Spectral characteristics and quantities of dissolved organic matter released from leaves with competitive and stress-tolerant ecological strategies in a subtropical region

Plants have different ecological strategies in response to environmental stress under global climate change,and the spectral characteristics and quantities of dissolved organic matter (DOM) leaching from leaves depend on the plant’s ecological strategy. DOM leaching due to different strategies will influence soil nutrient cycling. The objective of this study was to investigate the differences in the spectral characteristics and quantities of DOM derived from leaves of plants (Dendropanax dentiger, Machilus grijsii, Symplocos cochinchinensis (Lour.), Altingia gracilipes, Castanopsis fargesii, and Castanopsis faberi) with different ecological strategies in a subtropical region. In this study, we sampled fresh leaves from 6 kinds of plants, including 3 competitive-type plants (C-strategy) and 3 stress-tolerant-type plants (S-strategy). We examined dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) to determine the quantities of DOM, and employed Special Ultraviolet-Visible Absorption (SUVA), Hum