes defined using principal component analysis.• We propose that independent variables describing functional diversity might be grouped to calculate independent variables describing suites of different traits with potentially different effects on particular ecosystem processes. In other systems these axes may differ from those reported here, yet the methods of analysis integrating functional and phylogenetic diversity into experimental design could be universal.Résumé• La compréhension des relations pouvant exister entre biodiversité et fonctionnement des écosystèmes a été longtemps limitée par la définition de méthodes de quantification de la diversité biologique et la mise en œuvre de dispositifs expérimentaux permettant sa mesure. L’identification de syndromes de traits fonctionnels clefs influençant des fonctions écosystémiques particulières peut renforcer la performance de ces dispositifs.• Nous suggérons l’utilisation de l’entropie quadratique de Rao pour mesurer la diversité fonctionnelle et phylogénétique dans des assemblages synthétiques d’espèces, et montrons comment ces mesures de diversité sont complémentaires.• Nous présentons également un indice permettant de tester la performance statistique de ces variables indépendantes dans différents modèles expérimentaux. L’utilisation de variables indépendantes continues plutôt que discrètes réduit la performance statistique mais améliore le modèle en quantifiant les différences fonctionnelles entre espèces ; différences généralement masquées lors de leur assignation en groupes fonctionnels.• Pour illustrer ces avancées, nous présentons un exemple d’assemblages synthétiques à partir de 38 espèces d’arbres de forêt tropicale sélectionnées pour 9 traits fonctionnels (TropiDEP). Le plan d’expérience de TropiDEP est basé sur l’orthogonalité relative de deux axes multivariés de traits fonctionnels définis par analyse en composantes principales.• Nous proposons que les variables décrivant la diversité fonctionnelle soient groupées pour calculer des variables indépendantes, divisées en plusieurs axes décrivant des combinaisons de différents traits pouvant influencer des processus différents de l’écosystème (e.g. processus du N et du C). Dans d’autres systèmes, ces axes peuvent différer de ceux présentés ici, mais les méthodes d’analyse peuvent être universelles.

Complementary N Uptake Strategies between Tree Species in Tropical Rainforest

Within tree communities, the differential use of soil N mineral resources, a key factor in ecosystem functioning, may reflect functional complementarity, a major mechanism that could explain species coexistence in tropical rainforests. Eperua falcata and Dicorynia guianensis, two abundant species cooccurring in rainforests of French Guiana, were chosen as representative of two functional groups with complementary N uptake strategies (contrasting leaf δ 15N signatures related to the δ 15N of their soil N source, NO3 − or NH4 +). The objectives were to investigate if these strategies occurred under contrasted soil N resources in sites with distinct geological substrates representative of the coastal rainforests. Results showed that species displayed contrasting leaf δ 15N signatures on both substrates, confirming their complementary N uptake strategy. Consequently, their leaf 15N can be used to trace the presence of inorganic N-forms in soils (NH4 + and NO3 −) and thus to indicate the capacity of soils to provide each of these two N sources to the plant community.