Effects of different nitrogen sources on growth, chlorophyll concentration, nitrate reductase activity and carbon and nitrogen distribution in Araucaria angustifolia

The southern Brazilian highland plateau is a mosaic of two contrasting plant communities, Araucaria forests and grasslands, both differing in the relative abundances and spatial patterns of soil nitrate and ammonium. However, we still do not know the inorganic N preferences of one key species in this mosaic, Araucaria angustifolia, the dominant tree species in the Araucaria forests and an important tree species invading the adjacent grasslands. Growth responses measured in a greenhouse study demonstrated that the species prefers NH4 over NO3 as an inorganic N source. When provided alone, NO3 induced N deficiency symptoms: increases in root: shoot ratio, root branching and leaf mass per area, thickening of the shoot apexes and decreased mass-based chlorophyll and N concentrations of the young leaves. Nitrate-based nutrition also affected the whole plant N and carbon (C) distribution: young leaves accumulated less N and showed a larger C:N ratio than mature leaves. The nitrate reductase activity (NRA) followed the pattern of root: shoot partitioning expected for temperate climate conifers, i.e. activity concentrated in roots. However, the presence of NRA even under sole NH4 nutrition indicates that plants may show constitutive levels of the enzyme, or that low levels of NO3 (possibly formed by contamination of the growth media) can induce leaf NRA. We suggest that A. angustifolia uses ammonium as a preferential inorganic N source, and that this preference may favor a more successful establishment in grassland than in forest areas.