Foliar nutrients during long-term soil development in Hawaiian Montane rain forest

We determined the consequences of systematic changes in nutrient availability during long-term soil development by measuring foliar nutrient concentrations. Sun leaves of the dominant tree Metrosideros polymorpha and of eight other species were sampled in Hawaiian rain forests developed on substrates that were 0.3 @? 10^3, 2.1 @? 10^3, 5 @? 10^3, 20 @? 10^3, 150 @? 10^3, 1400 @? 10^3, and 4100 x 10^3 yr old. Elevation, annual precipitation, parent material, and dominant species were nearly constant along this gradient. Foliar N and P concentrations in Metrosideros were lowest in the youngest site (0.72% and 0.052% for N and P, respectively), increased to a maximum on 20 @? 10^3 and 150 @? 10^3-yr-old substrates (1.45% and 0.108%), and then declined close to the initial concentrations in the oldest site (0.86% and 0.061%); N:P ratios in foliage varied relatively little across the sites. Most other species followed a similar pattern of variation. On a per unit leaf area basis, foliar N and P contents in Metrosideros also peaked on intermediate-aged substrates. Foliar nutrient concentrations in Metrosideros sun leaves were determined across a parallel but wetter substrate age gradient. The pattern of variation was similar on both gradients, but the magnitude of variation was smaller on the wetter sequence of sites. Overall, the pattern of variation in foliar nutrients with substrate age is consistent with conceptual models for the dynamics of soil nutrient availability during long-term soil development, and with measurements of soil properties along this sequence.