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Abstract
With the aim of acquiring a better understanding of ecological growth and biomass allocation of Neotropical trees, I inoculated Inga vera Willd. (Leguminosae) plants from cuttings with Rhizobium spp. and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and grew them in a greenhouse for 8 months under varying light (L), phosphorus (P), and nitrogen (N) treatments. I obtained the following results: (1) L, P × N, and L × P × N treatments affected every response variable, but most increases occurred under full light; that is, light levels influenced growth of Inga vera to a greater extent than did P and N additions by themselves; (2) response variables showed a high degree of similarity in regard to which combination of treatment levels had the greatest positive response (full light – low N – high P) and which combination led to other significant increases (full light – low N – no P, full light – high N – no P); and (3) percent AM colonization was affected mainly by light, not P levels. I conclude that growth responses of Inga vera are primarily controlled by light availability, which can interact with nutrient addition to affect biomass allocation to both above- and below-ground structures.
Citation
Myster, R. W. 2006. Light and nutrient effects on growth and allocation of Inga vera(Leguminosae), a successional tree of Puerto Rico. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. ; 36:1121-1128.
